Matrix

SBRI Public Sector Awareness Webinar
2022-02-10 12:00 - 13:00 (Europe/London)
The Small Business Research Initiative provides the public sector with innovative solutions to problems that will drive improvement, and allows suppliers to develop products and services working collaboratively with the public-sector, enabling them to develop new skills, expertise and markets.
Any public sector organisation may apply for SBRI funding. Projects will only be funded where there is a demonstrable need for an innovative solution or product, and where there is no suitable product or solution already available on the market.
In this information session, experts from the Department for the Economy will explain the process of developing an SBRI challenge and they types of issues that have been overcome in the past using the initiative, such as recent projects that have developed optimised the treatment of water and waste water, provided assistance with post stroke rehabilitation, improved the monitoring of road condition, and allowed for the detection of cattle and sheep remotely.
This event is open to all public sector bodies in Northern Ireland, including NICS Departments, Arm’s Length Bodies and Local Authorities and will be of particular interest to procurement professionals.
To register for the event please contact info@matrix-ni.org.

Innovative Digital Technologies in Supply Chain
2022-02-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
This event looks at how manufacturers can gather, process and present data from the factory in sufficient detail to give customers visibility of their orders. Of course, this level of granularity is also extremely helpful to the factory management team, to fully understand work in progress and allow management time to be spent proactively maximising customer experience, rather than spend time on reactive expediting and fire fighting after problems comes to light.

The Future of the European Hydrogen Economy
2022-02-17 13:00 - 14:15 | Online
This seminar will explore the potential of the European hydrogen economy. Hydrogen is expected to play an important role in achieving a carbon-neutral economy in Europe by 2050. Green hydrogen also has many possible applications in the Irish context, and while currently representing a modest fraction of the global energy mix, projections indicate that clean hydrogen could meet approximately 25% of the world’s energy demand by mid-century.
In recent years, several European countries, including Portugal and Germany, have issued comprehensive national hydrogen strategies. These frameworks provide critical insights for Ireland as policymakers consider the role for green hydrogen in meeting the state’s climate and energy targets. In this session, three international experts will explore the potential role of green hydrogen as the EU transitions to a carbon-neutral future.
About the Speakers:
Dr Isabel Cabrita is Professor of Energy Solutions at the Institute of Education and Sciences, Lisbon. She also serves as a Researcher at CERENA, a Portuguese research and technological development institute which specialises in innovative and sustainable energy solutions. From 2015-2021, she was Head of Research Directorate-General of Energy and Geology, Portugal. In this role, Dr Cabrita oversaw the implementation of the Portuguese Energy and Climate Plan, and Portugal’s National Hydrogen Strategy. Dr Cabrita has produced more than 300 publications and served as guest editor of an edition of Energies in 2021.
Franz Lehner is Head of International Cooperation at NOW GmbH, the German Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology. NOW GmbH is responsible for the coordination and management of the German Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology and the Electromobility Model Regions programme of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure of Germany. An engineer by training, Mr Lehner has more than 10 years of professional experience focusing on hydrogen, fuel cells, renewable fuels and electric mobility. Before joining NOW in early 2021, Mr Lehner was Managing Consultant at the international energy transition consulting firm E4tech in Lausanne, Switzerland. From 2014-2019, he co-authored the annual Fuel Cell Industry Review published by E4Tech, the global benchmark report in this sector.
Shiva Dustdar is Head of Innovation Finance Advisory at the European Investment Bank. A leading innovation finance expert with over 25 years of experience at J.P. Morgan, Fitch Ratings and now at EIB, she specialises in identifying future investment opportunities and developing new business and market opportunities to finance the transition to a green and digital economy. Ms Dustdar co-founded the European High Yield Association (EHYA), which is now part of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). In 2006, she was listed in the ‘Top 50 Women in Credit’ by Credit Magazine. Ms Dustdar Shiva holds a BA in Economics from Columbia University and an Executive MBA from London Business School.

RAEng Engineering ethics report launch
2022-02-21 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
Join RAEng to launch the report, “Engineering Ethics: Maintaining society’s trust in the Engineering Profession”.
To mark the publication of this important work from the Engineering Ethics Reference Group (a joint committee of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Engineering Council), we are hosting a webinar to hear from the Chair of the group, Professor David Bogle FREng. This will be followed by a panel discussion with Chi Onwurah MP, Professor Chris Atkin FREng, Chair of the Engineering Council, Dr Ollie Folayan, Chair of AFBE-UK Scotland and Maitheya Riva, early career engineer representative, IOM3.
Ethical practice has long been part of the behaviours (together with sustainability and inclusion) which make a profession aspirational and trust-worthy. Engineering has been working for many years on embedding ethical engineering in professional practice. This report is next step in this work, drawing in progress so far and launching a new vision. It also includes actions to support that vision, and embed it in the culture of professional engineering.
Programme

5.50pm
Zoom webinar opens

6.00pm
Welcome

6.05pm
Panel discussion

6.40pm
Q&A session

6.55pm
Closing remarks

7.00pm
Close

Innovative Digital Technologies in Continuous Improvement
2022-02-22 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Capturing data to support decision making is crucial to modern continuous improvement programmes, but as the volume of data grows exponentially, powerful analytical and visualisation techniques are needed to bring the data to life. This area of innovation is progressing at a fast pace, and we will highlight the significant benefits of dedicated solutions in this technology area. The benefits of incremental gains compound over time, so the sooner you start the greater the performance gains over slower rivals.

NI Science Festival - Turing Talk 2022: A Day in the Life of a Smart City with Prof Julie A. McCann
2022-02-23 17:30 - 20:00 | Assembly Buildings Conference Centre, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, Ulster, BT1 6DW, United Kingdom
Part of the IET EngTalk and BCS Lecture Series
With the recent COP26 held in Glasgow, sustainability and climate adaption is on everyone’s minds. The main outcome of this has been an agreement to strengthen 2030 targets by the end of 2022. This talk will discuss the role of the Internet of Things, specifically sensor-based technologies, in both providing data to better understand resource usage for optimization and reduction, as well as providing ground truths to track those targets are being met. To do this this technology needs to be embedded in our transport, our factories, our homes even, and with this brings a new set of challenges around privacy and security. Indeed, such systems are core to building the Digital Twins that drive decision making, but what happens when such systems go wrong? Prof Julie A. McCann will explore this and potential solutions to such scenarios and will illustrate where the technologies are heading with a future look.
About
Professor Julie A McCann heads up Adaptive Emergent Systems Engineering (AESE) in the Dept of Computing where she works with a highly multi-disciplinary group of Post Docs and PhD students from a broad spectra of backgrounds. She leads the Resilient and Robust Infrastructure challenge part of the Data Centric Engineering theme in the Alan Turing Institute, she is PI for the NRF funded Singapore Eco Cities initiative, and is Deputy Director of PeTraS and therein leads the Logistics 4.0 project with the Tate Modern, ARM and Ordinance Survey. She is Imperial PI for the EPSRC Science of Sensing Systems Software (S4) programme grant. Until recently she was the Co-director of the Intel Collaborative Research Institute on Sustainable Connected Cities, the Co-PI of the NEC Smart Water Lab, and Director of the cross-Imperial Smart Connected Futures Network.
She has chaired and remains actively involved with the field’s top conferences (including Infocom, Sensys, IPSN, and EWSN) and is an Associated Editor for IoT-J. She currently delivers the Pervasive Computing teaching module and in the past she lectured Operating Systems courses. She was chair of the Department of Computing Equality and Diversity committee (2018-2021), is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Chartered Engineer and consults on computer-based futures for TV and Film .

Critical conversations: What works in diversity and inclusion?
2022-02-23 18:00 - 19:00 | Online
In the first of this year’s Critical conversations series of online events from the Royal Academy for Engineering, Academy CEO, Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, will be joined by:

Anne-Marie Neatham, Partnership Director at Ocado Group and COO, Kindred
Dr Karen Salt, Deputy Director for Research, Culture and Environment at UKRI

Drawing on their experience of evidence-based leadership, they will explore how to create disruptors in the engineering community with new and innovative ideas to achieve our diversity and inclusion ambitions. The conversation will also look at ways to measure diversity and inclusion that can make a real impact, and discuss the benefits of measurement to ensure greater belonging and meaningful commitments.
This event will set the scene for the Academy’s forthcoming activities to support diversity and inclusion in engineering, including the annual Diversity and Inclusion conference on 15 March 2022.

Innovative Digital Technologies in New Product Development
2022-03-01 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Product development might be driven by changing customer demands or may be unlocked by new production capability to satisfy existing customer demand. This event will explore the digital technologies and associated Systems across supply chains. Specifically, technologies that can drive and enable opportunities for new products or variants.

Northern Ireland Showcase
2022-03-03 10:00 - 15:00 | Online
The world is changing, but Northern Ireland is still a great business location.
Our economic vision – the 10X Economy – sets out a bold plan to position Northern Ireland among the top small, advanced economies in the world.
Our intent is to build a strong, competitive economy that helps Northern Ireland compete on the global stage, attract investment and stimulate innovation and creativity.
Join the Northern Ireland Showcase, being broadcast live from the ICC Belfast on 3rd March 2022 to learn more about our ambition to take Northern Ireland to the next level.
What can you expect from the Northern Ireland Showcase?

Minister for the Economy’s welcome and address
Panel sessions featuring:

Leading international businesses thriving in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland companies exporting across the world
Northern Irish diaspora and the power of our connections

If you have any difficulty registering online, please contact the events team by emailing investni@event-ful.co.uk

Next steps for the Research and Innovation Strategy in Ireland
2022-03-08 09:00 - 13:00 | Online
The agenda of this event focuses specifically on issues in Ireland and will assess priorities for R&I, including measures outlined in the consultation on a National Research and Innovation Strategy.
It comes as the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science continues to develop the new strategy, which will run to 2027.
Policy Forum for Ireland are pleased to be able to include a keynote contribution from Peter Clifford, Head of Strategy, Science Foundation Ireland.
Delegates will discuss the development of the final strategy, priorities for its implementation, implications for policy and stakeholders, and what will be needed to achieve its key aims, which include:

using research and innovation to tackle societal and economic challenges in the context of COVID-19
developing the research system and base, growing capacity and capability, and supporting the workforce
increasing public engagement
driving all-island collaboration, as well as collaboration with the EU and more widely, and growing Ireland’s global presence in R&I

Innovative Digital Technologies in Quality Management
2022-03-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Ensuring your finished product meets the requirements of your customers is the difference between selling your product (and not). This event will explore how the application of digital technology may improve production quality directly or reduce the time involved in ensuring quality through management and data sharing activity.

What works in diversity and inclusion?
2022-03-15 10:30 - 15:15 | Online
This years Royal Academy of Engineering’s annual diversity and inclusion conference will convene the engineering community to accelerate understanding and adoption of what works in diversity and inclusion (D&I).
The online conference will bring together engineering and D&I professionals to collaborate and develop successful solutions to make sustained progress on diversity and inclusion. RAEng address important sub-themes during the day, including how to measure D&I success; what works when creating and maintaining inclusive cultures; and the successes and pitfalls when building inclusive systems, services and products.
Join RAEng to hear from leading engineering companies and discuss how we can achieve our diversity and inclusion ambitions, utilise employee perspectives to identify and develop more impactful measures, and create inclusive systems and products where inherent bias is eliminated.

10.30am
Welcome
Professor Sarah Hainsworth OBE FREng – Chair, Royal Academy of Engineering Diversity and Inclusion Committee

10.40am
Keynote address

11.00am
Opening panel: How to measure diversity and inclusion success

11.30am
BREAK

11.45am
Panel discussion: What helps to make an inclusive culture?

1.00pm
LUNCH

2.00pm
Panel discussion: Developing Inclusive systems and products: Success and pitfalls

3.00pm
An evidence-based future for D&I
Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Academy of Engineering

3.10pm
Feedback & next steps

3.15pm
CLOSE

Innovative Digital Technologies in Flexible Manufacturing
2022-03-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Production efficiency often centres around a consistent product and process, optimised to run with minimal downtime. But what happens when customers demand more product variation, where you need to switch a process from one product to another, or where batch sizes are small? This event will explore how digital technology can help manufacturers maintain efficiency and asset utilisation whilst offering the customer what they want.

Channelling the Power and Potential of Space Data II
2022-03-21 11:00 - 12:30 | Online
Join Digital Catapult Northern Ireland, NI Space Office and Blue Inspiration to hear about a series of sector led challenges where the use of space data and application of advanced digital technologies may provide innovative solutions.
Key stakeholders across public bodies have identified potential use cases where space data can be used and innovation can be applied to address challenge areas. The purpose is to present opportunities for SME’s to work alongside government and arm’s length bodies in helping realise the benefits of accessing and utilising space data and innovation from analytics and technologies like AI/ML.
In this information session Digital Catapult will present current challenges from across government where access to space data, data analytics and the application of AI/ML can provide innovative solutions. These challenges will include ways to streamline resource intensive tasks, efficiencies and cost savings, contribute to carbon net zero targets, and use data analytics and AI/ML to innovate on current practice.
Attendees will have:

The opportunity to connect with public sector challenge owners
Opportunity to identify ways in which your organisation may be able to offer expertise and solutions
To hear ways in which opportunities may be supported through access to R&D funds and other opportunities

Who should attend:

Enterprises who have experience of using Space and Satellite data in developing solutions
Enterprises interested in or currently working in analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, drone technology etc
Enterprises with experience in computer vision problems, analysing optical (visible spectrum) pictures, Infra-Red, LIDAR or RADAR
Enterprises with experience of applying innovation and technology to solve civil and public challenges

Featuring challenges that include:

Mapping urban risk areas e.g. underground mine shafts
Mapping coastal areas to identify seaweed for aquaculture
Grassland/Silage yield and quality mapping
Satellite Data for land use: agriculture, habitat mapping, planning etc.

Innovative Digital Technologies in Production Systems
2022-03-22 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Integrated digital production management systems within a business can deliver control and optimisation of manufacturing, product lifecycle and resource management processes. The main systems are SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), which controls the machines and equipment and MES (Manufacturing Execution System) which controls the activities on the factory floor both within and between each operation.

BelTech 2022
2022-04-07 09:00 - 18:00 | Titanic Belfast, 1 Olympic Way, Queen's Road, Belfast, Belfast, BT3 9EP, United Kingdom
BelTech 2022 will take place on April 7th in Titanic Belfast and will continue to lead the way in gathering, informing and inspiring Northern Ireland’s technology practitioners of today and of the future.
A vibrant, timely and vital hybrid tech conference for practitioners which will reboot the business tech sector, showcase NI tech business resilience to domestic and global audience and lead on the development of a new Cloud Native economy.
BelTech will bring together local software practitioners and entrepreneurs online to learn about and discuss the latest advances
in Software Engineering. Giving technology and business leaders a forum to connect and exchange views with peers locally and globally, BelTech also celebrates achievement in NI tech, whilst engaging and inspiring the next generation of professionals.
This year’s event focuses on Software Delivery – the process of delivering technology to market and the tracks and themes are:

Going Live With Technology: These sessions will discuss the challenges of making it to market, what it means to be production ready, the importance of multi-disciplinary teams, Evolutionary Architecture and LiveOps.
What’s Next, New and Changing the Industry: These sessions will discuss emerging technology markets that present new tools. opportunities and improvements for business. Blockchain, Web3, AI, and Cyber Security. The maturity of offerings and potential for growth in these markets.

The European Green Deal and the UK
2022-04-25 08:00 - 12:00 | Online
The European Green Deal and the UK – impact, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration on policy, research, trade, sector decarbonisation, and international development
This conference will examine the European Green Deal and the key priorities for achieving the aim for Europe to be the first climate-neutral continent.
A key focus will be the opportunities and implications for stakeholders in the UK and internationally, including in the areas of business and research collaboration, trade and policy coordination, as well as possible challenges that lie ahead.
Included are keynote sessions with João Vale de Almeida, Ambassador of the European Union to the United Kingdom; Jytte Guteland MEP, Lead Climate Negotiator, European Parliament and Jacquelyn MacLennan, Partner, White & Case – as well as contributions from AECOM; Aldersgate Group; the Connected Places Catapult; the European Space Agency; Melius Homes; National Grid; NFU Scotland; University of York; and Visa Europe.
The conference will be an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who are due to attend from BEIS; the CCC; DIT; the FCDO; Defra; Department for the Economy, NI; DfT; DAERA, NI; the Environment Agency, NI; the DWI; NAO; The Scottish Government; and the Welsh Government – as well as parliamentary pass-holders from both Houses of Parliament.

UK-China Research Collaboration
2022-04-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
How can, and how should, the UK collaborate with China on R&D? Can research collaboration contribute to wider diplomacy between the two countries, or to tackling global issues such as climate change? When might we not want to collaborate with China on R&D, and how do we make those decisions? At this Foundation for Science and Technology event,these issues will be discussed as explore UK-China R&D collaboration is explored.

Increasing Interdisciplinarity in UK R&D (online)
2022-05-18 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
A discussion event on interdisciplinarity in UK R&D

There has been an increasing focus on interdisciplinary research in recent years, and many current key policy challenges (including climate change, post-covid recovery, economic security, migration, and healthcare) need evidence from interdisciplinary research. As the science budget increases over the coming years, and UKRI announce their allocations, what do we need to do to increase interdisciplinary research in the UK?
Speakers:

Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser DBE FRS, Chief Executive, UKRI
Professor Rachel Gooberman-Hill, Institute Director, Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, University of Bristol
Professor David Soskice FBA, Professor of Political Science and Economics, London School of Economics

Chaired by Rt Hon Lord Willetts FRS

Adopting AI in Manufacturing: How to Access KTP Funding to Close Your Knowledge Gap
2022-05-19 10:00 - 16:00 | Online
Manufacturing businesses are invited to join these interactive roundtables to explore the uses of AI within their operations, and learn how to access KTP funding to address their challenges.
Despite the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit, the UK manufacturing sector showed strong growth in 2021; however, in the light of the current geopolitical situation, supply chains have been further disrupted triggering input-cost inflation. Furthermore, maintaining a skilled workforce still represents a challenge.
Continued growth and productivity can be enabled – in part – by focusing on technology adoption and automation, which in turn will drive the required upskilling and workforce productivity the sector needs, while cutting costs. In order to achieve this, InnovateUK KTN are keen to support strategic initiatives around the adoption of AI, especially for SMEs and businesses that have been affected by the current global challenges.
The AI team at Innovate UK KTN, in collaboration with the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme and the Manufacturing Made Smarter Innovation Network will deliver two virtual interactive sessions where manufacturing businesses from all sectors will have the opportunity to explore the uses of Artificial Intelligence within their operations.
During these sessions, we will also help identify projects that can be funded through the KTP programme – an open competition which offers support rates between 50-75% of the eligible project costs, that links forward thinking businesses with the UK’s world class knowledge bases to deliver innovation projects. During the webinars, attendees will get the chance to learn further details about the programme, with dedicated KTP Advisers available to facilitate the discussions and help shape potential projects and consortiums.

The Future of Work Event
2022-05-25 09:00 - 2022-05-26 16:00 | RDS Simmonscourt, Simmonscourt Road, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland
The Future of Work Event

Technology is revolutionising the workplace with trends such as AI, robotics, automation, gig economy, remote working etc transforming the jobs we do and how we interact with our workplace.
The workplace has been transformed in recent years and more rapid change is on the way as the tech revolution continues to determine the way we communicate and collaborate. Furthermore, flexible workplace design will play an increasing role in the ability of businesses to attract new recruits, retain talent and impress potential and existing clients.
Recent research has highlighted that work spaces incorporating features such as natural daylight, windows with views and better air quality, actually improve productivity by enabling staff to concentrate and perform better. Improved lighting and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have also been shown to result in lower staff sickness levels.
The aim of this event is to bring together key executives from sectors such as HR, recruitment, education,training, tech, manufacturing and supply chain. The event will focus on the opportunities and challenges in the workplace and what tools you will need to drive transformation across your workplace. It will also explore where the key opportunities will lie in the jobs market.
The Future of Work Conference will showcase the latest developments in modern workplace design and provide practical advice on topics such as: how to create a sustainable and ergonomic professional environment; design a workplace that caters for an increasingly diverse workforce and nurtures a collaborative culture; and how to plan a work space that is flexible enough to accommodate the latest technology but that remains people focused.

Key Topics
Automation & Robotics
AI & Machine Learning
IoT & Industry 4.0
Remote Working
Retaining Talent
Collaboration
Diversity
Benefits and Compensation
Retaining Talent
Technology
Mobility
Culture
Workspaces
Globalization
Future Careers-Educating the Next Generation

The Future of Work Conference is part of the Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition, which will also incorporate complementary events, including the Automation & Robotics Event, the IoT & Industry 4.0 Expo, and the Careers, Skills & Training Expo, to provide visitors with a comprehensive understanding of how the digital revolution will impact their day-to-day business operations of the the Irish workplace including the manufacturing sector.

National Medtech & Biotech Summit
2022-05-25 09:00 - 2022-05-26 16:00 | RDS Simmonscourt, Simmonscourt Road, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland
Ireland’s Leading Medtech & Biotech Event

MedTech companies have a base in Ireland. Indeed, Ireland is one of the top seven employers of MedTech professionals in Europe, with more than 40,000 people currently working in the sector. Furthermore, there are now more than 450 MedTech companies operating in Ireland with over 60% having been developed locally.
In the Biotechnology sector, there are well over 300 companies operating in Ireland. Indeed, all but one of the world’s 25 largest Biotech and Pharma companies have a presence in Ireland. In recent years, capital investment of about $10 billion has been made in new facilities by the BioPharma industry in Ireland. This is believed to represent close to the biggest wave of investment in new BioTech facilities anywhere in the world, according to the IDA Ireland (Ireland’s inward investment promotion agency).
The Biotechnology Innovation Organisation defines Biotechnology at its simplest as technology based on biology – Biotechnology harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet. Medical Technologies relate to prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and care, and often utilise new technologies such as artificial intelligence or machine learning, according to MedTech Europe.
The National MedTech & Biotech Summit, which is being held on 25th & 26th of May at the RDS Simmonscourt in Dublin, will highlight the key trends and challenges facing the sector, while also showcasing the latest innovations and developments in best practice, and the technological solutions available. The event will focus on the global growth opportunities, as well as major trends such as digital health and the shift to value-based healthcare and the long-term implications for manufacturers and business models.
The National MedTech & BioTech Summit is part of the National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition, which incorporates several complementary events – all under one roof. Other co-located events include: the National Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences Expo; Lab2Cleanroom Live; the Automation and Robotics Event; the IOT & Industry 4.0 Expo; the National Sustainability Summit; the Supply Chain & Logistics Expo; and the Lean Productivity and Continuous Improvement Summit.

IoT and Industry 4.0 Expo
2022-05-25 09:00 - 2022-05-26 16:00 | RDS Simmonscourt, Simmonscourt Road, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland
IoT & Industry 4.0

Be part of the 4th industrial revolution
See the future of manufacturing from global experts. Understand government policy, gain support & access to finance, adopt the latest business models, hear about large- & small-scale 4.0 case studies, and what this means for your manufacturing business. Come & network with your peers and see the latest technologies & solutions to make manufacturing smarter. Join us a the RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin on the 25th & 26th of May 2022 to experience Irelands largest gathering for the 4th industrial revolution. IOT Connect Live is a unique opportunity for the manufacturing industry to get together to specifically share ideas and experiences on industry 4.0, to make new and valuable contacts with peers and suppliers, and catch up with old friends and colleagues. Discover how industry is evaluating and implementing industry 4.0 and update yourself on new technologies and applications that can improve efficiencies within your business.
This year’s event will focus on the incredible benefits that the Internet of Things can bring to Manufacturing; from the adoption of advanced manufacturing methods which allow for greater customisation, through to the potential energy savings and performance improvements that it can deliver. We will also explore the new skills that will be needed to underpin this change, as operations and information technology collide. Attendees will hear industry leaders share the opportunities and difficulties of implementing advanced manufacturing techniques, and their recommendations for others who are progressing their IoT journey. There will be the chance to network throughout the day with technology and industry leaders, as well as gain a greater understanding of Government support and plans in this area.

Airspace of the Future Showcase
2022-06-15 10:30 - 13:30 | Online and In Person
During the hybrid event you will hear from the project partners who will be discussing what the airspace may look like in the future with regards to creating a safe, sustainable and accessible airspace.
The Airspace of the Future consortium led by Thales are hosting their final showcase event at the DARTeC facility at Cranfield University.
The project partners are: Thales, Cranfield University, Cranfield Airport Operations, Inmarsat, Altitude Angel, Ocado Group, Blue Bear, Satellite Applications Catapult, and Connected Places Catapult.
Over the past 21 months this multi-skilled, cross-sector consortium has been focussing on exploring the challenges that the future use of drones at scale will face and how we solve them. The project has been developing a coherent, UK-wide solution that will meet regulatory and safety requirements which will enable equitable access to the airspace to all drone operators against a managed and controlled framework.
During the hybrid event you will hear from the project partners who will be discussing what the airspace may look like in the future with regards to creating a safe, sustainable and accessible airspace.

Scenarios for a Science Superpower
2022-07-06 11:30 - 12:45 | Online
The UK Government has announced in a number of recent policy documents its aim for the UK to become a “science superpower”. What does this mean in practice – and how would we get there? What are the opportunities and the challenges? In this webinar, we will explore these issues, and hear about recent work by Professors Sarah Main and Graeme Reid to develop some potential scenarios for the future.

Speakers

Professor Sarah Main
Executive Director, Campaign for Science and Engineering

Professor Graeme Reid
Chair of Science and Research Policy , University College London

Other Speakers To Be Confirmed

Support for business innovation - latest developments and priorities for policy - finance, procurement, talent, leadership, and investor skills, and access to market and export opportunities
2022-07-11 08:30 - 13:00 | Online
This conference is discussing priorities for policy and action to support business-led innovation in the UK – in enterprises of all scales, including innovative scale-ups and SMEs.
It is bringing together stakeholders with key policymakers to examine progress and next steps for the Government’s UK innovation strategy and UKRI’s Plan for action for business innovation – with an added discussion focus on priorities following the pandemic.
We are pleased to be able to include keynote sessions with Sarah Mackintosh, Deputy Director, Innovation, BEIS; and Dave Wilkes, Director, Innovation Ecosystem, Innovate UK.
Delegates will assess what is needed – from government, regulation, finance and the wider private and public sectors – to help meet the needs of innovators through all stages of corporate and product development, including in R&D, feasibility studies, investment, partnership development and commercialisation.
The agenda looks at:

finance:

growing private investment in UK innovation – leveraging public funding – building specialist investor skills
regulation – use of mechanisms such as BBB & Global Britain Investment Fund

partnerships – better facilitating creation collaboration between investors & businesses – opportunities for sharing knowledge, best practice, intelligence & talent
public procurement – improving tendering processes – mechanisms to better support innovators – widening access & opportunities for SMEs to expand in domestic & international markets
talent – options for domestic and international skills, education & recruitment pathways – potential & use of the new Scale-up, High Potential & Global Mobility visa routes

The conference will be an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside policy officials who are due to attend from DCMS; DIT; the Home Office; IPO; and The Scottish Government.

Inbound Investors 2022
2022-08-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Titanic Hotel, Titanic Quarter, 8 Queens Rd,, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT3 9DT, United Kingdom
In 2021 Catalyst’s Inbound Investors attracted 63 non-NI Investors to Belfast and scored very highly on their feedback.
This year, Inbound Investors will be held on the 18th October and is a great opportunity to meet the largest number of funders ever to come to NI and accelerate your path to securing potential funding. Inbound Investors will host external Venture Capitalists, Family Offices and Syndicates, a growing number of whom have already invested in NI companies. All coming together in Belfast primed to explore in investable opportunities. They are interested not just in companies raising now, but also in building relationships towards future potential rounds.
As an entrepreneur seeking potential funding, this will be your opportunity to get to the deal tables of Investors.

INVENT Awards 2022
2022-09-01 20:00 - 22:30 | ICC Belfast, 2 Lanyon Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT1 3WH, United Kingdom
The INVENT 2022 Awards Night at the ICC Waterfront Belfast. Join Catalyst on the 1st September 2022 for Northern Ireland’s biggest celebration of innovation, where they will be showcasing the ten INVENT 2022 finalists, and unveiling the INVENT 2022 overall winner.
Ten finalists | One overall winner | £47,000 worth of funding available
Hosted by William Crawley the Evening includes

Finalist Showcase and Drinks reception
The INVENT Awards including category, student and overall winner announcements
Innovation Founder Award
A 3 course meal featuring local NI produce accompanied with wine

Tickets can be purchased on an individual or table basis.
Finalists include Mind-Mapper Ltd, PulseAI, Vikela Armour, Field of Vision, Plaswire Limited, Phasora Ltd, Linc, Academic Fish Ltd, Thunder, and Allergy Act.

23rd TAROS Conference
2022-09-07 - 2022-09-09 | Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, OX14 3DB, United Kingdom
UKAEA’s RACE will host the 23rd TAROS – the longest running UK-hosted international conference on Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS). It is aimed at the presentation and discussion of the latest results and methods in autonomous robotics research and applications.
TAROS offers a friendly environment for robotics researchers and industry to take stock and plan future progress. It welcomes senior researchers and research students alike, and specifically provides opportunities for research students and young research scientists to present their work to the scientific community.
Deadlines

20th May 2022
Submission deadline (5pm BST)

10th June 2022
Confirmation of acceptance

15th July 2022
Camera-ready paper submission (5pm BST)

Professional and Financial Services Innovation CR&D Competition Briefing Event
2022-09-08 09:00 - 13:00 | Online
Innovate UK will open a new £7m CR&D competition on 5th September, to support digital innovation in Professional and Financial services.
Key themes of the competition are to enable services to under-served and excluded communities, individuals and businesses and to make provision of these professional and financial services more efficient and effective.
The competition will be open for applications from the 5th September until 9th November.
