Having been involved in the Leeds Digital Festival since it began in 2016, and later joining the Festival board in 2021, I’ve had the privilege of watching up-close as the Festival matured into a truly collaborative and knowledge-intensive highlight for the city.
In addition to growing organically in both scale and visibility throughout the years, when the Festival moved online during the pandemic, we were also able to expand our international offering. Welcoming delegates from over 30 countries – from America to Latvia, and everywhere in between – the Festival’s open-platform system and mix of physical and virtual events continues to open up the programme to an audience beyond the region, allowing for that wider knowledge transfer.
Alongside supporting the team at Leeds Digital, I’m the Head of Innovation Services at Bruntwood SciTech – the UK’s largest property provider to science and technology businesses.
What does that mean? Well, we’re predominantly a property company but the bit I get involved with is ensuring we have the right innovation ecosystems within the buildings we develop, AKA the fun bit! This involves, in part, designing events and activities that nurture startups and scaling businesses, which aligns perfectly with our ambitions for Leeds Digital. Ahead of the upcoming April “mini-fest”, I pulled out some programme highlights:
Leeds has long been seen as a health innovation centre with huge growth potential in this space. Digital Health is a real strength across the region, and some of the innovations coming out of Leeds are recognised globally.
The event, hosted by Leeds City Council and featuring some of the city region’s biggest healthtech players, will showcase how innovation is helping to drive improvements and integration in health and care delivery, with a range of local, regional and national examples. It’s a day-long event, packed with learning and engagement opportunities aiming to inform, excite and equip attendees with knowledge, ideas and networks. There will be presentations, round table discussions and workshops, which aim to ignite discussions and collaborations around the current challenges the health and care sector faces today.
The day will see a plethora of examples of technology-enabled support across an increasing number of clinical pathways. Prepare to connect and share, collaborate and learn at this full-day event in the Park Plaza.
For as long as I have worked in this space, there has been an imbalance between VCs and tech founders. The arrival of ‘The Reverse Pitch’ will bring about an opportunity to turn the tables! If you’re a founder looking to fundraise, whether now or in the short to medium future, this will be a hugely beneficial event for you. Four investors will pitch to a room of entrepreneurs, including YFM, LDC, Northern Gritstone and NorthInvest.
The aim of the event is to help entrepreneurs better understand the fundraising process, to explain the funding landscape, and to connect entrepreneurs into the Yorkshire investor community. Funders have a reputation for being unapproachable and at times unhelpful, and this event aims to support aspiring fundraisers by demystifying the raise process and providing insights into the minds of investors when it comes to investment decision making.
Much like healthcare innovation, for decades Leeds has been widely recognised as a centre for professional services. With the highest concentration of law firms outside London, we are set up to lead cluster activity in this space – and that is exactly what LegalTech in Leeds aims to do.
Led by the team at Whitecap Consulting in partnership with key stakeholders from across the region, including Bruntwood SciTech, LegalTech in Leeds is an open community aiming to connect the legal and tech sectors around the common interests of Tech enablement and innovation.
This year’s conference aims to be the largest LegalTech event outside of London, filled with keynotes, panel discussions, interactive workshops and networking. We will hear from industry experts on the latest local, regional and national developments in the sector.
Narrowing down my programme highlights was difficult enough, but as someone with a keen interest in AI, choosing between the two AI-led sessions included in this year’s “mini-fest” proved impossible. So, I’ve cheated a little here…
If you’re anything like me, you’ll be keeping a close eye on the advancements in AI and potential arrival of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). AGI is the ability of an intelligent technology to understand or learn any intellectual task that human beings can. At that point, will the robots really take over?
‘Don’t get left behind’ by BJSS will see three local tech leaders unpack how businesses can embrace AI, and what they should be doing now to prepare for the future. They will discuss how AI can streamline operations, improve customer experiences, and create new business opportunities, while also showing real life examples of AI in action.
Applied AI is an inclusive, in-person and online event from Parallax, aimed at people and companies looking to explore practical uses for Artificial Intelligence. With a mix of already usable tips and tricks, all the way through to deep dives on exploring the ethics, training and technical nature of this ever-evolving topic, James Hall (Parallax), Bethan Vincent (Open Velocity) and Phil Brunkard (Forrester) will take you on a journey of AI discovery.
So, whether you’re new to the digital space or a seasoned pro, there will be something to learn at Leeds Digital Festival. You can view the full programme of events for April’s “mini-fest” and secure your place at the tech event for everyone, here.
I tend to encourage my team to attend a variety of events throughout the 3 days, then come together to discuss what we’ve learned and how it might improve our operations. It’s safe to say that the knowledge and networks you will gain from the speakers, partners, and people in the room will certainly mean it’s time well spent. I’ll see you all there!
