The smart city event Nordic Edge Expo in Stavanger, Norway, keeps growing from the successful start last year. Microsoft Europe joins forces to make the Nordic Edge Expo the meeting place for everyone involved in smart cities and smart technology.
Microsoft Europe aims to bring more than 20 partners to their CityNext exhibition at the Nordic Edge Expo in October, together with a world-class keynote speaker to the conference.
– Microsoft will help develop Nordic Edge Expo as the main smart city event in the Nordics.
The Nordic countries are very attractive from a smart cities point of view given their economical wealth, strong public sector, push for green technologies and smart city solutions, says Jose Antonio Ondiviela Garcia, Smart City Lead in Microsoft Europe.
Nordic Edge Expo aims to be one of Europe’s most important meeting places for everyone engaged in new technological solutions that make cities, businesses, organisations and homes smarter. These solutions are an important part of the answer to challenges facing the world, especially when it comes to the environment and increasing urbanization.
– Microsoft is one of the key players in the smart cities category. We are delighted to have their strong presence. By cooperating with Microsoft and several other partners we will make sure that Nordic Edge Expo is the place to learn more about innovative solutions that make cities and communities smarter, says Herbjørn Tjeltveit, CEO of the Nordic Edge Expo.
The expo´s main features are an international conference and a exhibition of smart technology. The event brings together politicians, technologist, entrepreneurs, capitalists, journalist, professors and students, or anyone interested in making better solutions for the future.
– Meeting people face-to-face to share knowledge is just as important and inspiring in a digital world. The Nordic Edge Expo is a place for a variety of people to meet. We strongly believe that this mixture spurs more ideas and more innovation, and this was one of the key take-aways from the almost electric event we had last year, says Tjeltveit.
Stavanger has it´s own edge on smart cities. The Stavanger-region is the epicentre of the oil and gas related technology cluster that has given Norway the opportunity to build up the Government Pension Fund while according to the UN being the world’s best country to live in. Technology and knowledge developed in the oil cluster can be used in many other areas, where smart technology and cities is one kind of market. Advances have already been made. Stavanger is one of three lighthouse cities in the EU´s Horizon2020 project Triangulum, the region is home to the Norwegian Smart Care Cluster (NSCC) and has a growing number of established companies and start-ups that work with smart city technology. The whole region is also run on one of the world best fiber optic networks, making it an ideal area for digital solutions.
– There is an opportunity-led attitude of cooperation backed by a strong political ambition in the Stavanger-region that we really appreciate. We are excited to work in close partnership with Nordic Edge Expo to develop a world class smart city event in Stavanger, says Ondiviela.
Nordic Edge Expo 2016 will take place on the 6th and 7th of October 2016 in Stavanger Forum. The Nordic Edge Expo is a Non-Profit organization aiming to promote smart technology and is founded by a cooperation of organizations, municipalities and companies seeking to develop the smart city opportunity.
– We are excited about our partnership with Nordic Edge Expo and our joint ambition to help foster innovation and industry around Smart City technologies. The theme of the conference aligns perfectly with our focus areas in Norway, including transportation, energy, welfare technology and smart homes. We look forward to contributing to the success of the conference together with our partner ecosystem, says Øystein Sulutvedt, head of the Smart City department in Microsoft Norway.
For more information, please contact:
Herbjørn Tjeltveit
CEO, Nordic Edge Expo
+ 47 475 09 105 / [email protected]
Øystein Sulutvedt
Head of Smart City Departement, Microsoft Norway
+47 934 94 794 / [email protected]
Vibeke Hansen
Head of Communications, Microsoft Norway
+47 990 13 349 / [email protected]
