Well the STC’s Innovation & Growth Roundtable 2024 went ahead on a new date, with a new format and in a new venue, and having sold out early, the feedback has been just amazing — what a day!

Delegates were welcomed on the day from across the UK and across the sectors, with lots of new faces and always a strong contingent of STC Members. With plenty of shared knowledge and experiences, open conversation and interaction flowed freely around the day’s hot topics.

As always, plenty of productive conversations around the edges of each presentation too — not to mention the fabulous lunch (thank you HCR Hewitsons)!

Chantal-Lawren Welch made her speaking debut at the STC when she opened proceedings by highlighting some of the growth, engagement and opportunities currently available over at Silverstone Park.

She was followed swiftly by an eclectic mix of speakers, all of whom have allowed us to share their words below, so if you weren’t there on the day, you can at least get a small taste of things by delving into some of their summaries, slides and video links at the bottom of this page.

Huge thanks have to go not just to our excellent hosts HCR Hewitsons over in Northampton, but also our fantastic speakers, partners and exhibitors who all added different dimensions and contexts to discussions on the day.

Thanks to all of the attendees who complete our survey on the day. Here is a quick overview of the results…

To find out about the STC’s other events and initiatives, visit our home page or investigate some of our upcoming events.

Speakers

• Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Dawe – CO Army Trials Unit (ATU) – MoD
• Hannah Platts – MoD
• Dr Patrick Fowler – C5ISR Global Technology Advisor, DEVCOM-Atlantic C5ISR Center

We are delighted to be joined by Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Dawe & Hannah Platts of the MoD, and Dr Patrick Fowler of US Army DEVCOM, who will be providing an overview of their organisations and “how best to work with them” in the future, identifying mutually collaborative options.

Arthur will be speaking about our Army priorities, including:

• • how to plan for discontinuous communications and assure high-capacity digital communications across multiple complex systems
  • how can we improve our digital situational awareness and integration
  • how do we increase protection (think counter-drone warfare or counter-electronic attack).

In addition, he will be talking about their interest in sustainment – so what is the best, most effective primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency (PACE) plan for power solutions.

He will close with thoughts on “Crewed – Uncrewed Teaming” (CUC-T) ideas, before being joined on stage by Hannah who will focus on the cross over with Army.

Following on from Hannah’s presentation, we are pleased to welcome Patrick, who will present on opportunities for international technology injection into Army Modernisation, including the funded Foreign Technology Assessment and Support (FTAS) program.

• Dr Kerry Beynon – HCR Hewitsons
  
  We are delighted to welcome Dr Kerry Beynon to our speaker line-up, a commercial law solicitor specialising in intellectual property law, information technology law, data protection and cyber security law. Kerry has acted for a broad range of clients from SMEs to international corporations and has a keen interest in governance matters relating to intellectual property, data protection and cyber security.

  The geopolitical climate creates an enormously complex landscape. Landmark events, technological advancements and military conflicts all pose serious cyber risks and strategic analysis of global cyber threat activity is critical for protecting your business from potential attacks.

  Kerry will discuss, from a practical perspective, things that the busy modern day business leaders should be thinking about, or may want to consider, when it comes to cyber security and your business in the current geo-political climate. This will be an interactive, risk-focused discussion.

• Dr Sven Knowles – Knowledge Transfer Manager for Electronic Systems at Innovate UK Business Connect

  We are looking forward to hearing from Dr Sven Knowles, who will present an overview of the “Driving the Electric Revolution” challenge, a five-year program initiated in 2019. This initiative aims to catalyse the creation of £5 billion worth of power electronics, machines, and drives (PEMD) products in the UK by 2025 by fostering industry-wide investment and collaboration to establish a robust PEMD supply chain.

  Sven will discuss the critical role of PEMD products in various industries, including aerospace, automotive, energy, industrial, marine, off-highway, and rail.

  He will highlight the significant future opportunities for PEMD, driven by technological advancements, increased investment, and the growing demand for recycling, remanufacturing, and performance improvements.

• Lal Tawney & Foluso Laguda – Whitecap Consulting
  
  Whitecap Consulting have been commissioned by the University of Northampton to undertake an ecosystem analysis that would comprehensively explore and analyse Northamptonshire’s innovation capabilities and resources and potential for growth.

  The final report should include a set of clear evidence-based and actionable recommendations that will feed into the future economic policy, strategy, and vision for both West and North Northamptonshire local authority areas and help shape the role of the University of Northampton in supporting the delivery of the vision and associated recommendations.

  Lal and Foluso will run a session at the STC Innovation Roundtable to gather members’ perspectives on Innovation in Northamptonshire.

Presentation slides and videos

All of the presentations and videos have been emailed to delegates. Plus STC members have exclusive access to all of our event recordings, all of the time, via the STC Forum, YouTube and the website.

The content is available to download below for logged in members (if you can’t see the links below, you need to log in).