Tag: Smart City

Council to invest £2.6m in Smart CCTV

“Edinburgh has big ambitions in becoming a world-leading Smart City“

The City of Edinburgh Council is to revolutionise security and surveillance across the capital with a £2.6million investment in the build and management of Edinburgh’s new CCTV Control Centre.

This forms part of the Council’s vision to create a Smart City Operation Facility, providing a holistic view of the city by utilising the latest technology to drive operational efficiencies, improve security and analyse trends.

The new Control Centre will see the provision of high-definition CCTV cameras, expanded security coverage, and the introduction of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence that can provide situational awareness and predict and alert new and existing threats.

The Council has partnered with North, the UK’s leading IoT service and solution provider, to lead on this transformational project which is set for completion in September this year (2022).

The project will see North intelligently integrate the security system with traffic and transportation platforms to enhance the management of city operations. It will improve efficiency, quickly identify and address issues, provide simple and rapid retrieval of footage, and integrate with remote security systems that are currently not connected to the existing Control Room.

The new system will allow for better city planning and will be able to provide a richer view of how people interact with the urban environment – whether on foot, bicycle or vehicle.

With the support of North’s expertise, the Council will have a true smart city platform which will have the ability to allow future integration with other smart technologies such as air quality sensors, smart parking applications, flood sensors to detect water levels, and intelligent camera analytics to monitor low emission zones.

Community engagement has also been factored into the project with North providing apprenticeship opportunities, work experience placements and volunteer schemes to support the delivery of the contract, including working with local communities and organisations.

The City of Edinburgh Council Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “Edinburgh has big ambitions in becoming a world-leading Smart City – a digitally inclusive, data-rich and sustainable city with services that are easily accessible by all of our residents no matter where they are in the city, or what their circumstances are.

“We’re looking to deliver a more digitally-enabled proactive service to help make everyone’s lives in our Scottish Capital better and so we can continue our work towards ending poverty, meeting our net zero targets and improving wellbeing for all. 

With this Smart City partnership with North we’re looking to make transformative differences to the way we manage our city – gathering real-time intelligence to improve safety on our streets, manage services more effectively and better serve the wellbeing of our residents.

Through North, alongside our other partners, we believe we’ve found a strong partnership that will deliver on our world-leading vision, changing the way we provide our services to all, while improving our communities.

Scott McEwan, Chief Commercial Officer at North, said: “The implementation of IoT technology within our security offering has the power to truly transform the lives of citizens, revolutionising the ways in which we work and ensuring that the environments we live and work in are safe and healthy.

“CCTV is not only vital for crime detection, but also for preventing offences from happening and through the implementation of these transformative systems, the City of Edinburgh Council will have the ability to access data which will bring together essential and critical services to create safer communities and allow better informed decisions to be made that improve services across Edinburgh.

“We are thrilled to be working with the City of Edinburgh Council to help them achieve their Smart City objectives with intelligent data-driven solutions.”

The City Operations Capability project is jointly funded by the City of Edinburgh Council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme known as ‘Scotland’s 8th City – the Smart City‘. 

Edinburgh is one of the seven Scottish cities collaboratively working toward becoming a world leading Smart City. Supported by the Scottish Cities Alliance, a partnership of Scotland’s seven city local authorities and the Scottish Government, £48.2 million, including £20.3 million of ERDF support, is being invested in the ‘Scotland’s 8th City – the Smart City’ Programme.

This latest project with North also forms part of Edinburgh’s 2050 City Vision strategy, to become ‘the’ world leading Smart City, using technology to make day to day life simpler, greener and more connected while reducing carbon emissions to coincide with the Capital’s net zero carbon by 2030 ambitions.

Roll out of digital devices for city pupils is underway

The roll out of personal digital devices for every school pupil from P6 to S6 in the Capital, part of the city council’s ‘ambitious and inclusive’ education strategy Edinburgh Learns for Life, is underway.

The programme, being carried out in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council’s strategic technology partner, CGI, will see 27,500 new iPads being issued to pupils/teachers, refreshed iPads for up to 12,000 pupils/teachers and expanding connectivity by providing additional wireless access points in schools.

As well as the personal distribution to pupils, additional iPads will be handed out to P1 to P5 year groups so they can be shared for learning. Staff in early years will be getting 250 new iPads and having 900 iPads migrated.

The roll out for the Empowered Learning programme, which has been funded thanks to a £17.6m investment from the Council’s budget, is due to be completed by the end of this year and also includes a comprehensive programme of professional learning for teachers.

Benefits of the project include: providing equal access to education, personalising learning, improving teacher feedback, preparing students for future working, collaborative on and off-line working and, critically, supporting efforts to raise attainment.

This week, from Monday 24 January, pupils at St Augustine’s RC and Gracemount High Schools will be receiving their devices.

Leith Academy is one of the schools where digital devices have already been distributed. Council leader Cllr Adam McVey and deputy Lord Provost Joan Griffiths visited the school last week.

Head teacher Mike Irving said: “The roll out of digital devices to all P6-S6 young people and staff across Edinburgh’s schools is a significant, positive and exciting development for learning.

“Young people will discover new and innovative ways to engage by using many of the features available through the applications and technology available at their fingertips.

“Digital devices are not there to replace teaching and learning, but to enhance it further so youngsters can engage in learning that is relevant, fun and most importantly impactful.

“Young people know when they are being invested in, and this step from the Council is a significant and sustained investment in the future learning, outcomes and achievements of Edinburgh’s children and young people.”

Shlok Godiyal, S3 pupil at Leith Academy, said: “I think having the iPad will give me greater flexibility in how and when I can work on tasks, topics and assignments. There will be times when I need to log onto Teams sessions or complete work at home, the iPad helps me with this ability to work anytime, anywhere.

“I also think the iPad will open opportunities in learning by using features such as video recording, use of 3D imaging and it will help me with my independent learning and study as I progress into S4, S5 and S6. As young people today we are used to technology in our lives, so this is a good addition to our learning.”

Councillor Ian Perry, Education Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “It’s great to see the roll out getting underway as the Empowered Learning programme is about both investing in our children and young people and our teachers to maximise the exciting learning opportunities in Scotland’s Capital city.

“We’ve committed £17.5m from our budget so pupils from P6 to S6 can have their own devices and have equal access to learning. This programme opens up the opportunity for pupils to learn in new and exciting ways, brings with it a raft of wider benefits including extra support and professional development opportunities for teachers and is expanding wifi to provide fast and reliable internet access in every school.”

Councillor Alison Dickie, Education Vice Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “The roll out meets a key element of our Council business plan which is increasing attainment for everyone and reducing the poverty-related attainment gap.

“Ensuring pupils have their own device means they have personal access to digital learning whether with their teacher in school or at home. “

We want every young person to achieve their fullest potential and the Empowered Learning programme is another tool in the educational toolbox to equip our pupils with the skills and knowledge to succeed in a future that is becoming increasingly digital.”

Tara McGeehan, President, CGI in the UK and Australia said: “CGI is delighted to be working in partnership with City of Edinburgh Council to deliver Empowered Learning to pupils and teachers in the capital.

“Empowered Learning provides a learning environment that’s engaging and inspirational. It directly tackles the attainment gap and recognises the key role of educators in delivering a digital classroom.

“Through Empowered Learning, educators can create and tailor lessons to personalise learning, and access new ways of bringing learning to life. Above all, Empowered Learning delivers learning that is rich and rewarding for both pupils and for their parents, as well as providing the highest level of security and safety standards.

“The roll out meets a key element of one of the 15 outcomes and actions from the Council’s three year business plan ‘Our Future Council, Our Future City’: ‘increasing attainment for all and reducing the poverty-related attainment gap’.”

The 1:1 programme reinforces our commitment to becoming one of the world’s ‘smartest cities’ – in 2020 Edinburgh approved a new digital strategy to push forward its ambitions for becoming a sustainable Smart City.

Capital bids to become smartest city

Edinburgh’s vision to become one of the world’s smartest capital cities has received a major boost thanks to an agreement between the City of Edinburgh Council and CGI. 

Building on the five-year relationship the Council has established with the global ICT services provider, Councillors have agreed that the contract with CGI is to be extended until 2029 (running from 2023).

Providing stability for the Council’s ICT services, the extension will save a further £12m and help the Council look further ahead to the future. It will see CGI working with the Council on further digital transformation of services and continuing to be the Council’s primary ICT provider for the next nine years.

It also comes as Edinburgh is listed as Smart City of Year in the Digital 100 shortlist following recent work by the Council, CGI and other providers to enhance connectivity and embrace new technologies. 

Depute Council Leader Cammy Day is the City of Edinburgh Council’s Smart Cities lead. He said: “Becoming a smart city will make Edinburgh a more sustainable and fair city so I’m pleased we’ve secured CGI’s long-term support to help us with our vision.

“We’re already well on our way to transforming the way we deliver many Council services, making them much more efficient and easy to use for residents. We want to develop this further and under the contract we’re looking at making digital learning services a lot more accessible and inclusive for all our pupils and residents.

“The work we’ll do with CGI will also support our plans for lowering carbon emissions and lowering costs by using smart technology.  We realised savings of £45m when our partnership began in 2015, with an additional £11m in 2018 and this extension will save the Council a further £12m at a time when our finances are under pressure.”

Adam McVey, Council Leader, added: “Thanks to the work we’ve already achieved with CGI to use technology in much smarter ways, we’ve been able to respond quickly to the challenges of the pandemic and remote working, making sure our services can still be accessed by residents.

“Building on this will be crucial as we adapt to life beyond Covid and we want to create the most connected, efficient and sustainable Capital we can. The contract extension will allow us to make substantial savings without compromising on our ambitious goals for the City or on the progress we’re making improving core and lifeline services for our residents. I’m looking forward to seeing Edinburgh evolve into a genuinely Smart City and our partnership with CGI will sit at the heart of that work.”

The ambitious plans which the contract extension will help push forward will include:

  • Responding to the needs of a post-Covid Capital city by driving forward digital transformation
  • Bridging the digital divide between Edinburgh’s most and least affluent areas, providing schools with the most advanced networks and kit
  • A smart city operations centre to deliver transformative digital services using the likes of AI, the ‘Internet of Things’ and Advanced Analytics
  • ‘Smart city’ systems such as intelligent traffic signals, smart streetlights that can control their own luminosity, street bins that can signal when they’re full and smart sensors in Council homes to predict, manage and prevent damage to properties such as damp
  • Increasing digital security to protect the Council’s network and data
  • Reducing the Council’s carbon footprint by reducing paper and print, reducing waste, and reusing or recycling equipment
  • Enhancing options for remote working for Council employees
  • Taking advantage of global trends such as moving to cloud-based services to reduce costs.

Tara McGeehan, CGI President for the UK and Australia, said: “This extension of our strategic partnership is excellent news. Edinburgh is a vibrant and diverse Capital city that is home to more than 518,000 citizens and is growing at twice the national Scottish average.

“This volume of people brings huge challenges, but also huge opportunities – especially when it comes to developing a modern, digital infrastructure that meets the demands of 21st century living.

“CGI, as the primary provider of transformational ICT services to the City of Edinburgh Council, has already helped modernise end-to-end digital services for both citizens and Council employees. Our hard work together has helped make the process of living and working in Edinburgh more transparent, more collaborative and more dynamic, delivering significant benefits to the city.

“This contract extension will now help us work with the Council so it can become one of the world’s ‘smartest’ capital cities. By using the latest digital technology, we aim to grow our relationship with the Council, and in turn help the Council grow its relationship with its citizens so they live and work in a dynamic, digitally-advanced Smart City.”

New Smart City pilot for Edinburgh schools

School pupils across Edinburgh will be challenged to come up with creative  ways of using new technologies to tackle local issues and help transform their hometown into a Smart City as part of a unique partnership with local businesses and organisations.  

CityFibre, the City of Edinburgh Council, and the University of Edinburgh’s Data Education in Schools programme – part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal – will deliver the Smart City-focused Internet of Things (IoT) pilot to primary and secondary school year groups across Edinburgh.   

Aiming to enhance the number of children using data science education in schools, pupils will develop their understanding of data-driven solutions for a range of issues both inside and outside of the school environment.  

This could see pupils develop ways of monitoring air-quality in playgrounds, improve the use of digital technology in classrooms or examine digital methods for managing traffic flow across the city.  

The project will kick off in schools in spring and a number of pupils will be invited to attend a Smart Cities event in Edinburgh in May to showcase their solutions. 

As part of the initiative, CityFibre will also provide schools in Edinburgh with IoT technology kits over the next 12 months. This will enable pupils to practice solving challenges using sensors and data analysis, with some of the data they’ll be collecting travelling over the CityFibre network.   

The announcement was made at an event in Edinburgh’s Royal Scots Club which brought civic and business communities together to discuss how improved digital connectivity will soon transform everyday life for people across the city.  

Work is currently underway on a city-wide full fibre network which will deliver significant benefits to communities across Edinburgh. CityFibre is investing more than £100m to deliver the project, which will give almost every home and business access to next-generation full fibre connectivity.  

Elaine Doherty, CityFibre’s City Manager for Edinburgh, said: “We can’t wait to hear about the creative ideas school pupils have to use IoT technology and make the most of Edinburgh’s new full fibre infrastructure.   

“While most schools and City of Edinburgh Council buildings have been connected to full fibre, construction is well underway to extend the benefits of a full fibre network to almost every home and business across the city with the first homes to be connected next month.” 

 Professor Judy Robertson, Chair in Digital Learning, at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Education, Community and Society, said: “We are delighted to be working with CityFibre to deliver this exciting IoT project to schools across the region.    

“The project will encourage young people to think about how they can use sensors and data to understand their environment and to develop tools that can improve their local communities, learning how data can be used for good. The project is a fantastic addition to our Data Education for Schools project.   

“By bringing business, schools and the university together we can ensure that we are providing young people with skills and confidence to take full advantage of the opportunities provided within our data driven society.”  

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for young people across Edinburgh to explore how digital technology can change the way we live our lives – and to help us come up with data-driven solutions for some of the challenges facing the Capital.  

“Thanks to this partnership with CityFibre and the University of Edinburgh, the next generation of problem-solvers will gain the skills needed to deliver a truly smart city for the future.”  

To find out more about CityFibre’s Gigabit City vision for Edinburgh, visit: https://www.cityfibre.com/gigabit-cities/   

Pictured: L – R Phil Cragg, Deloitte Smart City Specialist; Andy Starnes, Head of City Development at CityFibre; Frank Airth, City Manager at Vodafone; Elaine Doherty, CityFibre’s City Manager for Edinburgh; Jenni Doonan, Business Developer at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Education, Community and Society; Liz McAreavey, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce; Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive, The City of Edinburgh Council