Matrix

Northern Ireland Energy Strategy in action
2022-02-01 14:00 - 15:30 (Europe/London)
Join RenewableNI for a free webinar to explain the details behind Northern Ireland’s new Energy Strategy.

RenewableNI, the voice of Northen Ireland’s renewable electricity industry is hosting a free workshop on the Energy Strategy on Tuesday 1 February.
Attendees will hear from Head of RenewableNI, Steven Agnew, on what the Strategy means for the renewable electricity industry.
Guest speaker Meabh Cormacain, Energy Advisor, NI Department for the Economy, will explain her role in the Strategy and explain the details.
Attendees will have time to ask questions after the presentations.

Innovative Digital Technologies in Predictive Maintenance
2022-02-01 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
This event will explore the emergence of products and services that inform manufacturers as to when their shop floor equipment is likely to require maintenance. These are based on the measurement of various parameters (eg. vibration, temperature) that show a predictable connection with component life, combined with AI/machine learning. Benefits include reduced downtime and costs. You will hear from both providers of these services and from manufacturers that have seen the benefits and provide a meeting place for the two communities – technology providers/developers and interested manufacturers.

How can the National Science and Technology Council and the Office for Science and Technology Strategy direct S&T priorities?
2022-01-26 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
In June 2021, the Prime Minister announced the creation of a new National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), to “provide strategic direction on the use of science and technology as the tools to tackle great societal challenges, level up across the country and boost prosperity around the world.” He also announced the creation of a new Office for Science and Technology Strategy (OSTS), to be based in the Cabinet Office, which would “drive forward the strategy of Whitehall’s science and technology priorities from the centre”. The OSTS would be headed up by a National Technology Adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance was appointed as the first person in that role.
In this event, FST will discuss early progress in setting up the NSTC and OSTS, and their emerging priorities. They will also examine how these bodies will work with other structures within the UK’s science, technology and innovation ecosystem, including UKRI and the Government Office for Science, and how they will engage with UK industry.

Industrial Energy Transformation – Technologies and Solutions
2022-01-25 14:30 - 16:00 | Online
The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) supports the development and deployment of technologies that enable businesses with high energy use to move to a low carbon future.
Designed to help businesses with high energy use to cut their energy bills and carbon emissions through investing in energy efficiency and low carbon technologies, a new call is due early in 2022 to support SME’s and we need to highlight how to access this funding, the technologies it will support and how we can bring forward successful projects.
Agenda
• Welcome – Grainne McVeigh, Invest NI
• Overview of IETF – Jenni McDonnell, KTN
• Technologies to be supported – Lily Tozer, BEIS
• Solutions (2 minute pitches from Invest NI Client Companies) –
– Project Design – Adrian Watson, Project Design Engineers
– Energy Storage – Eddie McGoldrick, The Electric Storage Company
– Energy Efficiency through Monitoring and Targeting – Jessica Caldwell, LoweConex
– Heat Recovery – Brian Hood, BHS

WEBINAR: Industrial Energy Transformation – Technologies and Solutions
2022-01-25 14:30 - 16:00 | Online
Industrial Energy Transformation – Technologies and Solutions
The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) supports the development and deployment of technologies that enable businesses with high energy use to move to a low carbon future.
Designed to help businesses with high energy use to cut their energy bills and carbon emissions through investing in energy efficiency and low carbon technologies, a new call is due early in 2022 to support SME’s and we need to highlight how to access this funding, the technologies it will support and how we can bring forward successful projects.
Agenda
• Welcome – Grainne McVeigh, Invest NI
• Overview of IETF – Jenni McDonnell, KTN
• Technologies to be supported – Lily Tozer, BEIS
• Solutions (2 minute pitches from Invest NI Client Companies) –
– Project Design – Adrian Watson, Project Design Engineers
– Energy Storage – Eddie McGoldrick, The Electric Storage Company
– Energy Efficiency through Monitoring and Targeting – Jessica Caldwell, LoweConex
– Heat Recovery – Brian Hood, BHS
• Support from Invest NI – Sam Knox, Invest NI

What is Digital Security by Design?
2022-01-25 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
Introducing a new approach to blocking security vulnerabilities in modern computer systems. Expert-led presentations and panel discussion.

Join Digital Catapult to learn about a new transformative approach to block vulnerabilities in modern computer systems. Hear hardware and software experts from Arm, the University of Cambridge and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) discuss a radical update of the cyber secure design starting from the chip upwards and making the case for adoption.
UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Digital Security by Design (DSbD) Challenge aims to radically improve the foundation of the UK’s digital computing infrastructure, securing next generation devices and critical infrastructure. The Technology Access Programme will give participating organisations an opportunity to access this early-stage software and prototype hardware technology to investigate in their own R&D teams.
The scope of the challenge includes implementing updated hardware architecture, developing the software and system development tools that will run on it, and demonstrating its application and value in different industry sectors. You will have opportunities to ask questions and be first to hear about how your organisation can access this early-stage prototype technology.

Why attend
At this virtual event you will:

Be introduced to the Digital Security by Design programme by Prof. John Goodacre, DSbD Challenge Director, UKRI.
Learn about the research and development project, Morello from Richard Grisenthwaite, SVP Chief Architect and Fellow, Arm and CHERI from Professor, Robert Watson Professor in Systems, Security, and Architecture at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory
Hear about the latest thinking of common vulnerabilities from Georgios Papadakis, Senior Innovation Lead – DSbD, UKRI
Ask the panel experts questions about new cyber security technologies, software development approaches, and likely industry adoption
Discover how your organisation can access this new early-stage software and prototype hardware technology to investigate in your own R&D teams.

Who should attend
This event is open to all and especially those involved in longer term strategic decisions on the use of digital technology as well as those that are interested in new technical approaches to block cyber vulnerabilities.

C-level: CEO and business owner / CFO and Head of Procurement / Chief Information and Knowledge Officer / COO and Head of Operations / other C-suite
R&D lead, CTO, Subject Matter Expert for Cybersecurity, hardware and software development
Industries that will benefit from more secure computing platforms including: ​​aerospace, defence, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, telecoms, energy infrastructure, transport, and education.

Also welcome are industry programme partners, public sector partners, government, cyber security practitioners, higher education researchers, and media.

Agenda
10:00 – 10:05 – Welcome and introduction to Digital Catapult
Dana Elman, Innovation Partner, Digital Catapult
10:05 – 10:15 – Welcome and introduction to Digital Security by Design
Professor John Goodacre, DSbD Challenge Director, UKRI
10:15 – 10:25 – Presentation: Common vulnerabilities in modern computer systems
Georgios Papadakis, Senior Innovation Lead – Digital Security by Design, UKRI
10:25 – 10:45 – Presentation: Introducing Morello and CHERI
Richard Grisenthwaite, SVP Chief Architect and Fellow, Arm.
Prof. Robert Watson, Professor in Systems, Security, and Architecture at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory
10:45 – 10:55 – Q&A with Richard Grisenthwaite and Prof. Robert Watson
Facilitated by Georgios Papadakis from UKRI
10:55 – 11:45 – Panel discussion and Q&A: Why industry should care about secure by design and secure by default
Chair/Moderator – Georgios Papadakis from UKRI
Prof. John Goodacre, UKRI
Richard Grisenthwaite, SVP Chief Architect and Fellow, Arm
Paul Waller, Head of Research for National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
Prof Madeline Carr, Professor of Global Politics and Cyber Security, UCL
11:45 – 11:55 – Presentation: Getting involved in the DSbD Access Programme
Katy Ho, Head of Innovation, Digital Catapult
11:55 – 12:00 – Q&A with Katy Ho
Facilitated by Dana Elman, Innovation Partner, Digital Catapult
12:00 – Thank you & close
Dana Elman, Innovation Partner, Digital Catapult

Spotlight on Benelux: Data and Cyber Security
2022-01-25 09:30 - 11:00 | Online
Cyber and information security is an identified priority across the Benelux. Despite a steadily increasing security spend, organisations are struggling to address all threats, and there is a recognition that security and risk management is no longer solely an IT issue, but a business-wide one.

This webinar will highlight what trends and opportunities there are in the security, risk and governance space in the Benelux and how to best approach these opportunities. Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are open and competitive economies, and are excellent gateway markets for Northern Ireland businesses into wider Europe.

Agenda:

An Introduction to the Benelux Markets: Security, Risk and Governance – Amy Dalton and Emilien Thorin
Areas of Priority and Opportunities in the Dutch Market – Martijn van Hoogenhuijze and Philip Meijer
Angoka Case Study – Shadi Razak
Q&A

Amy Dalton and Emilien Thorin, Invest Northern Ireland
Invest NI’s in-market colleagues identify and facilitate trade and FDI opportunities between Northern Ireland and the Benelux markets.

Philip Meijer and Martijn van Hoogenhuijze, Innovation Quarter
Innovation Quarter supports collaboration and innovation in the Rotterdam-The Hague delta region, with Security being a particular focus.

Shadi Razak, Angoka
Belfast based Angoka focuses on managing cyber security risks inherent in connected and autonomous vehicles, industry 4.0, smart cities and IoT devices.

Delivering at machine speed - using AI to unlock information advantage
2022-01-20 13:00 - 14:15
This webinar will discuss Dstl’s artificial intelligence (AI )research programme, covering scope, opportunities, and how to work with us.

Dstl’s webinars are designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises work with the defence sector. They are free to attend and you do not need to have experience working with Dstl or in defence.

Sign up to hear from our experts discussing Dstl’s AI research programme. The session will include:

Scope of the programme and priority areas for future research and funding

Opportunities to get involved

How to work with us

Sources of support for Belfast-based businesses seeking to innovate
2022-01-19 09:30 - 13:00 | Online
This business event has information on what support is available for business innovation.
Innovation is crucial to the success of any organisation – doing things better, more efficiently, more profitably – whether it’s the products or services you offer, or how your business operates.
At this online event, Invest Northern Ireland, InterTrade Ireland, Belfast Met, Catalyst and the Innovation Factory will discuss free and funded support they offer. Whether you’re a tech start-up or an established manufacturing business, there’s definitely something to help you to improve your business. You’ll also hear from Richard Stewart-Maunder, Managing Director of Value Stream Machinery about their innovation journey. There will be Q&A with all speakers.
This event is aimed at SMEs, micro enterprises and social enterprises based in the Belfast City Council area, employing fewer than 50 people.

Stories From the Frontline: Let’s hear from our green home pioneers
2022-01-18 13:00 - 14:15 | Online
What can we learn from those at the cutting edge – the people already deep in the world of decarbonising homes? In this event, you’ll hear from three carbon-cutting pioneers and have the opportunity to put your questions to them. What experiences can they share, and how can we learn from each other to support the UK’s road to zero carbon?
This event is the fourth event in the Making the Switch Towards Cleaner, Greener Homes event series.

Science & Technology to enable resilient Space domain capabilities
2022-01-18 10:00 - 11:15
This webinar will discuss Dstl’s Space research programme, covering scope, opportunities, and how to work with us.

Dstl’s webinars are designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises work with the defence sector. They are free to attend and you do not need to have experience working with Dstl or in defence.

Sign up to hear from our experts discussing Dstl’s Space research programme. The session will include:

Scope of the programme and priority areas for future research and funding

Opportunities to get involved

How to work with us

Innovation funding for the commercialisation of quantum technologies
2022-01-17 13:00 - 15:00 | Online
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £6 million in innovation projects. This funding is from the ISCF Commercialising quantum technologies challenge.
A new funding opportunity is being launched on the 17 January 2022 to accelerate the commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK, which are set to enable transformative applications across a range of industry sectors. The feasibility studies round 3 competition is being delivered by the commercialising quantum technologies challenge, as part of Innovate UK and UK Research & Innovation (UKRI). Organisations can apply for a share of £6m for projects, of up to £500k in and up to 18 months in duration, that exploit quantum technologies to address industrial challenges in:

Connectivity
Seeing the invisible
Positioning, navigation & timing
Computing

A virtual competition briefing event will be held on Monday 17 January 2022, hosted by UKRI and Innovate UK KTN. Attendees will be able to hear more about the scope of the competition and the application process. There will also be opportunities for further discussion and consultations with the quantum team from Innovate UK and there will be networking opportunities for attendees.

Agenda

13:00 – Competitions briefing

13:30 – Applications process briefing

14:00 – Q&A

Heat Pump Ready: How to apply to Stream 2
2022-01-13 14:30 - 2022-01-26 15:30 | Online
Following the opening of opportunities under the Heat Pump Ready Programme, this session will detail the application process for Stream 2
The Heat Pump Ready Programme forms part of BEIS’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s. A key solution for decarbonising homes, heat pumps will be critical for meeting the UK’s legally binding commitment to achieve net zero by 2050.
Full details of the funding opportunities available under Heat Pump Ready are detailed on the Heat Pump Ready webpage.
The Heat Pump Ready Programme is made up of three, separate streams:

Workstream 1: Solutions for High-Density Heat Pump Deployment.
Workstream 2: Developing Tools and Technology.
Workstream 3: Trial Support and Learning.

Sign up to this online event for guidance on how to apply for Stream 2 of the funding.
All questions associated to the eligibility, scope and assessment criteria for this funding opportunity should be submitted to heatinnovation@beis.gov.uk as responses will be included in the formal Q&A response to the competition.
Please note a recording of this event will not be available post-event. Copies of the slides will be made available shortly after the event.

Heat Pump Ready: How to apply to Stream 1
2022-01-13 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
Following the opening of opportunities under the Heat Pump Ready Programme, this session will detail the application process for Stream 1
The Heat Pump Ready Programme forms part of BEIS’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s. A key solution for decarbonising homes, heat pumps will be critical for meeting the UK’s legally binding commitment to achieve net zero by 2050.
Full details of the funding opportunities available under Heat Pump Ready are detailed on the Heat Pump Ready webpage.
The Heat Pump Ready Programme is made up of three, separate streams:

Workstream 1: Solutions for High-Density Heat Pump Deployment.
Workstream 2: Developing Tools and Technology.
Workstream 3: Trial Support and Learning.

Sign up to this online event for guidance on how to apply for Stream 1 of the funding.
All questions associated to the eligibility, scope and assessment criteria for this funding opportunity should be submitted to heatinnovation@beis.gov.uk as responses will be included in the formal Q&A response to the competition.
Please note a recording of this event will not be available post-event. Copies of the slides will be made available shortly after the event.

Female Founders Access to Finance ~ Information Session
2022-01-13 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
Techstart Ventures and Women in Business will partner together to invite Females across Northern Ireland, with an innovative Business Idea, to apply for a Grant of up to £35k to help kickstart their Business.
If you want to apply for the fully funded Female Founders grant competition? Come along to this information session to find out all that you need to know on why and how to apply!
This event will be free of charge for all to attend, as the perfect opportunity to ask any questions you may have on:
– How to enter
– The competition schedule
– Grant application criteria
– How the grant can/ cannot be used
– The next steps after a successful application!

Directed Energy Weapons science and technology future roadmap
2021-12-16 13:00 - 14:15
This webinar will discuss Dstl’s Future Kinetic Effects research programme, covering scope, opportunities, and how to work with us.

Dstl’s webinars are designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises work with the defence sector. They are free to attend and you do not need to have experience working with Dstl or in defence.

Sign up to hear from our experts discussing Dstl’s directed energy weapons science and technology future roadmap. The session will include:

Scope of the programme and priority areas for future research and funding

Opportunities to get involved

How to work with us

Levelling up: what is it and will it work?
2021-12-16 12:45 - 13:45 | Online
Boris Johnson has set ‘levelling up’ the UK as the mission for his government, but few in Whitehall or the country can explain exactly what it is, how it will be implemented and what success looks like.
Tackling regional inequalities lies at the heart of the Conservative Party’s re-election hopes, but relies on the implementation of a complex series of policies across national and local government – so does the UK have the will and the money to see it through?
With the imminent release of a white paper attempting to answer these questions, the Institute for Government welcomes Neil O’Brien, the minister for levelling up, to explore levelling up with Sebastian Payne, Whitehall Editor of the Financial Times and author of Broken Heartlands: A Journey Through Labour’s Lost England.
The pair will be in conversation with IfG director Bronwen Maddox, discussing Sebastian’s road trip through parts of England that voted Conservative for the first time in living memory and Neil’s work on producing the white paper and defining the policies that are the core mission of this government.

Quantum Challenge Cultivation event
2021-12-15 10:00 - 12:30 | Online
This is a briefing on the next Quantum ISCF Funding Competition and the progress of the NQTP Quantum Hubs. This event will share advance information on the next ISCF Quantum competition expected to launch in Jan 2022. It will be preceded by a short 15 min talk by each of the four ISCF Quantum Hubs.

Business Model Innovation for Disruptive Technologies
2021-12-15 10:00 - 11:00 | Online
The InterTradeIreland All-island Innovation programme aims to promote and encourage innovation across the island of Ireland.
During the seminar Prof. Jonatan Pinkse will explain how business model innovation can help in bringing disruptive technologies to the market.
Based on his recently developed circle framework, he shows how you can use a combination of tactics to let customers see all the different benefits that disruptive technologies might bring to them:
• Introducing the circle framework to show how business model innovation can be a catalyst for technological innovation.
• Using business model innovation to overcome initial hesitation of customers to adopt disruptive technologies
• Presenting three tactics for business model innovation: compensating, enhancing and coupling tactics
• Applying the circle framework to the cases of machine learning in healthcare and graphene for desalination
• Explaining how the circle framework can be used to reframe your value proposition

Seminar Running Order
1000: Welcome and Introduction
1005: Business Model Innovation for Disruptive Technologies
1040: Q&A
1100: Close

About the Speaker
Jonatan Pinkse is Professor of strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship and the Executive Director of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR), Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester.
His passion is innovation and sustainability. He is a regular speaker on topics related to strategy and innovation for net-zero and sustainability, business model innovation for disruption, managing the green transition, and sharing platforms.
In his research, Jonatan analyses how firms make strategic decisions to create a sustainable economy and deal with tensions between issues and actors. He investigates opportunities and barriers for firm adoption of disruptive and sustainable technologies from cognitive, organizational, and institutional perspectives.
Jonatan has authored more than 60 scholarly and practitioner articles in journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Research Policy, Journal of International Business Studies, Organization Studies, California Management Review, Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. In 2020, he was included in the prestigious Highly Cited Researcher list.
Before moving to Manchester, he held positions at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and Grenoble Ecole de Management. He is also deputy/associate editor for the journals Organization & Environment and Business & Society and has edited numerous special issues.
In his spare time, Jonatan is a keen ultrarunner, exploring the fells of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, sometimes getting lost on the way. But that’s part of the joy.

Decarbonisation Déjà Vu: What can recent consumer behaviour change tell us?
2021-12-14 13:00 - 14:15 | Online
From seatbelts to smoking, there are a wealth of examples of significant behaviour change in our recent past. What can we learn from them when it comes to decarbonising homes? With a series of short presentations on insights into the consumer mindset, this event looks at how consumer behaviour change has happened in other sectors and the impact of peer influence on the adoption of new technologies.
This event is the third event in the Making the Switch Towards Cleaner, Greener Homes event series.

High speed and hypersonic science & technology
2021-12-14 10:00 - 11:15
This webinar will discuss Dstl’s Future Kinetic Effects research programme, covering scope, opportunities, and how to work with us.

Dstl’s webinars are designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises work with the defence sector. They are free to attend and you do not need to have experience working with Dstl or in defence.

Sign up to hear from our experts discussing Dstl’s Future Kinetic Effects research programme, focusing on high speed and hypersonic science & technology investment to support future defence capability. The session will include:

Scope of the programme and priority areas for future research and funding

Opportunities to get involved

How to work with us

A Q&A with Sir Patrick Vallance FRS FMedSci and guests
2021-12-13 15:45 - 17:30 | Online
In June 2021, the Prime Minister announced the creation of a new Office for Science and Technology Strategy (OSTS) and National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), with Sir Patrick Vallance taking up the new role of National Technology Adviser (NTA). RAEng will host Sir Patrick for a keynote speech introducing his new role and the OSTS to the research and innovation community, followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A.
This event is the start of an ongoing exchange between OSTS and the research and innovation community on UK strategic advantage, what it means for research and innovation, and the challenges and opportunities it presents.
This event is hosted by the National Academies: the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society.
Programme

3.40pm
Zoom opens

3.45pm
Welcome and introduction
Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO, Royal Academy of Engineering

3.50pm
Keynote speech
Sir Patrick Vallance FRS FMedSci, National Technology Adviser and Government Chief Scientific Adviser

4.10pm
Panel discussion and Q&A, moderated by Sir Adrian Smith PRS, President, Royal Society

Sir Patrick Vallance FRS FMedSci
Dr Flic Gabbay FMedSci, President, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and Senior Partner, transcript
Professor Rana Mitter OBE FBA, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, University of Oxford
Dr Ilana Wisby, CEO, Oxford Quantum Circuits

5.20pm
Closing remarks

5.30pm
End of event

Innovation in Social Enterprise
2021-12-10 14:00 - 15:00 | Lisburn Enterprise Organisation Ltd, 6 Enterprise Crescent, Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, Northern Ireland, BT28 2BP, United Kingdom
An introduction to social innovation, explaining how social enterprises can add value to their communities and to wider society.

About this event

Social innovation is growing rapidly across the UK, and it will be critical to how businesses and social enterprises can solve social and environmental challenges and enable all businesses to focus on the triple bottom line: profit, people and planet.
What is driving this growth is that current solutions are not hitting the mark. Investors, government, and civil society are emphasising the need to produce better solutions, and this is a good thing for humanity and a huge economic opportunity too.
This workshop looks at how social innovation relates to both private sector business and social enterprise and the opportunities that are available to create transformation change in communities addressing social and environmental issues as well as sustaining business growth and profit.

Roger Warnock is an award-winning social innovator with over 25 years in social innovation, social tech, and creating social impact. Listed as one of Nesta’s and the Observers Top UK New Radicals for his innovative design and social enterprise work. He is an experienced mentor for start-ups in the Tech4Good space, expert in co-creation and experienced in building a business and raising investment. He is internationally renowned for his social innovation and co-creation work working with some of the world’s leading organisations such as the UNDP where he has designed and delivered the co-creation strategy for the Social Innovation Platform focusing on a range of digital and technology prototypes in Asia and Eastern Europe. He is a Churchill Fellow, Clore Leadership Fellow, Hammamet Fellow and Fellow of the RSA.

Levelling Up
2021-12-08 09:00 - 17:00 | Online
Open Innovations and The Royal Statistical Society are collaborating on a project that will aim to use events, open discussion and suggestions to develop a prototype visualisation for ‘levelling up’.
For the launch event, the organisers will be presenting a showcase of speakers who will talk about the work that already exists and what is needed to make it better. The event will run from 9AM – 12PM featuring talks followed by live Q&A with speakers including:

Andy Haldane, Permanent Secretary to the Levelling Up Taskforce
Neil O’Brien, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State TBC
Stian Westlake, CEO RSS
Tera Allas, McKinsey
Tom Bridges, Leeds Office Leader, Director Cities Advisory, Arup
Tom Forth, Head of Data, Open Innovations (formerly ODILeeds)
Nancy Hey, Executive Director, What Works Centre for Wellbeing
Jodie Levy, Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Alan Reiss, Director of Strategy, Communications and Policing
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Paul Swinney, Director of Policy and Research, Centre for Cities

The RSS recently responded to the Treasury Committee inquiry on equal recovery post-pandemic, expressing concern that current data is not up to the job and calling for a rethink of what data the government is collecting.
The term ‘levelling up’ will be more familiar in gaming culture than in politics but it became a core part of political speech and decision-making in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. You might know what it means in a game, but what does it mean for the UK?
With no solid definition, ‘levelling up’ could mean something different to everyone, and with no official ‘levelling up’ dataset to work from, there isn’t a way to currently track progress or keep things accountable. Open Innovations will be leading a project to explore ‘levelling up’ from a Northern perspective, by working in the open, inviting discussion and suggestions, and developing a prototype visualisation with open data at its foundation.
What open data will we use? Well, this is where you come in…
The project will start in November 2021 and finish in February 2022, with three key stages and events that accompany them, plus opportunities for people to contribute their feedback, suggestions, data sources, etc.
Open Innovations uses a method of rapid innovation to work in a radically open way to produce results quickly and efficiently. Our process is purposely initially informally unstructured but ultimately productive to allow for free communication, knowledge exchange, change and action. Please use this document to share any thoughts, links, resources and questions.
The event will take place virtually and be live-streamed to our website here – but to join in & ask questions we ask you to sign up to be able to access the Airmeet platform.

Industry Space Days 2021 - The Conference Edition
2021-12-07 08:00 - 2021-12-08 17:00
The European Space Agency (ESA) invites members of the space community to attend its virtual Industry Space Days (ISD) event on 7 – 8 December 2021. Participants can register as of early October.
The ISD is organised by the ESA SME Office to foster cooperation between different actors in the entire space sector. The 2021 edition will have a special focus on “Commercialisation”.
Key elements of this year’s ISD include:
➔ keynotes and panel discussions with contributions by ESA, industry, industry associations and institutional partners
➔ ESA presentations and workshops about business opportunities and future activities
➔ a virtual exhibition with ESA and industry booths and the possibility to engage with future partners
➔ networking opportunities for the space community, including 1-on-1 meetings, industry speed-dating sessions and pitch presentations
Attend the ISD2021 and join Europe’s space community online
The event is open to entities from ESA Member States, Cooperating States and Associate States.
Participation is free of charge.
The ISD will be hosted on the platform Let’s Get Digital (Chrome browser on a computer/laptop required).

AICON 2021
2021-12-03 08:00 - 2021-12-04 17:00 | Titanic Belfast, 1 Olympic Way, Queen's Road, Belfast, Belfast, BT3 9EP, United Kingdom
Northern Ireland’s premier conference on artificial intelligence, AI Con returns to face-to-face business this year with a hybrid event on Friday 3 December.
As the adoption of AI expands into all areas of our lives, and the business and societal opportunities and challenges become ever more apparent, this ground-breaking conference addresses core issues of the technology for a range of audiences: general, business and specialist.
The event, which is now in its third year, brings together world-leading technology professionals and business leaders to examine how AI is changing our world and the opportunities and challenges that presents.
In-person attendance will take place at Titanic Belfast and will feature some of the top figures in the field, with other leading professionals streaming in from across the globe.
The themes from this year’s event, which hosted 450 attendees in its first year and 800 at the virtual event last year, include:
– Applied AI: Targeted primarily at a general audience, Applied AI looks at existing, mature technology that can be deployed today and examines case studies on where these are adding value and inspiration for people and their organisations to start their own AI investigations.
Chaired by Kathryn Harkin of Allstate NI and Rachael Bland of Kainos
– AI Next: The AI Next track will be focused, primarily, on a technologist audience, this track will look at emerging AI technologies and approaches that, while not yet mature, may play an important role in products and solutions of the future. Come to this track if you want to get a headstart in your career, on the competition or just want to be challenged and inspired by the next generation of AI.
Chaired by Austin Tanney and Tom Gray of Kainos
– Business of AI: Designed for a business audience, Business of AI looks at how AI can challenge existing business models, create entirely new ones and debates what “AI Startups” need to know in this burgeoning space.
Chaired by Alexandra Mousavizadeh of Tortoise Media and Tom Gray of Kainos.
Attendees are asked to note that strict Covid precautions will be in operation at the in-person event which will be limited to 200 people. Attendees must be double vaccinated and proof of vaccination will be required for entry.

COP26: Where do we go from here?
2021-12-01 17:30 - 18:30 | Online
The COP26 Climate Change conference brings the leaders of the world together in the UK, in the most important meeting since Paris in 2015.This event, held 2 weeks after the conference has concluded, will reflect on progress made at the conference, and ask what next for the UK.
This event is dedicated to the memory of the Earl of Selborne. John Selborne served in many roles in science, technology and the environment over many years, including (amongst many others) Chairman of the Foundation for Science and Technology, Chairman of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, Chairman of the Parliamentary Science and Technology Information Foundation, Chancellor of the University of Southampton, President of the Royal Geographical Society, Chairman of the Agricultural Research Council, and a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.
The event is being organised by the Foundation for Science and Technology on behalf of several organisations that John Selborne worked with over the years.

Speakers

Professor Sir Dieter Helm
Professor of Economic Policy, University of Oxford

Professor Ian Boyd
Professor of Biology, University of St Andrews

Baroness Young of Old Scone
House of Lords

Professor Sir Charles Godfray
Director, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

Participation is possible both in person (at the Royal Society in London) and online (via Zoom).

SBRI - Decarbonisation and energy - 3 Phase 1 projects
2021-12-01 12:30 - 14:00 | Online
Information event for 3 x SBRI Phase1 projects with NI Water and NI Housing Executive

SBRI brings together government challenges and ideas from business to create innovative solutions. This information session will provide details of three new invitations to bid for projects with NI Water and NI Housing Executive exploring energy recovery from waste water treatment; hydrogen logistics and the decarbonisation of NIHE homes.
The session will be informal, with short presentations on the SBRI process, and presentations from NI Water and NI Housing Executive on their projects.
The tender documentation is available from https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps/home.do
For more information about SBRI projects in Northern Ireland click here
NIHE SBRI: http://matrixni.org/job/sbri-using-intelligent-systems-for-the-affordable-decarbonisation-of-homes/

Connections Café: Support and Networking Event
2021-12-01 10:00 - 12:00
Our next Connections Café will be held on Wednesday 1st December

Connections Café is our series of SME innovation support events that explore developments and opportunities in the built environment and mobility sectors that enable new levels of physical, digital and social connectedness. They offer support and guidance to growing businesses to help them bridge the gap between new innovations and commercial success.

We welcome all SMEs and businesses who work within these exciting sectors.

To find out more about Connected Places Catapult events please visit our website.

Beyond Glasgow: What impact will COP26 have on Europe’s green dreams?
2021-11-25 16:00 - 17:15 | Online
During the first half of November, international leaders gathered in Glasgow for COP26, the UN climate conference. The meeting was identified by many as critical to determining whether the world can realistically meet the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement, and thereby mitigate the increasingly catastrophic effects of climate change. As signalled by Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen, “the EU will bring to Glasgow the highest level of ambition”. Yet it remains to be seen if others will follow, including its own member states, and commit to join forces and resources in a common approach.
Either way, the COP26 outcomes will be followed with keen interest by European research and innovation communities. Will COP26 deliver a major boost for the Green Deal, with its technology-driven transformation of industry? Will it provide a new framing and direction of travel for Horizon Europe, with 35% of its budget committed to climate-related topics? Will it unleash a new wave of climate innovation financing? And will it open more doors to international cooperation and alliances, both scientific and governmental, in pursuit of solutions that will make a measurable difference?
In this public, livestreamed debate, Science|Business will bring together leading figures from the worlds of policy, science and industry to reflect on the outcomes from Glasgow, and to discuss their implications for European science and technology in the months ahead.
