Agenda
Thinking like a Futurist
Presentation
Thinking like a Futurist
9.10am – 9.35am GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 25 mins
Presentation
A fascinating look ahead to how macro trends and converging technologies will shape the next decade of UK innovation, and how businesses can get ahead of the curve.
Digital Resilience for the Next Decade: What UK Organisations Must Build Today
Presentation
Digital Resilience for the Next Decade: What UK Organisations Must Build Today
9.35am – 9.50am GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 15 mins
Presentation
A presentation from our Headline Sponsor, Zoho Corpooration.The Opportunity of Convergence: Where Emerging Technologies Collide
Panel session
The Opportunity of Convergence: Where Emerging Technologies Collide
9.50am – 10.40am GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 50 mins
Panel session
From AI-enabled biotech to quantum-powered cybersecurity, the increasing convergence of technologies is resulting in an explosion of new and novel applications. But what does this mean for UK policymakers, regulators and businesses? After exploring how powerful synergies between AI, robotics, quantum, IoT, and beyond are set to reshape sectors and create new business models over the coming decade, our expert panel will ask whether the UK is truly ready to seize the opportunities at these intersections.
Discussion Topics:
- What are the key drivers that are causing certain technologies to converge?
- How convergence is creating entirely new markets and reshaping traditional sectors like healthcare, energy, and manufacturing
- Is the UK’s technology, policy and regulatory landscape positioned to realise the opportunity of convergence? If not, what needs to change by 2035 to ensure future success?
- How UK businesses can embrace these convergences to innovate and scale
Fireside chat: A Look Ahead to the Future of UK Innovation
Session
Fireside chat: A Look Ahead to the Future of UK Innovation
11am – 11.30am GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 30 mins
Session
An in-depth discussion regarding the future of innovation in the UK.The Automation Age: Is the UK Ready for Robots, Smart Machines & Autonomous Systems?
Panel session
The Automation Age: Is the UK Ready for Robots, Smart Machines & Autonomous Systems?
11.30am – 12.20pm GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 50 mins
Panel session
Over the next ten years, autonomous systems will increasingly move out of the lab and into UK factories, hospitals, farms and even homes. But are we ready? This panel takes a clear-eyed look at the readiness of UK industry, infrastructure, and regulation for the mass adoption of robotics and physical AI and asks what more the UK must do to seize the opportunity and drive deployment at scale.
Discussion Topics:
- The key findings and recommendations from techUK’s Robotics & Automation sprint campaign and report (launching today)
- Which technologies are advancing or converging to set the scene for the mass deployment of robots, smart machines and autonomous systems over the coming decade?
- Real-world use cases: where is deployment already happening and how does it look?
- How can the UK place crucial ethical, safety and workforce implications at the heart of deployment?
- Infrastructure, interoperability and regulation: what more should the UK do to make the most of initiatives such as the £40m Robotics Adoption Hubs network, seize the automation opportunity, and drive the next decade of deployment at scale?
Quantum Means Business: Commercialising UK Innovation in the International Year of Quantum
Panel session
Quantum Means Business: Commercialising UK Innovation in the International Year of Quantum
12.20pm – 1pm GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 40 mins
Panel session
2025 has been designated the International Year of Quantum, setting the foundations for innovation and growth. Nowhere has this been recognised more than in the UK. Following the Spending Review and Modern Industrial Strategy, and with the National Quantum Strategy in motion, the UK is well positioned to build on its success and ensure that over the next decade we transform research excellence into commercial and geopolitical advantage. This panel will explore how this can be achieved.
Discussion topics:
- What the International Year of Quantum means for the UK and it sets the foundation to shape the global quantum agenda for the next decade
- How UK-led quantum breakthroughs are already transforming sectors like finance, pharmaceuticals, logistics, and cybersecurity
- What’s needed to deliver the UK’s 10-year National Quantum Strategy until 2033, from funding and regulation to skills and infrastructure – and what happens beyond this strategy?
- Supporting commercialisation, scaling startups, and attracting private investment across the quantum value chain
- How the UK can shape international standards, partnerships, and responsible governance in a fast-moving geopolitical context
Fireside chat: Designing Regulation for the Next Decade of Innovation
Session
Fireside chat: Designing Regulation for the Next Decade of Innovation
2pm – 2.30pm GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 30 mins
Session
An in-depth discussion with a senior technology leader regarding the future of regulatory innovation in the UK.Looking Beyond the AI Horizon: Can the UK Lead the World in AGI, and if so, How?
Panel session
Looking Beyond the AI Horizon: Can the UK Lead the World in AGI, and if so, How?
2.30pm – 3.20pm GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 50 mins
Panel session
As the global conversation and competition to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) begins to intensify, the UK possesses unique strengths that could, over the next decade, position it to lead in the development of foundational technologies potentially set to underpin this future evolution of AI. These range from neuromorphic computing and quantum systems to brain-computer interfaces, photonics, and advanced mathematics. So, could the UK lead the world in the development of AGI? And if so, do we have what we need to do this technically and in an ethical and responsible way? This panel will explore how the UK could harness its world-leading academic research, deep tech expertise, and track record in AI technologies over the coming decade and beyond to shape the next wave of AI innovation.
Discussion topics:
- Which technologies are set to underpin AGI and what makes the UK well placed to lead on their development and deployment over the next decade and beyond?
- How can the UK’s innovation organisations catalyse bold, high-risk research that advances the underlying science and engineering of AGI in the long term? What kinds of missions could position the UK as a global pioneer in future AI infrastructure?
- How can UK policymakers and regulators enable ambitious innovation while ensuring safety, ethics, and public trust in technologies that may eventually support AGI? What models of agile regulation and foresight are needed to stay ahead of the curve?
Reality Check: What Will it Take to Build the UK’s First Trillion-Dollar Tech Company?
Panel session
Reality Check: What Will it Take to Build the UK’s First Trillion-Dollar Tech Company?
3.40pm – 4.30pm GMT, 5 November 2025 ‐ 50 mins
Panel session
The UK has long aspired to nurture technology giants capable of competing at the very top of the global stage. But what would it really take to build the country’s first trillion-dollar tech business? And what actions should UK industry and government take over the next decade to put this bold ambition into practice? This panel unpicks government’s ambition, set out in the Industrial Strategy, to ‘secure the UK’s first trillion-dollar technology business’, asking what form success may take, how the UK can drive access to scale-up finance, and what more needs to be done to make this trillion-dollar ambition a reality.
Discussion topics:
- What does the path to a trillion-dollar valuation look like and which technologies or sectors hold the most promise for the UK?
- How can the UK improve access to late-stage growth capital, foster investor appetite to scale, and retain the most promising scale-ups?
- Does the UK have the right policies, regulations, and institutions in place to enable this trillion-dollar company to emerge over the coming decade?