Mark Casci: Our legacy of innovation seems to show no signs of slowng

This is the region that gave the world its first football club (Sheffield FC), its first lighthouse (Flamborough Head), the first steam locomotive (built by Matthew Murray in Holbeck, Leeds) and the first motion picture (Louis Le Prince).

Today is no different.

We live in an age in which massive technological advancements are so commonplace that we almost take them for granted.

Even five years ago the idea of artificial intelligence performing the work of a paralegal at a top law firm, driverless cars rolling down the streets and chatbots dealing with customer inquiries would have been seen as remote possibilities, the like of which one would expect to see on BBC TV’s Tomorrow’s World.

And, as The Yorkshire Post’s business editor, it heartens me to see so much cutting-edge digital and technological work taking place right here in Yorkshire.

It is no secret that the high-value firms and most significant job creators in our region are increasingly tending to be tech firms. And, as this latest edition of Yorkshire Vision will show, our proud legacy of innovation seems to be showing no signs of slowing down.

In this most recent edition we will run through the pioneering supercar work being done in South Yorkshire’s Advanced Manufacturing and Research Centre, home to the likes of McLaren.

We look at how TPP is shaking up the healthcare industry by producing advanced software that significantly speeds up the processing of patient data. We will look at the work being done by water innovation firms like Encore and Xeros. And we will look at how virtual and augmented reality can play a leading role in serious business, as well as allowing for lucrative leisure options as well.

And we also get to hear from Dr Adam Beaumont of aql, a man I like to refer to as the Elon Musk of Yorkshire, who lays out an incredibly convincing and fact-based argument as to how the city of Leeds in particular could be at the absolute centre of some of most exciting technological advancements in the world.

However, with all of the innovation it is perhaps more important than ever that we make sure that everyone is brought along for the ride. The British Chamber of Commerce recently published research showing three in four UK businesses reporting a digital skills shortage among their employees.

That is why it is so heartening to see what Google is doing in Sheffield with its Digital Garage initiative to coach people and businesses on their digital skills.

In an exclusive interview with Yorkshire Vision, Google’s managing director for the UK, Ronan Harris, takes us through why his company is so keen to upskill individuals, free of charge, so that nobody misses out on the opportunity to learn new skills.

As ever, I would like to thank our contributors and sponsors for supporting this latest edition of Yorkshire Vision, and of course to all of you for reading.