What Dundee Has Achieved Since Being Named ‘City Of The Future’ By Cognizant
Dundee was named as one of the 21 Places of the Future by Cognizant in March 2021; what has the city achieved since gaining this accolade? Let’s find out!
Last year, Dundee was named by Cognizant as one of the 21 Places of the Future. This came as a huge accolade due to the fact we were the only city in the UK to be featured. So since being featured, what has the city done since then to build upon being named as one? Well let’s take a look!
Leading the fight against climate change
Since being featured, the Orbital O2 was completed in Dundee and set sail for Orkney from the banks of the River Tay. This Dundee-built tidal turbine is the most powerful of it’s kind and it has helped power thousands of homes across Scotland.
Watching the Orbital O2 be showcased as a leader in innovation across the world shows that this is something Dundee can achieve. Launching the tidal turbine from the Tay, leaving Dundee for Orkney and being critically acclaimed for it’s impact against climate change, shows that Dundee is leading the way in the battle against climate change and the journey to net zero.
That’s not the only thing however, what backs this up is when the University of Dundee was named as one of the top five universities in the world effectively combating climate change which was fantastic!
Building the blocks to our next big industry
Cognizant cited the ever growing games industry that we have here in Dundee as a main factor due to why we are a city of the future. Esports was an extension to that and the industry
Since being featured by Cognizant, Dundee played host to the Scottish Esports League series 4 (SEL4), four days of exciting competition which brought together passionate gamers from across the country.
SEL4 opted for Dundee to host this event due to the games industry we had and also due to one exciting thing that is planned to come to the city very soon because Dundee will soon be home to a 4,000 capacity Esports arena — this will be the first of it’s kind in the UK and it is expected to open by 2025 at the latest.
The Esports arena will be fantastic for the local and national economy and it brings many benefits to Dundee and the people who live here. Abertay University and Dundee and Angus College will have their own educational facilities in the arena and it will hopefully appeal for more people from across the world to study gaming in Dundee.
In the garden of Eden
More details surrounding Eden Project were revealed after Dundee was featured. In December, it was revealed that meadows would be planted across the city in anticipation of Eden Project’s arrival in 2025 at the latest.
The Eden Project has brought excitement and it brings the prospect of more attention towards Dundee which is fantastic.
A new innovation park changing Dundee
The Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc has been a new addition to Dundee, replacing the former Michelin tire factory which closed abruptly a few years back.
But the city has fought back and it has managed to replace the tire factory with something amazing. The innovation park is something which continues to help Dundee’s fight against climate change.
Dundee’s EV revolution
In 2018, Dundee was named as Europe’s electric vehicle capital and that was as of a result of Dundee’s ever growing electric vehicle impact. In 2021, during a time when the world’s eyes were on COP26 in Glasgow, CBC News in Canada focused on Dundee and it’s electric vehicle revolution.
They claimed that people should look to Dundee for an example of a city looking towards the future with electric vehicles. Dundee is continuing to lead the way in Scotland’s journey towards net zero and electric vehicles play a huge and significant role in that journey.
The city also opened up a new cycle hub which has helped boost the use of cycling in Dundee and the surrounding area.
Changing for the future
Dundee is a city changing for the future and it has been for a long time. It is fantastic that this has been done in such a short period of time. Even looking back ten years ago in 2012, Dundee’s waterfront was just a building site but now it has turned into a central hub which showcases the best of what Dundee has to and will offer.
