Festival of Innovation, Tuesday 8 April, 9:00 – 17:00
The Festival of Innovation is a showcase of the Innovate UK-funded Centre for Digital Innovation (CDI), celebrating the impact that businesses have made through the programme, and a look at the region’s digital innovation ambitions.
This event is free to business leaders to attend, with limited availability.
Agenda
| 9:00 | Registration, teas and coffee, explore our Market Place |
| Plenary in the Lecture Theatre | |
| 9:30 | Welcome – Professor Steve Rothberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Manchester Met |
| 9:45 | Introduction to the day – Jennie Shorley, Co-Director of the Centre for Enterprise, Manchester Met Business School |
| 10:00 | Keynote speaker – Ayo Sokale, Chartered Civil Engineer, BBC Presenter, STEM Ambassador, Project Manager and Building Information lead for the Environment Agency, Ayo stands at the cutting edge of the evolving scientific, media and environmental landscape. |
| Break-out session one | |
| 10:50 | |
| Carol Nash Room
Business automation in the age of generative AI – David Edmundson-Bird FRSA CMBE SFHEA, Manchester Met In this short session, David will explore the roles that Automation and Generative AI can play when used together to improve productivity in SMEs. |
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| Or | |
| The Lounge
Interactive technology demonstration from Meganexus’ AI to Neptune Submerge’s VR, Scan Computing’s robot, Print City’s 3D printing and Marks and Clerk’s IP Clinic |
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| 11:10 | Tea and coffee in the Marketplace |
| Break-out session two | |
| 11:30 | Carol Nash Room
Demystifying the funding landscape panel Q&A chaired by Stuart Finnerty, Manchester Met. Panellists, Delyth Edwards, British Business Bank Elizabeth Scott MBE, Turing Innovation Catalyst, Naimh Donovan, Sustainable Ventures. |
| Or | |
| Conference Room – three 15-minute sessions:
Preparing the workforce for AI – Laetitia Sterling, IBM Title TBC – Jamie Higham, Scan Computing Capture and Capitalise on your Innovation – Tom Ashmore, Counting King Join Tom from Counting King for a quick talk on maximising R&D tax credits and Patent Box to boost cash flow and reduce tax liabilities |
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| Or | |
| The Lounge
Interactive technology demonstration from Meganexus AI to Neptune Submerge’s VR, Scan Computing’s robot, Print City’s 3D printing and Marks and Clerk’s IP Clinic |
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| 12:30 | Lunch and visit our Marketplace |
| Plenary in the Lecture Theatre | |
| 13:30 | Show up, wise up, rise up: Overcoming self sabotage when you need to innovate – Keynote speaker, Dani Wallace |
| Break-out session three | |
| 14:20 | Carol Nash Room
The challenges of innovation in Greater Manchester – World Cafe led by James Crawley, Manchester Met |
| Or | |
| Conference Room, two 20-minute talks on:
What’s hot and what’s not in AI – David Edmundson-Bird FRSA CMBE SFHEA, Manchester Met In this short session, David will talk about what’s wired/tired/expired in the world of AI, and the 2 things to keep an eye out for this year! When failure works – Jarrod, Business Transformation Director, AEC Innovation can be achieved despite an unsuccessful application for technical assistance. The CDI eco-system is invaluable in getting your business where it needs to be. |
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| Or | |
| The Lounge
Interactive technology demonstration from Manchester Met’s Minecraft to VR in the arts, Scan Computing’s robot, Print City’s 3D printing and Marks and Clerk’s IP Clinic |
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| 15:00 | Tea and coffee in the Marketplace |
| Plenary in the Lecture Theatre | |
| 15:20 | Success and Failure in Digital Innovation – Keynote speaker, Matt Hunt, Managing Director, Apadmi
Listen to Matt share his stories from his career in the digital world, the successes, the failures and everything in-between |
| 15:40 | The highlights and future of CDI – James Crawley and Jennie Shorley, Manchester Met |
| 16:30 | Carol Nash Room – drinks and canapes
Award presentation |
Awards
Our industry and university partners will be presenting awards to the top digital innovators on the CDI programme.
Award categories:
- Advanced Manufacturing Award
- AI Innovation in Cyber Security Award, recognising those who have made an impact on the field of cyber security
- AI Innovation in Healthcare Award, recognising businesses that have successfully implemented digital technologies to improve operations and customer engagement
- Immersive Cultural Innovation Award, honouring companies that have developed innovative digital products or services that significantly enhance user experience or operational efficiency,
- Customer Engagement Transformation Award, acknowledging businesses that leverage digital tools to promote sustainability and reduce environmental impact
- Innovation in Operational Efficiency
- Sustainability Through Digital Innovation
- Special Recognition Award
- Transformative Workplace Award
Keynote speakers
Ayo Sokale
Chartered Civil Engineer, BBC Presenter, STEM Ambassador, Project Manager and Building Information lead for the Environment Agency, Ayo stands at the cutting edge of the evolving scientific, media and environmental landscape.
Covering sustainability, neurodiversity and diversity and inclusion topics learned from her incredible journey makes Ayo an inspiring and motivational speaker you won’t want to miss!
Dani Wallace
Growing up on the council estates of Preston, Dani survived domestic violence, homelessness and single parenthood to become a leading voice in empowerment.
With over 20 years’ experience in business, from presenting and eventing to leadership and management training, Dani uses her inside knowledge of the corporate sector and entertainment industry to bring you truth, humour and practical advice.
Matt Hunt, UK Managing Director, Apadmi
After working across a number of departments and roles over the last 15 years, Matt was promoted to lead the UK business in April 2024.
Trained as a Software Engineer at university, Matt worked at Sony Ericsson building the early smartphones long before Apple and Google were on the scene, and made the leap to join the small and mighty Apadmi.
Speakers
Tom Ashmore, Counting King
Tom has two decades of experience in international trade, compliance, and strategic development. Tom has built a career driving growth and innovation across multiple sectors. His expertise spans FinTech, commercial finance, M&A, and tax incentives, including R&D tax credits and Patent Box. Helping businesses optimise cash flow, reduce tax liabilities, and leverage strategic funding for growth.
James Crawley, Manchester Metropolitan University
James is Senior Lecturer in Enterprise Practice and Academic Lead for the Centre for Digital Innovation in the Centre for Enterprise within the faculty of Business and Law. He teaches within the department for Strategy, Enterprise and Sustainability (SES).
Niamh Donovan, Sustainable Ventures
With a background in sustainable development and circular fashion, Niamh currently holds the position of Ecosystem Manager at Sustainable Ventures in Manchester. Sustainable Ventures is a full service ecosystem for climate tech start-ups, providing both pre-seed and seed investment, as well as innovation support and access to non-dilutive funding routes such as grants and R&D tax credits.
David Edmundson-Bird FRSA CMBE SFHEA, Manchester Metropolitan University
David is Principal Lecturer in Digital Marketing and Faculty Lead for AI at Manchester Met Business School, responsible for developing policy and good practice embedding the use of AI in teaching, research and business engagement. David has worked in senior management roles in the digital sector and consults for SMEs providing training, coaching, and mentoring in strategic marketing, digital marketing practice, and e-commerce development themes.
Delyth Edwards, Senior Manager, British Business Bank, UK Network in North West England
Delyth focuses on working closely with funding delivery partners, business development agencies and other organisations across the region to help the Bank to understand and overcome the challenges smaller businesses face in their access to finance journey, and to improve their access to financial support.
Stuart Finnerty, Manchester Metropolitan University
Stuart is the Postgraduate Teaching Lead for the Faculty of Business and Law. He joined academia in 2018 after spending over 20 years working in the financial sector. Much of this time was spent leading teams and directly delivering for both SME and personal customers.
Before joining Manchester Met, Stuart was the Director for SME Banking for NatWest in Cheshire.
Liz Scott MBE, Director, Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester
Liz is a long-time tech ecosystem supporter, advisor and advocate. She has supported businesses large and small, nationally and internationally to grow, innovate and evolve for over 20 years.
Liz is the Director at the Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester (TIC), which is focussed on catalysing the AI ecosystem across Greater Manchester. Liz oversees a team delivering venture builders, incubators, accelerators, R&D projects and skills programmes.
Laetitia Sterling, Senior Managing Consultant, IBM
With over 30 years’ experience as a Business Consultant, Laetitia is recognised as a trusted advisor, leading digital transformation programmes and providing Government Industry insight that drives positive outcomes to disruptive challenges. An excellent facilitator, she extracts relevant information to address key issues, negotiating best possible outcomes within known constraints. Laetitia builds capability by enabling growth through coaching and mentoring.
Tech demonstration room exhibitors
Marks and Clerk is a leading intellectual property firm with deep expertise in AI, digital innovation and emerging technologies. We work with startups, scaleups and established businesses to help them protect and commercialise their innovations. At the Festival of Innovation, we’ll be hosting an IP Clinic in the tech-demonstration lounge, offering tailored advice on patents, trademarks and IP strategy. Whether you’re developing cutting-edge AI solutions or scaling your digital business, our team can help you navigate the complexities of IP and maximise your competitive advantage.
ManMet Minecraft is a virtual campus developed by Manchester Metropolitan University within Minecraft. This innovative platform features a digital replica of the Business School and allows students to engage with the campus through interactive activities, such as treasure hunts. It also serves as a collaborative space where students design themed restaurants that prioritise sustainability and operational efficiency. While ManMet Minecraft is tailored to our campus, the concept can be easily adapted by other institutions. Our exhibition will highlight the impact of this initiative and explore its potential for broader use.
Meganenexus is demonstrating GENAIE, our AI learning content authoring tool that enables subject matter experts to rapidly generate interactive and engaging materials within minutes.
The breakthrough AI content generation tool is transforming learning and development across thousands of subjects. Automatically generate engaging and interactive learning content and save your organisation time and money.
“We couldn’t have built the courses in the time we did without GENAIE.” – Salford Business School
Neptune’s Submerge will demonstrate the benefits of immersive VR for underwater education and conservation and how this technology can engage young minds to help promote sustainability.
PrintCity will be demonstrating 3D printing.
Scan Computing will demonstrate their Humanoid robot.
