IOTICS ecosystem: Arup

“Humanitarianism implies a social conscience, a wish to do socially useful work, and to join hands with others fighting for the same values.” – Sir Ove Arup

Companies like Arup and IOTICS challenge what it means to be a commercial organisation. Both have taken on the role of being game changers, pushing forward into a paradigm of cooperation between enterprises and creating tools that enable communities to improve the lives of people and protect the planet. 

Partner organisation Arup recently celebrated their 75th birthday. During those 75 years they’ve been asking themselves one simple question, ‘How do we shape a better world?’. They’ve shaped some of the most ambitious projects in the world including smart cities and cultural landmarks. They were even approached by the Sagrada Familia Foundation in 2014 to help with the remaining structural design of the six towers. 

For Arup, however, the milestone is about looking towards the future. Derived from Sir Arup’s philosophical principles, the company works towards a sustainable built environment and engaging with communities on humanitarian work. 

They’ve worked on several projects to help improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people around the world, including energy conversion of refugee houses in Spain. Global Community Engagement Leader, Irene Gleeson emphasised the importance of listening to communities and working with them to deliver solutions,

“We annually deliver over 160 projects across more than 40 countries, bringing together our technical and strategic capabilities to deliver meaningful projects for underserved communities,” she said. “Ensuring marginalised communities are heard and encouraged to have an active role in the design and implementation of projects is extremely important to me.”

As a global leader Arup has been one of the spearheads for change. They are no longer  alone in recognising the importance of playing a part in meaningful projects. This year, IOTICS launched our data for good programme where we sponsor enterprises to create cooperative data ecosystems for the public good. The programme is part of IOTICS’ vision to build data ecosystems that empower society. Gemma Beard, partner account manager for IOTICS said,“We’ve been delighted with the success of the data for good sponsorship programme so far,” she said. “We strongly believe in cooperating with our partners and enterprises on projects which address important issues such as climate breakdown.”

The key to a successful future is by working cooperatively with partners. Arup and IOTICS are already utilising their technology to transform the UK water industry. Arup have created digital twins using IOTICS’ tools to provide insights and enable preemptive management of flood risks. This revamp in infrastructure is crucial if we, as a society, want to be ready for the challenges the future holds.  Arup’s Vikki Williams says: “All over the world regulators are raising standards for the built environment. So a major part of our work is developing digital twins for existing buildings and assets, retroactively bringing them into the data-intelligence era.”

The humanitarian and data for good work that IOTICS and Arup achieve together can shape the future of the planet and society. Arup have been turning philosophical principles into reality through the power of engineering for 75 years and IOTICS are delighted to play a part enabling the next chapter. 

Would you like to become a IOTICS partner? To find out more contact gemma.beard@iotics.com