Road to Silicon Valley (North)

Feb 19 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A SCHEME which aims to turn Sunderland into the North East’s own Silicon Valley has been boosted by the appointment of three new people at a regional organisation.

The North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) has taken on three key members of staff who will be active in delivering the Sunderland Software City enterprise strand contract for the organisation.

Paul Robinson, 40, of Seaburn, Sunderland, has been appointed as marketing officer, Mark Taylor, 49, of South Shields, joins as software specialist, and Angela Haworth, 22, from central Newcastle, makes up the trio as training and contracts co-ordinator.

Sunderland Software City is a major regional project to create a sustainable and globally competitive software industry in the North East of England.

The initiative aims to bring 150 fledgling and non-North Eastern business to the region’s marketplace and there are also plans to build a software village in or around Sunderland.

It is headed up by Paul Callaghan, chairman of Sunderland-based technology company Leighton Group.