Speaking and sponsorship opportunities at the techUK Health and Care Summit 2026

The techUK Health and Care Summit is our flagship gathering for the digital health and care community, bringing members together with senior stakeholders from across government, the NHS and the wider health system for a full day of debate on the issues shaping the sector. With the agenda now well advanced, we are opening the final speaking slots to members and confirming that a small number of sponsorship opportunities remain available.

What the day looks like

The Summit opens at 9:00 with registration and networking, followed by welcome remarks and a morning keynote from Professor Jonathan Benger, Chief Executive of NICE, on the evidence and assessment challenges facing a health system adopting technology at pace.

After the morning break, we launch techUK's Analogue to Digital report, with Shane Tickell, CEO of Temple Black and Chair of our Health and Social Care Council, setting out what the findings mean for suppliers and commissioners alike. That leads into a panel on scaling innovation in health and care, asking where the real barriers sit and what industry can practically do to remove them. The session brings together Matthew Payne of Healthtech 1, Dr Abigail Lyons of the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre, Will Goddard of Big Health, Heather Cook of RippleScale and Gayle Curry of Mills & Reeve.

The afternoon opens with two parallel breakouts. The first, One Year On: The Life Sciences Sector Plan, takes stock of delivery twelve months in and what industry still needs from government to make the ambition real. The second is our FemTech breakout, where Dr Bushra Effendi, Clinical Director of the Yorkshire Women's Forum, and Dr MaryAnn Ferreux, Chief Medical Officer at Health Innovation Kent Surrey and Sussex, will look at how women's health technology moves from promising pilot to system-wide adoption.

We then turn to the wider UK picture with a fireside conversation on health and care across the devolved nations, featuring Jonathan Cameron, Head of Digital Health and Care at the Scottish Government, in discussion with techUK's Head of Nations and Regions, Matt Robinson.

Following the afternoon break, our Artificial Intelligence panel takes on the question of how the UK regulates AI in healthcare without slowing the innovation it is trying to enable. Professor Alastair Denniston, Chair of the MHRA's National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare, is joined by Sue Daley OBE, techUK's Director of Technology and Innovation, and Ahmed Binesmael, Senior Policy Analyst at the Health Foundation.

Sally Warren, Director General for Adult Social Care at the Department of Health and Social Care, closes the day with the final keynote, before the Summit wraps with networking.

To find out more about speaker and sponsorship opportunites, please log in below

Attending the Summit

Register for the techUK Health and Care Summit 2026

Rachel Kennedy

Programme Manager Health and Social Care, techUK

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Rachel Kennedy

Programme Manager Health and Social Care, techUK

Rachel joined techUK in December 2024, as a Programme Manager in the Health and Social Care team.

Prior to this, Rachel worked at a specialist health and social care public affairs agency, working with a range of organisations and trade bodies across the medical technology, pharmaceutical, digital health and social care sectors. As well as this, Rachel was part of the Secretariat for a number of health and care related All-Party Parliamentary Groups.

Rachel has a Masters in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Leeds, as well as a first-class honours in Politics BA from Newcastle University.

Lewis Stewart

Programme Manager ‑ Health and Social Care, techUK

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Lewis Stewart

Programme Manager ‑ Health and Social Care, techUK

Lewis brings a multidisciplinary background spanning health policy, stakeholder engagement, digital innovation, and elite sport. A former Commonwealth Games champion, he draws on the resilience, adaptability, and team-driven mindset gained through years of high-performance competition.

Before joining techUK, Lewis supported a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, where he led on constituency engagement and produced evidence-based research to inform debates, committee work, and policy advocacy. He has also helped shape youth wellbeing policy through the Youth Sport Trust, collaborating with government, education, and grassroots networks to drive impact.

Lewis has played key roles in health tech and mobility startups, helping to bring innovative solutions to market and improve user experience in complex systems. With a degree in Biochemistry and Pharmacology, he combines analytical thinking with a passion for evidence-led, people-centred change.

Email:

[email protected]

Viola Pastorino

Junior Programme Manager, Health and Care Team, techUK

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Viola Pastorino

Junior Programme Manager, Health and Care Team, techUK

Viola Pastorino is a policy, governance, and strategic communication specialist.

She joined techUK as the Junior Programme Manager in the Health and Care Team in April 2024. 

She has obtained a Bachelor of Sciences in Governance, Economics, and Development from Leiden University, and a Master's programme in Strategic Communications at King's College London.  Her academic background, leading up to a dissertation on AI policy influence and hands-on campaign development, is complemented by practical experience in international PR and grassroots project management.

She is skilled in qualitative and quantitative analysis and comfortable communicating findings to varying stakeholders. Above all, she is deeply passionate about the intersection of technology and government, especially how technology and global discourse shape one another, the processes that lead to belief polarisation and radicalisation of communities, and crafting strategic narratives that steer public discourse.

Outside of work she loves reading, live music light operation, and diving.  

Health and Social Care Programme activities

techUK is helping its members navigate the complex space of digital health in the UK to ensure our NHS and social care sector is prepared for the challenges of the future. We help validate new ideas and build impactful strategies, ultimately ensuring that members are market-ready. Visit the programme page here.

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Upcoming events

7 September 2026

NHS AI Industry Engagement Forum: non-clinical AI use cases – supplier engagement

Online Industry Briefing

8 September 2026

Member drop-in: maximising your techUK membership in health, social care and life sciences (Q4)

Online Webinar

9 September 2026

Unlocking NHS Scotland procurement for SMEs

Glasgow Panel discussion

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