An open discussion with Adam Hill and Nathan Rowland who have delivered digital adoption and inclusion projects with hundreds of VCSE organisations. How as technologists and the tech sector can we do more to support the tech for good movement and improve digital inclusion?

This session will look at practical ways we have found to work better with community organisations and do more with our knowledge of tech, to help organisations do more in communities. We will discuss the use of language, our leading role for accessibility and being ready to do more as members of society with critical knowledge that can drive inclusion and the adoption of tech for good.

Join us for the live performance + VR rendition which will include Southpaw Company's professional cast and the stories of Sunderland's own communities.  

3.1 was originally commissioned by The Cultural Spring.  

You must sign up separately for this here.

Join us for the live performance + VR rendition which will include Southpaw Company's professional cast and the stories of Sunderland's own communities.

3.1 was originally commissioned by The Cultural Spring.

You must sign up separately for this here.

In just two years, Mobilise has digitally identified over 166,900 unpaid carers and registered nearly 30,000 carer postcodes across the region, with 80% of those reached having never previously engaged with any formal support. Behind those numbers is one of the most ambitious cross-authority digital identification programmes in England, utilising digital marketing techniques to support real people right here in the North East.

But identification is only the beginning. Once connected, carers gain access to Mobilise's information advice, tools and importantly an online community of over 100,000 unpaid carers providing peer-to-peer support around the clock. This powerful, always-on network helps carers feel less alone whenever they need support, day or night.

We'll also share how Mobilise's AI-powered tools such as reimagining the Carer's Assessment to make it smarter, more responsive, and still human, can help, and explore why the North East is leading the way in using technology to support one of society's most overlooked groups.

If successful in our bid, we look to bring regional local authority partners and North East ADASS representatives to join us on the session, reflecting the cross-authority collaboration at the heart of this work and opening the conversation to the wider system leaders making it happen.

After ten years working with more than 300 charity leaders through SCVO’s Digital Senior Leaders programme, Ross McCulloch of Third Sector Lab & Digital Trustees has seen one thing again and again: the organisations that make digital change stick are the ones where digital is understood, challenged and championed at board level.

This interactive session is for anyone who believes tech skills can do more than fix short-term problems. We will explore how digital, data and design expertise can help charity boards ask better questions, make braver decisions and create deeper social impact.

You will hear what digital trustees actually do, why they matter now more than ever, and how charities, tech professionals, companies, funders and public sector partners can each play a role in building a UK where every charity can access trusted digital expertise at the top table.

Participants will leave with practical actions for becoming, finding or supporting digital trustees - and a clearer sense of how their own skills, networks or influence could help shape the future of civil society.

This session marks the beginning of a pioneering UK-Australia partnership that aims to bring international learning, practical examples and new approaches to place-based collaboration to the North East and beyond. Together, Hannah and Kristi are exploring how communities, charities, funders, businesses and public sector partners can move beyond disconnected systems and isolated datasets to create shared learning, stronger collaboration and more effective social action.

Expect practical examples, bold ideas, audience participation and a glimpse into how the North East could become a testbed for a new generation of place-based innovation.

This isn't a conversation about dashboards. It's a conversation about how communities can use data to take control, unlock new possibilities and creating lasting change for the people and places who need it most.  

In this talk, we’ll explore how digital technology can transform physical events in innovative yet simple ways: digitised accessibility guides, QR codes for live captions, sensory-aware spaces, colour-contrast best practices, pay-it-forward tickets, and open-access recordings. 

Because accessibility should be a given.

We’ll discuss how marrying the online and offline worlds can improve accessibility, not through expensive, complex solutions, but through thoughtful, practical design decisions.

We’ll share real examples from running an accessibility conference, including:

• An accessibility guide on how to design communication before, during, and after the event with accessibility embedded
• QR codes providing instant access to live captions and transcripts
• Intentional colour contrast and slide design to improve comprehension
• Dedicated sensory spaces for regulation and decompression
• Pay-it-forward ticketing for inclusivity 
• Making talks freely available online to remove geographic and financial barriers

This isn’t just about compliance or checklists; it’s about belonging. Because “Tech For Good” can only flourish if everyone has a seat at the table.

Key takeaways

• The difference between compliance and accessible by default 
• How to shift the mindset of your organisation and overcome the fear of getting things wrong 
• Choosing an accessible venue - what questions to ask your venue (not just if they have a lift)

Speakers

Ellen Forster and Michelle O’Connor, co-founders of Access:Given.

Ellen is a website developer and copywriter, Michelle is a content designer. Both are neurodivergent and have built Access:Given themselves. By the time of this session, they will have run two conferences.

In this talk Morven Farquhar, Client Delivery Lead at Opencast, will explore how communities of practice can transform the way public services are delivered by connecting practitioners across teams, disciplines and organisational silos.  

The session will explore practical tips to gain stakeholder buy-in, encourage participation, maintain momentum, and measure impact.  

Drawing on real-world experience in complex government environments, Morven will look at how communities of practice help reduce duplication, improve consistency, build capabilityand lead to better outcomes for users.  

While services are delivered by teams, their quality is often shaped by the communities around them. Investing time and effort in those communities is essential for delivering better public services.  

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/why-community-matters-and-how-to-build-it-tickets-1990843623871

What Makes Founders Succeed? Plus EU AI Act - Risks and Rewards.  

Join us at Grainger Hub for a special TechNext Festival fringe event delivered in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs, Tech Builders and Peter Pease Learning Pychology  

Tech Builders is a free co-working club bringing together the North East's best founders, operators and builders for a morning of real work alongside people who actually get it. No panels, no pitch competitions, no awkward networking. Just focused time, smart people, and the kind of conversations that move things forward.  

The session begins with Steven, founder of Barclays Eagle Labs and now a mentor through SR&F, sharing lessons from more than 30 years supporting entrepreneurs, innovators and high-growth businesses. Drawing on his experience building one of the UK's most influential startup support networks, Steven will explore the habits, decisions and behaviours that consistently help founders succeed.  

Following the presentation, selected founders will have the opportunity to take part in pre-arranged mentoring conversations with Steven, providing tailored advice and guidance on their current challenges and growth ambitions.  

We then move into a Lunch & Learn session with Dr Peter Pease, business psychologist, researcher and AI capability specialist. As AI tools become embedded into everyday business software, many organisations are adopting AI without fully understanding the implications for governance, compliance and data protection.  

Dr Pease will explain what business owners, founders and leaders need to know about AI in plain English, including:  

The practical implications of the EU AI Act for UK businesses  

UK GDPR and AI-related data protection responsibilities  

Simple steps to reduce AI-related risk in your organisation  

Research insights into how high-performing organisations develop AI capability  

Why smaller businesses can gain a competitive advantage through responsible AI adoption  

Whether you're building a startup, scaling a business, or simply trying to navigate the opportunities and risks of AI, this event offers practical insights, expert guidance and valuable networking opportunities.  

This event is part of TechNext Festival Week and is hosted at Grainger Hub in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs, Tech Builders and Peter Pease Learning Pychology.

This session explores why accessibility should be at the heart of decision-making across housing, planning and infrastructure. It examines how organisations can use location intelligence and geospatial insight to understand who can access services, where barriers exist and how investment can deliver the greatest impact.  

Attendees will learn how connected, trusted and accessible data can support more inclusive outcomes, helping organisations move beyond measuring assets delivered to understanding whether people can truly benefit from them.  

Key topics include:

• Why accessibility is a critical measure of success for housing, infrastructure and public services
• How location intelligence helps identify barriers, gaps in provision and opportunities for improvement
• Shifting the focus from ‘what data do we have?’ to ‘who can actually use what we provide?’
• The role of trusted, connected and interoperable data in supporting inclusive, outcome-led decisions
• A practical framework for embedding accessibility into planning and investment decisions from the outset
• How organisations can prioritise investment based on real-world impact for people and communities

Session format   

Following the speaker-led presentation, our panel will explore how these principles can be applied in practice. Speakers will discuss how organisations can use data, technology and place-based insight to improve accessibility, strengthen community outcomes and support more effective delivery across housing, planning and infrastructure.  

The discussion will focus on practical examples, lessons learned and the challenges of embedding accessibility into decision-making at every stage.  

Speakers   

Robin Boyle  

Senior Consultant - Geospatial Solution Architect  

Robin is a Geospatial Solution Architect with over twenty-five years of experience in designing and developing enterprise-level GIS and IT applications across central and local government, water and electricity utilities, and education.  

Marc Russell  

Vice President Consulting Services, CGI  

Marc Russell works with clients across the North East to deliver digital transformation and technology-enabled outcomes. Marc will join the session to share CGI perspectives on how technology, data and inclusive innovation can support better outcomes for communities, organisations and the environment.

​​Join Superteam UK this TechNExt at our co-working space for the greatest builders, leaders and creatives in Newcastle (Friday 19th: 10:00AM - 3:00PM)!

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​​Your name will be on the guestlist at the venue once Luma accepted.

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​​​​​Attendance is free, but make sure to register here beforehand as the event has limited capacity.

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​​​​​Here's what you can expect during Co-Working Fridays:

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​​Co-working day passes for top-tier talent in Newcastle.

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​​Learn from educational content on engineering, marketing, fundraising, and more through workshops, panels, and keynotes from partners.

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​​Get hands-on experience by working on your project, meeting new people, finding team members, or joining an existing team.

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​​Network and connect with other builders in Newcastle to accelerate your journey into tech.

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​​Enjoy a comfortable, central Newcastle venue equipped with good WiFi & workstations, as well as free drinks & snacks.

As technology evolves and AI reshapes the workplace, expectations around career growth, flexibility, and purpose are changing too.

Join HR and people professionals, industry leaders, and talent specialists for an engaging discussion on how organisations can better attract, develop, and retain technical talent in an increasingly competitive landscape.

This event is an opportunity to hear different perspectives, share experiences, and build meaningful connections with peers facing similar challenges. Through keynote insights and an interactive panel discussion, we will explore practical approaches to retention, the changing expectations of technical professionals, and how organisations can prepare for the future of work.

Topics will include:

• What encourages technical talent to stay, and what drives them to leave
• The impact of AI and changing skills needs on workforce planning
• Supporting career growth, engagement, and long-term retention
• Creating environments where technical talent can thrive

Whether you work in HR, people management, technology leadership, or talent strategy, this event offers an opportunity to exchange ideas, grow your network, and take away practical insights to support your organisation.

Join the conversation and help shape the future of technical talent retention.

Policy matters quite a lot, as it turns out.

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Join North East founders who have travelled to Westminster to meet directly with policymakers and see how decisions affecting the tech sector are made.

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They’ll share their experiences, what they learned from engaging with MPs and officials, and why understanding policy and regulation matters for startups looking to grow.

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Whether you’re building or scaling your company, this session will offer a practical founder’s-eye view of why engaging in policy matters for anyone growing a business in the North East.

We will explore the ‘chicken or egg’ relationship between IT and cyber security: a reliable IT foundation is the bedrock of defence, while robust cyber security ensures that infrastructure remains operational. This session demonstrates how these two elements work in tandem to create a resilient business capable of scaling without disruption.

At Net-Defence, we’ve seen the startup pitfalls that kill early-stage momentum, from damaging data breaches to poor technical infrastructure slowing down operations.

This session isn’t about blocking innovation; it’s about enabling it. We will demonstrate how getting foundations right from day one acts as a competitive advantage, removing the drag of technical errors so startups can scale faster and with total confidence.

Our specialists will share practical insights and a critical checklist of the essentials every startup must get right to survive in the current threat landscape.

This is ideal for early-stage startup teams looking to build business resilience into their scaling strategy from the outset. The session is equally suitable for business leaders and operations managers who need to understand the business impact of IT and cyber.

Come along to learn about the variety and types of support that are available to Tech Startups across the region.

Being a founder is demanding - it takes nearly all your time, vast emotional energy, and huge cognitive capacity. 

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To build and scale successfully, you also need to invest in yourself - in the strategies and habits that keep you performing sustainably over the long term. 

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Join me for this 60-minute interactive session designed to help you strengthen your personal foundation and stay effective through the highs and lows of startup life. 

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In this workshop, you will:

• Assess and analyse your current habits and practices 

• Understand your unique challenges as a founder 

• Identify small, impactful actions to optimise your performance and sustain your energy for the long term

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Take an hour to focus on the leader behind the business - because optimising you is the best investment your company will ever make. 

This impactful session will provide you with an opportunity to connect with start ups and SMES to explore the key people related 'growing pains' that prevent pace, productivity and people engagement. Join us for this informative session where you'll learn and discuss some of the key people related challenges that growing businesses typically face as they grow and establish. Each group will participate in a conversation facilitated by a coach to help formulate ideas and solutions.  

This session will benefit you if you're a founder or senior member of a start up or SME or those in people related roles. This session will prepare you in advance of typical growth related people challenges so that you can tackle these with confidence and proactivity. It’s a space to connect with other people from start ups and SMEs, sharing discussions in a safe place.

Join CEO of Blu Sky Jon Dudgeon, as he discusses the importance - regardless of stage -of being financial literate, prepared and agile. He will be joined by three founders of varying stages, where he explores what finance-related challenges they’ve faced at varying growth stages and crucially what they did to overcome problems. 

Are you passionate about working at a start-up or becoming a technical co-founder? Do you have what it takes to be a great founding engineer? This is your starting point.

From user engagement and commercial thinking to the ability to design, build, and ship fast across the full stack; James breaks down what it really takes to succeed as a founding engineer in a tech start-up.

The final session zooms out to explore what globally-scaled success can look like from the North East.  

Through the story of Kromek, this conversation examines scaling, deeptech, international growth, leadership, resilience and what it takes to build globally significant companies from the region.

What happens when founders go again?

This session explores the mindset of serial entrepreneurs: lessons learned from previous ventures, pattern recognition, confidence, scars, mistakes and how experience changes the way you build companies.

Not every challenge happens at the beginning.

This session explores the often-overlooked middle stage of company building: managing growth, evolving leadership, operational complexity, burnout, hiring, resilience and the pressure of keeping momentum alive once the initial excitement fades.

Ideas are easy. Customers are harder.

This session focuses on the moment startups move beyond concept stage and into commercial reality: winning early customers, building trust, refining products and proving there’s genuine demand for what you’re building.

Every founder story starts somewhere, usually with uncertainty, self-doubt and figuring things out as you go.

This session explores what it really feels like to start building your first company: balancing risk, finding confidence, learning fast and taking the first genuine steps into entrepreneurship.

A scene-setting overview exploring the current state of the North East technology ecosystem: where momentum is building, where gaps still exist, and what founders genuinely need to succeed.

From startup density and investment readiness to AI, ecosystem support and regional ambition, this session sets the context for the day ahead.

AI is creating a new standard for high performance. This session will discuss the evolution from building task-based AI for workflow automation to today’s autonomous multi-agent systems designed for finance teams in small and medium sized businesses.

Learn from IDC’s latest research how AI adoption and productivity gains are limited by a lack of trust with 70% of businesses rejecting AI outputs they can’t explain. Discover how much of the time saved through AI is often lost to the verification and reconstruction work needed to explain it.

Finally, find out how the challenge of providing AI you can trust can be delivered, with domain expertise, security and transparency at its core to ensure confidence, control and accountability.

Presenter: Hilary Duffy (Product Marketing Director, Sage AI)

Taking place as part of the TechNExt festival, the event will showcase the strength of the region’s games ecosystem while connecting local talent with national organisations, funding opportunities and industry expertise.  

Main Conference  

The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, 10am – 4.30pm  

The conference programme will feature keynote talks from leading industry speakers, panels examining trends and developments shaping the sector, and sessions focused on funding, publishing and the business of games.  

Networking Drinks  

By the River Brew/Summer on the Southside, 4:30pm – 9pm  

Following the conference, attendees will be invited to stay for informal drinks and networking, providing an opportunity to continue conversations and connect with others from across the games community.

For many small businesses, AI has quickly become a useful shortcut. But turning it into something you can rely on day-to-day is a different challenge altogether.  

The real difference comes down to judgment, knowing when to trust AI, when to question it, and when not to use it at all. That’s not something you get from theory alone. It comes from practice, and from seeing how other businesses like yours are applying these tools in real situations.  

On Tuesday 16 June, Sage in partnership with techUK, Google and Multiverse are hosting a free AI skills workshop in Newcastle as part of the TechNExt Festival. It’s designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses across the North East.  

This is a practical session. You’ll:  

Learn prompting techniques that immediately improve results  

Identify where AI can save time in your existing workflows  

Explore real examples of how small businesses are using AI in everyday tasks  

Bring your laptop and expect to leave with tools and ideas you can start using straight away.  

To book please follow this link: https://www.techuk.org/what-we-deliver/events/ai-skills-for-your-future-northeast-technext-festival-with-sage-google-and-multiverse.html

Spot, stop and protect against cyber attacks  

Marks & Spencer and Jaguar Land Rover both hit the headlines last year following major cyber attacks that cost each company millions of pounds and an untold amount in reputational damage.  

Made Smarter - the finance and support programme that helps North East manufacturers adopt new digital technology - has joined forces with Sunderland Software City and Punk Security to deliver a free fringe event at this year’s TechNExt exploring cyber security and how you can protect your business from similar attacks.  

Open to businesses from any sector, you’re invited to join us at Newcastle University's Stephenson Building on Tuesday 16 June as cyber resilience specialists Punk Security walk us through a real-life cyber attack. They’ll share:  

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• examples of incidents that have affected businesses in our area
• highlight practical steps you can take to better protect yourself.

Cyber security expert (and hacker), Simon Gurney MSc - CTO and founder Punk Security - has a wealth of experience and is specialised in integrating security at all levels from the ground up.  

Simon is a seasoned speaker who has presented at some of the most well-known and respected cyber conferences globally. His career spans military service in the Royal Air Force, public and private sector organisations in infrastructure, security and DevSecOps positions.  

You’ll come away with knowledge and skills to keep your business safe online and and across your digital networks.  

If you’re a business owner or responsible for IT in our organisation, this event is for you.  

About Made Smarter  

Made Smarter helps manufacturers in the North East increase profits, improve efficiency and grow by investing in digital technology, people and processes.  

Open to SMEs (under 250 employees) working in the manufacturing and advanced manufacturing sectors, businesses that take part in Made Smarter benefit from:  

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• Expert support to create a digital roadmap
• Access to fully funded workshops or digital skills courses with other manufacturers
• Grant funding to invest in new technology and software
• Fully funded Digital Intern Placements to support with digital projects

Advanced Manufacturing is one of the growth-driving sectors in the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority’s Local Growth Plan, which outlines the need to increase tech adoption to improve productivity and competitiveness.  

The manufacturers of tomorrow use technology to streamline their processes - they are faster, more responsive, and more efficient. Ultimately, they make better products for less. Made Smarter helps manufacturing businesses secure a competitive edge.  

To find out more, to view case studies from businesses that have taken part in the programme, and to sign up, visit madesmarter.uk

A serious game, where participants are the boss of NE energy and renewables, where do they spend the money, what do they think the risks, challenges are.  What does those in industry have to say?  What needs to happen. Its a game of strategy, and rapid decision making that breaks down the barriers of what happens at NE energy and renewables and how it affects local populaces

This session explores how emotional intelligence (EI) must evolve within today’s AI-driven tech workforce. It begins with a short grounding exercise to help participants regulate and focus, followed by an exploration of how AI is reshaping the value of human skills and why neurodiversity is an essential consideration for modern teams.  

Participants will examine common workplace challenges—such as miscommunication, overload, and disengagement—and identify how current ways of working may unintentionally exclude different thinking styles.  

The session then introduces simple, practical emotional-intelligence tools designed to work for a wider range of neurotypes. Through interactive discussion, attendees will consider how these approaches can boost clarity, collaboration, and wellbeing.  

The session closes with a clear call to action, empowering participants to apply new insights within their organisations.  

Key Takeaways for Attendees  

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• A strong understanding of why emotional intelligence is becoming a core capability—not a soft skill—in an AI-powered tech environment.
• Insight into how neurodiversity influences emotional regulation, communication, and interpersonal dynamics.
• Practical options to improve team communication, inclusion, and day‑to‑day performance.
• Simple, actionable ideas for creating conditions where diverse thinking styles can thrive.
• A mindset shift from “emotions don’t belong at work” to recognising emotions as a measurable performance advantage.

To book, please use this link: https://www.meetup.com/tech-on-the-tyne/events/314672001/?slug=tech-on-the-tyne&eventId=314672001&isFirstPublish=true

Product teams often complain that their innovation pipelines are frustrated by time and technical capability. This session debunks this.  

We’ll start by asking the audience to decide what gets built. They’ll shape a 1990’s style product idea live in the room, before passing it over to a group of students who’ll deliver it in hours. But with a twist: they’ll have to deliver the product using AI to support them along the way.  

You’ll see how they approach the problem, where they get stuck, and how AI helps them move forward. What speeds up. What still takes time. And how quickly something usable actually appears.  

In between, you’ll be able to join fireside, panels, workshop, and skills sessions all led by leading product professionals from across the public and private sectors, and startups.  

Delivered in partnership with Newcastle University, this session combines a live build with short discussion to unpack what it means for how teams approach innovation today.

This event brings together employers, educators and partners to drive a place-based blueprint for modern work experience and a call to action to shape what comes next across Sunderland.  

Designed as an interactive and engaging experience, the event will move beyond awareness into action. You will hear directly from students, explore the challenges they face in accessing meaningful work experience, and collaborate with others to shape practical solutions for a modern approach.  

Through a mix of storytelling, discussion and hands-on workshop activity, attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how they can get involved.  

Why attend?  

Gain insight into the FutureReady Sunderland Programme  

Hear authentic student voice and lived experiences  

Connect with cross-sector partners and employers  

Contribute to shaping future experiences of the workplace  

Commit to meaningful, practical ways to support young people

This event explores how working across teams, disciplines and levels of experience drives more creative thinking and more effective outcomes.  Through a series of sessions, legal, technical and operational colleagues will share how they are tackling complexity together by combining their strengths.    

From the development of tools that reveal organisational knowledge, to new approaches to delivering work through joined up expertise, each session demonstrates the practical impact of collaboration in action.  The focus is on what works, what is changing, and how shared insight leads to clearer decisions and better outcomes for clients and colleagues.  

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9:30am - Registration & Coffee

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10am - Fresh Perspectives Through Early Careers

Nick Paterson (moderator), James George, Sophie Murray, John Lafferty

Great teams aren't built from a single mould. This session explores how early careers programmes are bringing fresh perspectives and diverse skills into the organisation. Hear from participants about what they've learned, how they're contributing, and why investing in varied entry pathways doesn't just open doors for individuals — it makes the whole team stronger. When people grow together, better solutions follow.  

10:30am - Innovation That Turns Complexity into Capability  

Carrie Brogden-Turnbull, Efua Biney

This session will explore how innovative legal technology empowers teams to turn complex client challenges into clear, actionable capabilities - driving smarter decision‑making, more efficient collaboration, and new pathways to deliver exceptional client outcomes.  

11am - Revealing Organisational Knowledge through a Chatbot  

Andrea Bowyer (moderator), Lydia O'Neill, Dainy Toms

Legal Technology Consulting will showcase how they are using a multi‑jurisdictional survey chatbot to present organisational knowledge in a more accessible, interactive format. The session will demonstrate how this approach enables faster access to information across jurisdictions, supports day‑to‑day work and reduces time spent searching through documents.  

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11:30am - Coffee Break

11:45am - Copilot Hackathon: Overview and Ideas Session  

Ally Ward, Gurps Sandhu, Jake Belgian

Go behind the scenes of our Copilot Hackathon with Microsoft. This session covers how the event came together, the ideas that emerged, and what we actually achieved — as well as a chance to share your own thoughts on where AI tools like Copilot could make a real difference.  

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12:30pm - Lunch

1:30pm - ILTA Connect: Women in Legal Tech

Andrea Bowyer, Amy Reay, Kate Ramsdale, Riina Rostron

The best collaborations happen when every voice is heard. An open, peer-led conversation about the experiences, challenges, and opportunities that shape careers in legal tech — and why a stronger, more inclusive community benefits all of us.

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2pm - Improving IT Services with Digital Experience Insights  

Andrea Bowyer (moderator), Rob Kirk, John Dixon, Lydia Lennon

How the virtual Digital Experience team united multiple functions around a shared vision — turning real-time data into a common language for collaboration and proactive problem-solving  

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2:30pm - The Power Behind Matter Delivery 

Carrie Brogden-Turnbull, Shaznee Seraj Ahmad, Alioma Chukwu-Etu

This session explores how truly cross‑functional teams - uniting legal, operational, and technology expertise - are reshaping matter delivery to cut through complexity and drive clearer, faster, and more valuable outcomes for our clients.

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3pm - Networking & Close

In today’s digital-first world, many professionals and founders remain invisible on LinkedIn—not because they lack expertise, but because their expertise isn’t clearly positioned.  

This interactive 1-hour session introduces a simple framework to help you communicate your expertise clearly and increase your visibility. We will focus on the most important elements of your LinkedIn profile, including your headline, banner, and About section, and show how small changes can significantly improve how you are perceived online.  

The session will be delivered by Pavlina Alexandrou, LinkedIn Positioning Specialist and Founder of All Matters Digital. It is designed for professionals and founders who want to use LinkedIn more strategically, without overcomplicating the process.

Supported by CyberNorth, Check Point brings its Cyber Leader Summit to the North East for TechNExt.  

This roadshow, already featured in London and Manchester, comes to Newcastle and boasts a blend of internal and external speakers, including industry experts, thought leaders, and leading vendors who share their knowledge on the latest trends, emerging threats, and best practices in cybersecurity.  

The Summit will host an afternoon of expert insights, lively discussions and a chance to see if attendees can break Check Point's AI bot, Gandalf.  

Lunch  

Welcome & Cyber in the North Overview  

Opening Plenary  

Keynote  

Refreshments break  

Panel  

Beat the AI Bot  

Closing Remarks  

Festival after party  

Topics and areas of expertise to be showcased will be around AI, cybersecurity, quantum and future technologies. We will also be discussing the ethics and responsible use of data and information.  

Speakers include Check Point, the BBC and DSIT (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology).  

We're aiming to strengthen the cybersecurity community in the region, providing local leaders with the tools and strategies needed to stay ahead of the evolving cyber threat landscape. This is an excellent chance for organisations to showcase their solutions and connect with decision-makers who are driving the future of cybersecurity in the area.  

To book, please sign up here: https://events.checkpoint.com/cyber-leader-summit-newcastle-cybernorth-technext-2026/

'A Byte in the Sun' is the June edition of Silicon Mingle, Newcastle's friendly tech and startup mixer, running as part of the TechNext fringe in partnership with the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT).  

We will be taking over the rooftop terrace and cocktail bar at The Grove in Byker for an evening of drinks, a BBQ delights — courtesy of our partner ACT, who'll be joining us with a delegation visiting from the United States.  

The format is deliberately low-key: no panels or pitches - just good people, a great atmosphere, some fun food and the kind of unhurried conversations that turn into co-founders, hires, customers and friendships.  

We're expecting a healthy mix of startup founders, operators, engineers, developers and independent app makers from across the North East, alongside our visiting friends from across the pond.  

The Grove itself is well worth turning up for — a beautifully restored Byker venue with one of the nicest rooftops in the city. Doors from 6:30pm, wrapping up around 9pm.

Building on two successful years of participation, the TechNExt Fringe Event 2026 at the Newcastle Deaf Centre – Make Some Noise: Take Courage with Tech will provide a dynamic and inclusive space that champions accessible innovation. Informed by the relaxed, discussion-led format of the 2024 event and the interactive, project-driven programme delivered in 2025, the 2026 fringe event will further strengthen the role of the third sector as a vital bridge between technology, accessibility and real-world communication.  

Hosted at the Newcastle Deaf Centre, the event will bring together community  to celebrate the inclusive design, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence in support of Deaf and hearing people alike. The programme will highlight NDC’s achievements in ongoing research partnerships, Deaf-led innovation, and youth digital work, alongside opportunities for dialogue, creative engagement and knowledge-sharing.  

TechNExt Fringe 2026 will continue to amplify Deaf voices, demonstrating that accessibility is not optional, but central to meaningful and forward-thinking innovation for all.

Arrive for registration and drink refreshments at the iconic venue of Sheepfolds.

Explore how creative organisations are using AI to stay competitive, work smarter and unlock new opportunities, while maintaining originality and identity.

This panel explores how that momentum turns into real growth, from reimagining places, innovating industry and alligning policy and investment.  

Bringing together industry, community networks and regional voices, the discussion will focus on what works and what it takes to build a sustainable creative powerhouse.

KaraokAI is an award winning interactive platform that uses generative AI to turn written content into karaoke performances. For TechNExt26, we will curate a library of content drawn from the festival's themes and the North East tech scene — from AI and creative technology to local startups and tech for good initiatives. We'd welcome input from the TechNExt team on what to include, making this a genuinely bespoke experience for the festival.  

Here's how it works: participants choose a topic from the curated library, then pick any song from our catalogue of 400+ tracks spanning genres and eras. The system then generates a completely unique karaoke track live — mapping that content to that song in real time. No two performances are the same. Then they take the mic and sing it.  

Developed by Anna and team, KaraokAI has toured internationally - — from CHI 2025 in Yokohama (where it won the Popular Vote Award with over 1,000 participants) to ECSCW, the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival, and the University of Lisbon. It has been used to communicate academic research, hackathon outcomes, government initiatives, school curriculums organisational ideas and so much more - through song.  

This session is suitable for all audiences — no technical background or singing ability required. Just curiosity and a willingness to have fun.  

Technical requirements: Reliable internet access; a large screen or projector; microphones and speakers (we can bring our own but venue-provided alternatives would be helpful).

3.1 was originally commissioned by The Cultural Spring.

Step into the world of sound design in this interactive synth workshop. Explore how technology transforms simple waveforms into rich, expressive sound, and experiment with the tools behind modern music production. No experience needed, just curiosity.  

Electronic instrument taster session hosted by the North East’s only Electronic Music Open Mic event - KLANG - try your hand at electronic music production via a number of samplers, synthesizers, drum machines, music software and more.

Step into 2040 through four imagined futures of the creative industries. This live film screening from CoSTAR Foresight Lab transforms research into an immersive experience. This is designed to provoke, challenge, and inspire what comes next. View the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/1170294818?fl=ip&fe=ec   

After imagining 2040, this panel asks what comes next. Focusing on music and creative technology, industry voices explore how emerging trends are already reshaping live experiences, platforms, and power - and what it will take to build a better future for the creative industries.

Join Soul Kitchen Music and Sunderland Music City as they explore how the North is building its own music infrastructure - creating opportunities for artists to make, perform, and earn a living from music without relocating and how tech is playing a role.

Community building is never easy, and creating a space that truly champions diversity and inclusion comes with its own unique challenges. 

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Since 2022, we’ve grown an incredible community of over 1,500 members, and along the way, we’ve learned a lot.

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In this session, we’ll share the wins we’re proud of, the lessons that shaped us, and what we’d do differently. If you’re thinking about building a community for women or other marginalised groups, you’ll leave with practical insights to help you get started and grow with confidence. 

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There'll be time at the end for Q&A to answer any specific questions. 

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Intended audience: Anyone interested in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

There will be two main elements of this workshop, an interactive session where attendees will be able to sample our open-source materials for increasing AI literacy, and a short talk on best practices and experiences in upskilling groups in AI literacy; including how to integrate AI tools into these types of training. The interactive session will take around 40 minutes, with a 10 minute presentation and 10 minute Q+A. It will require three or six cluster tables depending on attendee numbers as there will be a carousel of 3 activities that participants can try. 

Every day, millions of small and medium‑sized businesses use Sage to run payroll, manage finances, and operate their businesses—generating a unique, real‑time view of the economy grounded in actual business activity rather than surveys or lagging indicators.  

Sage is exploring how this operational data can be used responsibly to deliver impact across three core areas: improving access to finance, strengthening economic insight, and enabling better decision‑making for businesses, policymakers, and institutions.  

A key example is Sage SME Pulse, which uses anonymised payroll and accounting data to provide a near real‑time view of SME performance. SMEs represent around 60% of UK economic output yet are underrepresented in traditional economic reporting. SME Pulse helps close this gap by offering more timely and accurate signals of business activity.  

This work is strengthened through trusted partnerships such as Smart Data Foundry (SDF), enabling secure, privacy‑preserving data collaboration. Combining Sage data with third‑party datasets allows deeper insight into real‑world challenges—such as regional disparities and financial resilience—and supports more targeted, evidence‑based interventions.  

At an individual and small business level, Sage is also exploring how data can help reduce barriers to financing and investment, ensuring people can fully participate in—and benefit from—a digitised economy.  

Looking ahead, Sage is extending these foundations through real‑time economic signals, deeper data collaboration, and AI‑driven insights embedded directly into user workflows—shifting from static reporting to proactive, insight‑led decision‑making.  

Across all initiatives, trust is fundamental. A consent‑first approach, strong privacy safeguards, and transparency underpin how data is used and shared.

Most mission-driven organisations depend on technology platforms that set the terms, change prices without warning, and operate under jurisdictions they've never considered. But few have ever thought about what they mean for their mission.

This interactive taster session gives you a hands-on introduction to the TechFreedom approach. Working together, you'll build a quick technology inventory for your own organisation, then assess your tools through five risk lenses: jurisdiction, business continuity, surveillance, lock-in, and cost exposure. You'll leave with a clearer picture of where your hidden dependencies sit and what you could do about them.

Over the last 2 years Virgin Money Foundation have distributed £5million in grants to tackle digital exclusion in local neighbourhoods. During the session you will hear what we have learnt about the nature of digital exclusion and the human centred ways in which community anchor charities across the North East are tackling it. 

This session will explore how innovation is driving real impact - from the way technology is improving day‑to‑day legal work to how it’s strengthening pro bono support. We’ll highlight practical examples of tech being used for good, including recent matters, our pro bono initiatives, and a case study that shows the difference innovation can make in practice.

Join us to find out about the importance of robust evaluation methods used on new technologies that present an opportunity to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs to the NHS.  We’ll present some recent work around economic evaluation in the North East including the challenges of evaluating and implementing these new technologies.

This joint session with The King’s Trust and Seriös Group shares how data has been used to better measure impact, support decision making and improve the outcomes for young people across the UK. The session is based on a long-term partnership that began in 2020, supporting the charity’s data transformation journey.  

Speakers will discuss the challenges of fragmented data, manual reporting and limited resources, and how bringing data together into a single, governed platform has improved visibility of programme outcomes, employment results, diversity metrics and donor impact. The session will also cover how dashboards are used to support consistent reporting to stakeholders and to prioritise resources more effectively.  

The format will include short talks followed by discussion and audience questions.  

Intended audience: Professionals looking to better understand how data can support impact measurement and reporting, and tech professionals and data practitioners interested in delivering purpose‑led data solutions.  

Format: Short talks followed by discussion and Q&A

Most productivity systems are designed around a narrow model of how people think and work. In reality, many individuals, particularly those who are neurodivergent, experience daily tasks as fragmented, overwhelming or cognitively demanding. Advances in AI present a genuine opportunity to rethink how work is structured. This session explores how emotionally intelligent use of AI can reduce cognitive load, remove friction from routine processes and support individuals to work in ways that feel more natural, focused and sustainable.

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Drawing on lived experience alongside practical stage based demonstrations, Andy will show how tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and simple automation platforms can be used to support thinking rather than simply increase output. Real examples will include structuring complex or messy information, reducing task switching, improving clarity in written communication, managing overwhelm and using AI as a safe reflective space for planning and prioritisation.

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Rather than positioning AI purely as a productivity tool, this talk reframes it as a mechanism for redesigning everyday work to be more inclusive, emotionally aware and human centred. The session will last approximately 60 minutes and will be delivered as an interactive stage talk, incorporating live demonstrations and natural audience engagement throughout. Time will be reserved for a Q and A segment, including the potential for live audience questions to be captured via social media channels.

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The session is suitable for both beginner and more experienced audiences, with content designed to be accessible to non technical professionals while still offering insight for those already exploring AI adoption. It is particularly relevant for employers, managers, educators, SME leaders and individuals interested in using AI responsibly to support wellbeing, business processes and day to day decision making.

As retail and public spaces become more automated, we don’t often pause to ask a basic question: who are these environments really working for?

Self-checkouts, app-based services, and “frictionless” systems are usually designed around speed and efficiency. But that experience isn’t the same for everyone. For many people, including older adults, disabled people, and those with cognitive or sensory challenges, these changes can make everyday tasks more difficult rather than easier.

This session explores that gap between efficiency and inclusion through the lens of Slow Shopping, a programme that works with retailers and community partners to make spaces more accessible through small, practical changes that don’t require major overhauls.

It will also draw on research developed with Newcastle University through the Arrow programme, looking at how shopping connects to wellbeing, independence, and economic participation.

Rather than a one-way presentation, this will be a more open, interactive session. We’ll look at real examples from high streets and public spaces and invite participants to reflect on their own environments, what’s working, what isn’t, and where small changes could make a big difference.

The session is aimed at people working across retail, technology, public services, design, and community development, but it’s intentionally accessible to a mixed audience. Whether you’re shaping strategy or working on the ground, there should be something relevant here.

The session will be led by Katherine Vero, founder of Slow Shopping, who has worked across retail, community settings, and international projects.

Many teams understand that accessibility is important, but lack experience in how people navigate digital products using assistive technologies. 

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This interactive workshop introduces participants to common accessibility barriers through a series of guided exercises using built-in accessibility features available on most laptops and smartphones. 

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Participants will work through short activities including: 

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1. Screen Reader Challenge 

Participants attempt to complete a simple task on a website while using a screen reader. This demonstrates how navigation, headings, link text and page structure affect usability. 

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1. Keyboard-Only Navigation 

Attendees try to complete common actions using only a keyboard, highlighting issues with focus states, menus and interactive components. 

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1. Accessibility Barrier Spotting 

Small groups review real examples of inaccessible interfaces and identify potential problems for users with visual, motor or cognitive impairments. 

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1. Quick Wins for Accessibility 

The session concludes with practical guidance on simple accessibility improvements teams can start implementing immediately. 

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The goal of the workshop is to build empathy for users with different access needs while giving attendees practical knowledge they can take back to their teams and projects. 

Design systems are often discussed as tools for consistency and efficiency, but they can also be powerful drivers of accessibility and inclusion. When accessibility is embedded into components, guidance and testing processes, it scales across teams and products. 

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This panel explores how accessibility can be built into design systems from multiple perspectives: UX design, design system governance, and quality assurance. Panellists will share practical examples from real projects, including how accessibility standards are translated into reusable components, how QA teams test for accessibility issues, and how teams balance speed with inclusive design. 

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Attendees will gain insight into how cross-disciplinary collaboration helps ensure accessibility is not an afterthought but a core part of the product development lifecycle. 

Join Sam and Linzi from BornGood in this practical, hands-on workshop demystifies the refurbishment process and shows how old laptops can be transformed into high-quality, reliable devices.  

Participants will be guided through the full lifecycle of a device, from initial assessment and data wiping through to hardware testing, reconfiguration and redeployment. The session will demonstrate how refurbishment meets commercial standards while delivering environmental and social value.  

Attendees will get the chance to work directly with equipment, understand key components, and learn what makes a device “fit for reuse”. We will also explore how refurbished tech supports large-scale digital inclusion programmes and reduces environmental impact, avoiding the significant carbon and resource costs of manufacturing new devices .  

The workshop is designed to build confidence in refurbished technology, challenge misconceptions, and highlight opportunities for organisations to adopt circular IT models.

This interactive panel will explore how access to devices and data underpins digital inclusion and enables meaningful outcomes across health, employment and education.  

Chaired by Simon Howatson, CEO of BornGood, the session brings together perspectives from the public sector, VCSE organisations and industry. Panellists include Barbara Spooner MBE (Digital Safety CIC), Jasmine Craggs (Gentoo), Melissa Middleton (Gateshead Council and the Regional Digital Inclusion Taskforce) and Chris Barton (Operations Manager, BornGood).  

The panel will share live examples of what is working across the North East, including collaborative pilots with Sunderland City Council, the North East Combined Authority and NHS partners.  

Discussion will focus on practical delivery models such as device reuse, community distribution and integrated connectivity solutions. Drawing on initiatives like the Digital Resilience Fund and large-scale device repurposing programmes, the session will highlight approaches that support regional ambitions to reduce the digital divide and expand access to opportunity.  

Moving beyond theory, the session will address real-world challenges, lessons learned and what it takes to scale sustainable digital inclusion. Audience participation will be encouraged through Q&A and open discussion.

The Gateshead Tech4Communities pilot was launched in August 2025, involving local communities, local and national partners, and Gateshead Council in a brand new partnership. These different partners have crucially provided local expertise and delivery as well as and national knowledge and support. The North East is one of the most, if not the most digitally excluded region in England especially if considering the issues of digital poverty and lack of devices. 

Tech4Communities is a proven delivery model developed by the Digital Poverty Alliance that demonstrates how secure, scalable device redistribution can be delivered with lasting local impact. In Gateshead, that model is being applied through a trusted network of libraries and community venues, ensuring that every device reaches the people who need it most. The pilot’s collection phase has ended, and we have opened the form so people living in Gateshead can request a donation of a refurbished device.

In this panel, we will discuss how the project has been working to support digital inclusion, digital transformation, and sustainability. It will also talk about stakeholder partnerships, and any lessons, challenges, and impact that we have so far encountered. 

Paul McMurray from Accenture takes us through how artificial intelligence is being put to work in surprisingly practical and human ways to make donating to food banks easier and more effective.  

The session covers the full journey of the project, from its origins through to the cutting-edge technology that now powers it, shaped along the way by a team of engineers who cared deeply about the problem they were solving. Paul walks through the specific ways AI has been applied: turning food bank wish lists into appealing recipes, and automatically filling a supermarket basket with the right items to be sent directly to those who need them.  

There will be live demonstrations and plenty of conversation, all handled with the lightness of touch that a topic this important deserves.

What does “good” look like when you are building a digital service for people harmed by institutional failure?

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At the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, we have been part of standing up a national compensation service at pace. In many ways, it has felt like a government start up: building teams, platforms, governance and culture simultaneously, under intense scrutiny and real urgency.

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But this is not a typical start up problem. Our users are people who have experienced profound harm, decades of distrust and repeated systemic failure. In that context, traditional product metrics such as efficiency and speed are necessary, but not enough.

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This session explores how we are redefining success through a trauma informed lens. How do you translate principles like safety, transparency, choice and empowerment into measurable product outcomes? How do you balance speed with sensitivity? How do you ensure that scaling a service does not scale harm?

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We will share how we are embedding trauma informed principles into our measurement frameworks, how lived experience has shaped product decisions, and how we are holding ourselves accountable not just for delivery, but for dignity.

In fast moving tech world, the Third sector is often seen as a sector not worth building for. The fear of ruining the cause reputation, the scarcity of their resources and the lack of training are all factors contributing to the sector being consistently behind when it comes to adopting new technologies. This creates a space where fewer tech companies operate and a hill where many brilliants startups die before the incumbents even feel any threat.

We will explore the Tech For Good landscape, see who are the leaders, who are emerging and explore why so many startups fail to capture a fair share of the market even with better offers than the existing market leaders.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from experimentation into everyday organisational use, creating both significant opportunity and new risk. This fireside keynote session will explore Gentoo Group’s real world journey of implementing AI through a governance first approach that places accountability, trust and data protection at the centre of adoption.

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Michael McCarroll, Head of ITSM and Infrastructure at Gentoo, will share practical insight into how the organisation established clear guardrails, defined ownership and embedded responsible AI practices before rolling out tools such as Microsoft Copilot. Drawing on lived experience from a regulated public service environment, the session will highlight lessons learned, common pitfalls and how governance can act as an enabler rather than a barrier to innovation.

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The session is hosted by Access Training, a regional digital skills provider that has worked alongside Gentoo on workforce development initiatives, AI awareness activity and employer roundtables focused on practical adoption. This collaboration provides a strong foundation for an open and honest conversation about what real AI implementation looks like inside organisations today.

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Hosted by Andy Bremner, Digital Transformation and AI Trainer at Access Training, the session will take the form of an informal keynote conversation followed by a live Q and A. Audience members will be able to contribute questions both in the room and via livestream, creating an interactive discussion centred on governance, emerging risk, workforce capability and responsible innovation.

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The session is aimed at business leaders, managers, public sector professionals and technical teams who are beginning or progressing their AI adoption journey and want practical, transferable insight into how to move forward with confidence.

Big tech companies have built incredibly powerful predictive models, but they haven't built people. They lack personality, physical presence, and a persistent memory. So, how do you take AI and give it a face, a voice, a diary, and an independent existence inside a real-world business? And what happens when you do, then a tech giant treads on your toes?

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In this session, Aidan Dunphy (and his Synth colleague Alfred) will share the Frntir story. We’ll take the audience behind the scenes of our startup journey to build "Synths" - digital humans that work alongside you. Designed for a broad audience of business leaders, students, and tech professionals, this talk bares all regarding the challenges of choosing and delivering on a bold vision, rather than a ‘me too’ product.

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Key Topics:

• The Attitude: The challenges of conceptualising an AI agent with a persistent persona and autonomy.
• The Diary: How we designed (and redesigned) memory using advanced techniques, and understanding the tradeoffs between remembering everything and being able to focus.
• The Voice: The messy reality of generating natural speech and full video in real-time, and keeping pace with ever-climbing expectations of realistic and natural behaviour.
• Being first: What happened when, inevitably, one of the tech giants suddenly announced they were doing the same thing, and had given it the same name!

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We will include a live demonstration, introducing a Frntir Synth (“Alfred”) in an online meeting, showcasing his real-time facial rendering, speech cadence, and contextual memory.

The event will consist of a high level legal overview of key data and AI trends, with a focus on legal risks from an English law perspective. 

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The session will be in a workshop format, so that the members of the audience can review certain key legal risks and consider how they might apply mitigations to their own scenario. There will be opportunities for interaction and questions. 

AI is shifting from pilot projects into core government systems, driven by national strategies and major investment in digital services. This keynote panel looks at what that means in practice as public sector organisations begin to deploy AI at scale, often in ways that exceed private sector use cases.  

The panel brings together a deliberately broad mix of perspectives: from policy and governance at the highest level, to the realities of building, securing and scaling AI inside complex, regulated environments. Speakers will draw on experience across central government, public services and the wider technology sector, covering everything from responsible AI and engineering practice to the commercial and organisational change required to make adoption work. A forward-looking view will round things out, considering how AI capabilities are evolving and what organisations should be preparing for now.  

The session will focus on how policy, delivery, and technology need to align for AI to deliver real outcomes. It will explore what progress looks like today, where barriers remain, and what the next five years of adoption could bring.  

Audience: Accessible to all levels of tech awareness, including AI enthusiasts, public sector leaders, technologists, and policy professionals.

Most businesses aren't short on data. They're short on data that actually works together. Spreadsheets here, a CRM there, operations running on a system that hasn't spoken to anything else in years. The result: hours lost stitching together reports, decisions made on instinct, and an AI strategy that's permanently sitting on next year's roadmap.  

This session is a live walkthrough of the fix. Led by Groundsight AI's Sam Lipman - with the platform built by one of the North East's most capable data engineering teams behind it - the audience will follow a real scenario from start to finish.  

We start with the mess: a growing business, data scattered across disconnected systems, conflicting numbers and invisible risks. Then, live on screen, those same fragmented sources flow into a centralised data platform - dashboards appear, patterns surface, and the fog lifts. Finally, the AI layer lands: a conversational assistant answering plain-English questions about the business, powered by data that's finally pulling in the same direction.  

Format: Most businesses aren't short on data. They're short on data that actually works together. Spreadsheets here, a CRM there, operations running on a system that hasn't spoken to anything else in years. The result: hours lost stitching together reports, decisions made on instinct, and an AI strategy that's permanently sitting on next year's roadmap.  

This session is a live walkthrough of the fix. Led by Groundsight AI's Sam Lipman - with the platform built by one of the North East's most capable data engineering teams behind it — the audience will follow a real scenario from start to finish.  

We start with the mess: a growing business, data scattered across disconnected systems, conflicting numbers and invisible risks. Then, live on screen, those same fragmented sources flow into a centralised data platform - dashboards appear, patterns surface, and the fog lifts. Finally, the AI layer lands: a conversational assistant answering plain-English questions about the business, powered by data that's finally pulling in the same direction.  

Format: 60-minute live demonstration with Q&A. Designed for business leaders, operations managers, and IT leads — no technical background required. Beginner to intermediate level.  

You'll leave knowing exactly why data silos block AI adoption, with a practical framework to assess your own readiness - and a clear sense that this isn't out of reach.

Most organisations collect customer feedback, but very few use it to improve how they operate. While feedback programmes are widespread, only a small proportion successfully turn insight into action.

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This session explores how organisations are evolving from traditional survey and reporting approaches to using Voice of the Customer as an operational tool. We’ll look at the shift from periodic reporting to real-time insight, and how feedback is increasingly used as an early warning system rather than a scorecard.

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We’ll also explore common challenges such as fragmented channels, insight overload and lack of ownership, and how these prevent organisations from acting on feedback effectively.

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Finally, we’ll share practical best practices used by leading organisations, including designing feedback for action, closing the loop with customers, and creating clearer accountability across teams.

This session will highlight the growing issues around extensive, potentially wasteful uses of AI, and the real risks that society as whole faces in it's continued consumption of resources to fuel it.

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In the talk, Dr Paul Hands will expand on the tangible economic factors and the risk of an "AI bubble" bursting, the risk of a polarity growing between members of society that can access AI and those that can't, and the risk that AI poses not just to the workforce in jobs that AI can now automate, but to society as we know it, as a whole.

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This is not however a doom and gloom lecture presentation, as much as it is a highlight of the risks, and warnings on steps to mitigate, with predictions of what the future might hold in the stratosphere of artificial intelligence adoption.

AI is rapidly reshaping how software is designed, built, and delivered. What began as simple code assistance has evolved into AI agents capable of generating code, tests, and even proposing architectural approaches. This shift is forcing organisations to rethink not just their tooling, but their team structures, delivery models, and the role of the engineer itself. 

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This session introduces the AI-Driven Delivery Lifecycle (AI-DLC) and the rise of the architect-developer, a hybrid role that combines architecture, engineering, and product thinking to orchestrate AI-driven delivery. Rather than focusing on writing code, architect-developers guide AI agents, define intent, and validate outputs to ensure alignment with business goals, technical standards, and long-term maintainability. 

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We will explore how this shift is enabling smaller, high-impact teams to replace traditional delivery models. Large, task-driven teams and rigid agile processes are giving way to autonomous pods, supported by AI agents, that operate with faster feedback loops, fewer handoffs, and greater focus on outcomes. We will also introduce semantic-first engineering, where teams collaborate with AI in real time using just-in-time specifications and curated source context to improve speed, quality, and consistency. 

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Drawing on real delivery experience, this session will provide a practical perspective on how organisations can adopt these approaches today, moving beyond experimentation to build faster, reduce complexity, and turn AI into a genuine competitive advantage. 

This session examines how new AI capabilities are expanding what’s possible in legal innovation, while shifting the risk landscape. We’ll look at how combining ambition with thoughtful, responsible‑use practices enables firms to harness these tools safely, sustainably, and in ways that enhance quality, speed, and deliver better outcomes for clients.

Accessible to a wide range of technical and non-technical people, we will dive into the harsh reality that many enterprises find themselves in today - complex legacy IT estates, big balls of mud that are seemingly impossible to understand, esoteric custom code, an ageing and shrinking talent pool, and rising license costs from mainframe vendors ramping prices.

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It isn't just a tech problem. Inflexible, hard to change, legacy tech holds back the business too. 

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Today we have new tools to help us overcome these challenges. You will see a live demo of the tried and tested agentic reverse-engineering tools in the AI/works platform, showing how AI agent swarms can be used to semantically understand code, processes and business rules, build a knowledge graph and generate specifications (specs) which are fuel for building the future technology stack.

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Finally, now we have a rich, comprehensive and searchable view of the system, connections and dependencies, we can deploy another swarm of agents to build a modern, well-architected, domain-driven replacement, running in the cloud and ready for user-testing.

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Transforming impenetrable legacy tech to modern, maintainable working software in production used to take decades, now it takes hours.

As organisations accelerate their adoption of AI, many are discovering that ambition alone is not enough. Without strong data foundations, AI initiatives often slow down, deliver limited value, or introduce new risks around trust, governance and decision-making. 

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This session brings together insights from senior data leaders and practitioners to explore the real-world challenges of adopting AI without the right data platforms, governance and operating models in place. Drawing on discussion from our recent data leaders roundtables, speakers will talk about common failure points, including fragmented data, unclear ownership, inconsistent metrics and pressure to “move fast” without sufficient guardrails. 

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The session will also discuss what “AI ready” really means in practice, covering the role of trusted data platforms, semantic layers, governance and organisational alignment, and how these foundations enable safer, more effective use of AI at scale. 

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The format will include a panel discussion followed by audience Q&A. 

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Intended audience: 

Data leaders, technology decision makers, product and engineering teams, and non-technical leaders responsible for AI strategy. Suitable for a mixed audience from non-technical to advanced. 

Most organisations aren’t struggling to start with AI—they’re struggling to make it stick.  

Our panel of experts will discuss scaling AI inside the business and answer your questions on:  

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• Why promising AI pilots fail to scale
• What changes when AI becomes part of a real product or service
• Integrating AI into real systems and workflows
• Where data, product, and engineering decisions go wrong (and how to fix them)

The core question:  

“Why can’t we operationalise AI?

We live in a world of constant notifications, emails, admin tasks and repetitive work. But what if you could automate 30–40% of your digital life?

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In this practical and inspiring session, n8n Ambassador Badr Adnani will demonstrate how AI-powered automation can simplify everyday workflows, from managing emails and documents to connecting apps, databases, and messaging platforms.

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Rather than focusing on theory, this session will show real examples of how automation can:

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• Reduce repetitive tasks

• Improve productivity

• Help founders and developers scale faster

• Create “AI assistants” that actually work

• Free up time for learning, creativity and growth

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A live demo will walk through building a simple AI automation workflow using n8n, followed by a short interactive Q&A.

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This session is ideal for developers, founders, students and professionals curious about practical AI.

Generative AI has been reshaping a swathe of industries, from software development to creative arts and gaming. Data science is no exception. GenAI is especially adept at writing code for the kind of "greenfield" rapid prototyping and exploratory work typical of data science.

In this session, we will use GenAI to enhance your data analytics skills. In about an hour and a half, we will explore and clean data, build dashboards, and run data science models. However, GenAI is still not perfect, so we'll also be carefully evaluating its performance along the way.

Please bring your laptop. All levels of Python experience are welcome, as this session is designed to help you navigate GenAI and meet you where you are. By the end of the session, you will have the confidence to start building your own dashboards and data science models, along with a practical sense of how to use GenAI as a coding partner.

This interactive workshop introduces Dynamic Personas. These are AI agents trained on an organisation's own primary research rather than generic training data. Participants will see a live demonstration of how research-grounded personas can be used to stress-test ideas, surface overlooked user needs, and trace every AI-generated insight back to its evidential source through what we call the Digital Thread.  

The session is structured in three parts. First, a short introduction to why traditional personas fall flat and how grounding AI in real data changes the game. Second, a live walkthrough where we build personas from a sample dataset and run a multi-agent workshop in real time. Third, a hands-on discussion where attendees explore how this approach could apply to their own teams and sectors, from energy infrastructure to FMCG to public services.  

This session is suitable for product managers, researchers, designers, strategists and innovation leads at any technical level. No coding knowledge is required. You'll leave with a practical understanding of how to move from static research reports to living, queryable knowledge that your whole team can use.

AI has quickly become one of the most talked-about topics in business, but many organisations are still struggling to work out where it actually fits into their day-to-day operations.  

Some see AI as a magic solution. Others have experimented with it a few times but haven't found a practical way to make it part of how they work.  

The reality sits somewhere in the middle. The businesses seeing the biggest results aren't necessarily using the most advanced AI tools. They're simply finding ways to use AI to work smarter, move faster and get more from the people they already have.  

This session explores how small businesses and lean marketing teams can use AI to compete with organisations that have significantly larger budgets, agencies and internal resources. Rather than focusing on technical concepts or complex AI workflows, the session introduces a practical framework built around four key pillars: Clarity, Creation, Authority and Speed.  

Together, these pillars show how AI can help businesses better understand their customers, create more marketing from a single idea, build credibility in their market and react faster than larger competitors.  

The session also explores what I call "The Marketing Gap" — the shrinking advantage traditionally enjoyed by larger organisations. For the first time, small businesses now have access to many of the same capabilities that were once reserved for companies with dedicated marketing departments, creative agencies and specialist teams.  

Delivered by Helena Rudd, Marketing Director of The Rudd Group, the session is based on real-world experience using AI within a small marketing team responsible for multiple brands, products and business divisions.  

Through practical examples, live prompts and lessons learned along the way, attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how AI can become a genuine competitive advantage, helping small teams create better marketing, make faster decisions and compete more effectively in an increasingly AI-powered world.

The Web of Things started with the simple but powerful idea of giving connected devices URLs on the web, to extend the World Wide Web of pages into a web of physical objects which can be monitored and controlled over the internet.

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This session will provide an introduction to the W3C Web of Things (WoT) family of open standards, and how they apply lessons learnt from the World Wide Web to the Internet of Things, to create a universal application layer which enables apps, services and intelligent agents to interact with the physical world.

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It will then cover how North East startup Krellian is applying this technology to commercial buildings, to make our built environment smarter, safer and more sustainable. Krellian helps facilities managers to meet their net zero targets whilst saving money, by using smart building technology to optimise space utilisation and reduce energy consumption.

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Aimed at web developers, IoT developers, commercial building operators or anyone who shares our vision of a connected world where technology is seamlessly woven into the spaces around us and improves the lives of those who use it.

This will be an engaging and practical session on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the modern workplace and redefining career paths across industries.

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This session will explore key trends in AI adoption, the types of roles most impacted, and the emerging opportunities available for professionals willing to adapt.

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The session will be delivered in a panel session with Ifeoluwa Afuwape - (Newcastle University), Jason Yip - (Newcastle University), Angela Hudachek - (PwC),  Arshia Bhatti - (PwC) using real-world case studies, and an interactive discussion where attendees can ask questions and share their own experiences.

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This session is designed for a broad audience, including beginners, non-technical professionals, those considering a career transition, and more experienced attendees looking to future-proof their skillset.

This panel brings together three of the North East’s most innovative clusters—Space North East England, North East Advanced Material Electronics, and North East Regional Defence Supply Chain  and will explore how AI is rapidly transforming space technologies, advanced electronic materials, and defence and security systems. The discussion will unpack how AI-driven sensing, satellite data, and next gen materials are converging to create new capabilities in threat detection, situational awareness, and national resilience.  Panellists will highlight cross-sector opportunities, shared challenges, and the unique strengths of the North East’s deep tech ecosystem in leading the UK's digitally enabled security and space innovation.

AI is everywhere, but for most people it might as well be magic. Terms like "neural network", "large language model" and "deep learning" get thrown around constantly, but what do they actually mean? What is a computer really doing when it "learns" or "thinks"?  

This session answers those questions plainly - and it turns out AI isn't magic at all, even if it has a lot in common with a good magic trick.  

We'll uncover the surprisingly simple principles behind it: so simple, in fact, that we'll build our own AI model live during the talk. From there we'll scale up to the absurdly massive size of frontier models like ChatGPT, and see why the leap from "simple idea" to "seemingly intelligent" is really a story about unimaginable scale. Along the way you'll even discover what AI models have in common with a flock of starlings.  

A live interactive demo lets you see a real neural network processing in real time, making the concepts tangible rather than abstract.  

Audience: The talk is aimed at a general audience: business leaders, non-technical professionals, curious beginners, or anyone who uses AI tools daily but has never looked under the bonnet. No prior knowledge is needed.  

Format: A 45-minute talk with live visual demonstration, plus time for questions.  

psst… there might also be some actual magic.

Enjoy a three-course dinner accompanied by arrival and table drinks.

Starter:

• Mushroom Arancini, Chargrilled Asparagus, Romesco Sauce (Vg, Gf)

Main (choice of 3):

• Harissa-Marinated Butternut Squash, Butternut and Chickpea Hummus, Pickled Red Onion, Sesame Seed Tuille, Chilli-Dressed Broccoli (Vg, Gf), or
• Mushroom Cream Cheese and Smoked Leek Wellington, Olive Oil Mash, Pickled Baby Carrots, Parsley Gremolata (Vg), or
• Roast Chicken Supreme, Wild Mushroom Fricassee, Truffle Jus

Dessert:

• Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Tart, Raspberry Sorbet (Vg, Gf)

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This year we welcome Kimberley Turner as guest speaker, Co-CEO of Double Eleven and leader in high-growth, internationally successful tech businesses.

Seating will be arranged in banqueting-style tables rather than rounds. If you would like to purchase a group of tickets and be seated together within the same section, please email getinvolved@technext.co.uk

Dynamo North East members receive a 40% discount on all flagship event tickets. Please contact info@dynamonortheast.co.uk for your code.

TechNExt26 kicks off with our Festival Launch Conference, featuring a single stream of thought provoking conference talks from leaders in technology and related industries.  

Agenda   

·   8:45am: Arrival and breakfast buffet  

·   9:30am: Welcome  

·   9:40am: Intro from Rob Hamilton, North East MSA  

·   10:00am: Fireside Chat with Pete Cheyne  

·   10:40am: Break  

·   11:05am: Darren Curry: Talent is Everywhere. Opportunity Isn't  

·   11:40am: Halina Rice: Immersive Performance and Spatial Audio  

·   12:20pm: Lunch  

·   1.20pm: Panel Discussion: Why the North East is Important to National and Global Companies and Ecosystems  

·   2.10pm: Henrietta Newble: What They Don't Tell You About Building a Biotech Startup  

·   2.50pm: Taya Reynolds: Is AI Making us Think Better or Think Less?  

·   3.20pm: Wrap up and close  

·   3.30pm: Networking  

Lunch is provided, and as part of our Good Festival Ambition, please note that all catering at this event will be vegetarian. All additional dietary requirements will also be catered for, please state your needs on the booking form.  

Refunds   

Please note our ticket refund policy below:

• Up to 12 weeks before the event starts - full refund
• More than 8 weeks before the event starts, but less than 12 weeks - 50% refund
• Less than 8 weeks before the event starts - no refund

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Dynamo North East members receive a 40% discount on all flagship event tickets. Please contact info@dynamonortheast.co.uk for your code.   

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The Schools Challenge will return to the TechNExt festival for the third year, taking a slightly different format from the previous two years. The challenge will continue to be an opportunity for children in the North East to engage in tech and with tech employers within the region, as part of the regional festival.  

Technology is all around us, but sometimes it‘s difficult to understand what a career in the tech industry might be like - the Schools Challenge will help school children get an insight into the industry.  

By focusing on ‘Tech for Good’ - the Challenge will inform and encourage school children to develop an innovative tech-based solution that addresses a real life problem and could help them and the world they live in!  

We are looking for businesses and organisations to join us. Use this form to register your interest.

Target Audience

The Schools Challenge will focus on engaging students across the North East, between the ages of 9-13 years old. We are keen to encourage participation from students with SEND needs from both specialist schools and those attending mainstream schools.

Skills Development

• Problem Solving
• Research
• Design
• Creative Thinking
• Presenting
• Team Work

Programme

• 9:30am - Arrival of school groups‍
• 9.45am - Workshops and demonstrations of tech equipment. Students will begin to generate ideas for challenge output‍
• 10.45am - Morning break‍
• 11am - Consolidation of ideas - challenge output created‍
• 12pm - Lunch - Students will be required to bring a packed lunch‍
• 12.30pm - Challenge showcase

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay to take part in the Schools Challenge?

The Schools Challenge is free for schools to take part. There is funding available to support schools with travel costs.

Is the Schools Challenge open to all schools?

The challenge is open to all schools, including home schools, in the North East region (Sunderland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Durham, Newcastle, Northumberland and Tees Valley). We are keen to engage more SEND students, both from specialist and mainstream schools. 

‍Will the participating children get any prizes for taking part?

All participating schools will receive a certificate. 

‍Is there funding available for travel?

Yes, if required, funding will be available to schools attending the Schools Challenge. You can let us know whether you would require funding in your application to take part. 

‍Am I guaranteed a place in the Schools Challenge?

We hope that all applying schools will be able to participate in the Schools Challenge, but this will be determined by how many applications we receive. We will let schools know either way in early May.

How do I apply to take part?

Simply fill in an application form. If your application is successful, we’ll be in touch via email with another form that will help us gather all the information we need from you about your school group and participating students.   

When do I need to apply by?  

The deadline for submitting your application is Friday 1 May.

Looking for your next big career move? Want to upskill, switch industries, or connect with top employers? Don’t miss this exclusive in-person careers fair...

The North East’s largest Digital and Tech Careers Fair returns in 2026 with the theme “Opportunities for All.” 

Last year’s event welcomed over 500 attendees, bringing together experienced professionals, emerging talent, and organisations from across the region’s thriving digital and technology sectors.  

With over 30 exhibitors from leading tech organisations, this event connects employers with people looking to explore new careers, training opportunities, and pathways into the digital and tech industry.​

Who should attend?

This event is for everyone – from experienced professionals aiming for senior roles to career switchers and fresh talent exploring digital and tech careers.

With the theme “Opportunities for All,” the careers fair is committed to creating an inclusive space for people from all backgrounds, career stages, and skill levels.  

Why attend?

• Meet Leading Employers: Connect with top companies actively hiring across a range of experience levels.
• Upskilling & Training Opportunities: Explore certifications, reskilling programmes, and career development workshops.
• Career Growth for All: Whether you're a seasoned professional seeking leadership roles or a newcomer looking to break into the industry, there’s something for you.
• Inspiring Career Talks: Hear from leading organisations about the future of tech careers, emerging trends, and how to succeed in the industry.
• Expand Your Network: Build valuable connections with employers, training providers, and career mentors.

Additional event features & benefits:

• Live Talks by Industry Leaders: Hear insights from leading organisations on the future of tech careers and industry trends.
• CV Clinic & Career Coaching: Receive expert advice to strengthen your CV and career strategy.
• Exclusive Networking Opportunities: Choose to share your details with exhibitors during the sign-up process to enable potential follow-ups after the event.
• Free LinkedIn / Passport-Style Photos: Enhance your professional profile with a polished headshot.

Sign up now and unlock all the opportunities this careers fair has to offer – completely free of charge.  

Spaces are limited – only 530 spots are available in total! Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Secure your spot now!

New in 2026, join us for the Tech for Good Hub. With three rooms covering a wide range of talks and workshops, we are bringing together technologists, VCSE sector and public sector representatives to explore and discuss how tech is making a difference in our communities.  

This year we have simplified booking with one ticket for the whole day, but please note for sessions in smaller rooms entry is on a first-come-first-served basis.  

Find out more about the sessions that are taking place, and book your tickets below. Some programme sessions may be added or changed in the run up to TechNExt.

Complete your festival week the right way. TechNExt invites you to an informal festival party at Revolución de Cuba. It’s a moment to revel in the remarkable achievements of the North East tech sector while meeting and catching up with fellow tech enthusiasts and attendees from across the UK.

Food is provided, and as part of our Good Festival Ambition, please note that all catering at this event will be vegetarian. All additional dietary requirements will also be catered for, please state your needs on the booking form.

Dynamo North East members receive a 40% discount on all flagship event tickets. Please contact info@dynamonortheast.co.uk for your code.

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Join us for a day of activities exploring Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with industry leaders from the region and beyond across three rooms at the National Innovation Centre for Data at The Catalyst in Newcastle. Note that lunch is not provided but there is catering available on site and at surrounding shops and cafes.

This year we have simplified booking with one ticket for the whole day, but please note for sessions in smaller rooms entry is on a first-come-first-served basis.

Find out more about the sessions that are taking place, and book your tickets below. Some programme sessions may be added or changed in the run up to TechNExt.

Join us for the Creative Tech Hub at TechNExt26 where we will have inspiring talks, panel sessions and creative demonstrations across a day of exciting activities. The festivities will continue long into the night with our partners Sunderland Music City.

This year we have simplified booking with one ticket for the whole day, but please note for sessions in smaller rooms entry is on a first-come-first-served basis.

Find out more about the sessions that are taking place, and book your tickets below. Some programme sessions may be added or changed in the run up to TechNExt.

To join this event you need to either Sponsor the festival or sign up to the TechNExt Pledge.  

Please contact the TechNExt team (getinvolved@technext.co.uk) for the event password.

Join us for the Tech Startup Hub where we have a packed day of activities for Tech Startups at all stages of development. Enjoy talks, panel sessions and presentations bringing together the Tech Startup community in the North East.

This year we have simplified booking with one ticket for the whole day, but please note for sessions in smaller rooms entry is on a first-come-first-served basis.

The Glasshouse Artist in Residence, Nat Sharp, invites you to a private sharing of SPUME, a multisensory installation blending reflected light, immersive sound, and tactile encounters.  

Lie down on a soft seabed, absorb healing frequencies, and practice the art of horizontalism — gazing upward through a shimmering surface where glass buoys drift and scatter light across the space.  

The soundscape, built with subtle and intuitive technologies, resonates through the room in ways that invite you not just to listen, but to feel and participate fully — creating a gentle, shared presence.  

The work is rooted in Nat’s personal stories and expansive influences: from childhood memories of the Merchant Navy to the ancient vibrations of the Solfeggio scales, matriarchal sirens, sonic body transduction, and ecological reflection.  

This is an invitation to slow down and explore a rich, inclusive world of connection and creativity.  

Note: This is an open sharing so visitors can drop in at anytime between 11am-5pm.   

The building is closed for a private event on Thursday so please make your way to the West Entrance main Doors (the doors where you can see the Tyne Bridge) and a friendly face from our team will welcome you and show you where to go.   

Co-produced by The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, in partnership with Newcastle University.

If you’re a small business owner, freelancer, or part of a local SME, you know how much time gets lost juggling digital tools, managing endless information, and trying to stay on top of it all. But what if some of that pressure comes from data and systems you don’t even realise are holding you back?  

This friendly, informal event is part of the TechNExt Festival Fringe 2025 and is packed with real, useful advice not just theory. We’ll cover how to reduce digital overload, manage your data more effectively, and explore low-cost green tech options that can help your business run more efficiently.  

Highlights include: 

• A session on dark data—the unseen digital clutter draining your time and resources, led by Sharon Sinclair-Williams
• Tips for avoiding digital burnout and supporting your team’s wellbeing
• Advice on using data and technology to grow sustainably
• Local support info from the BEST (Business Energy Savings Team)

You’ll also have the chance to connect with other local businesses, share experiences, and leave with ideas you can put into action right away.

Step into the most realistic, high fidelity VR experience in the North East.  Whether you are racing at breakneck speeds or soaring through the skies, you’ll feel every turn, drop and impact with our 6 degrees of freedom motion platforms, haptic emersion and force feedback controls.  

If you nimble enough to climb into the simulator you're welcome to join us for an unforgettable experience.