 John Jung is looking for the "wow" factor on his visit |
The man who will help decide if Dundee should be named the world's smartest place is paying the city a visit. Dundee has been nominated as one of the top seven in the Intelligent Community of the Year awards alongside areas of the US, Canada and South Korea. It was shortlisted for the way it has transformed itself into a centre for life sciences and digital media. The chairman of the New York-based group behind the award, John Jung, will be in the city until Sunday. Mr Jung, from the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), said he was looking for an area with the "wow" factor. "You've transformed yourself from a period of crisis to one that is an excellent model for others to look at," he said. "The other wow factor in this town is how you guys went from ship building, jute and jam to computer games - what a phenomenal change." He added that he would be studying the infrastructure, the commitment of the community and how innovation has been used to transform Dundee. Dundee also made the top seven last year but was beaten by Waterloo in Canada, where the Blackberry wireless e-mail device was created. Mr Jung told the BBC Scotland news website that Dundee - known as the City of Discovery - should not be disappointed if it does not clinch the number one spot this time around. He said: "You're already a winner. You're the best in your market place. "All the things that you want to be doing - attracting investment, raising public profile, getting your citizens to embrace technology - you've already done that. "So what you're doing at this stage, it's more the beauty contest side." The winning city will be chosen on 16 May.
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You're already a winner. You're the best in your market place
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