Agenda
Chair's Welcome
Keynote
Chair's Welcome
9.35am – 9.45am BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 10 mins
Keynote
Trusted research and secure innovation in a changing global environment
Keynote
Trusted research and secure innovation in a changing global environment
9.45am – 10.05am BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 20 mins
Keynote
An introduction to how the UK research system is adapting to rising geopolitical pressure and rapid technological change. The session outlines why secure collaboration, protection of IP, and stronger research infrastructure now matter for both trusted research and secure innovation.Threat multipliers in research and innovation
Panel discussion
Threat multipliers in research and innovation
10.05am – 10.50am BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 45 mins
Panel discussion
Universities face a threat environment that is simultaneously familiar and shifting. This session maps the persistent risks to research integrity, intellectual property and institutional security, examines how those threats are evolving in response to geopolitical and technological change, and looks ahead to the emerging challenges that institutions will need to prepare for now, including the implications of post-quantum cryptography for research data protection.
Technology futures and trusted research: a horizon scan
Panel discussion
Technology futures and trusted research: a horizon scan
10.50am – 11.30am BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 40 mins
Panel discussion
What is the trajectory of key technologies over the next five to ten years, and what does it mean for how universities manage trusted research? This session examines the direction of travel on AI capability, compute costs, talent availability and technology commodification, and considers how falling barriers to access and accelerating development cycles are likely to change the risk environment for research institutions.
Coordinating the UK response
Panel discussion
Coordinating the UK response
11.50am – 12.30pm BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 40 mins
Panel discussion
The UK’s research and innovation sector benefits from a range of bodies working to support trusted research in practice, and coordination across those efforts is evolving as trusted research and secure innovation matures as a shared priority across the sector. This session brings together key organisations to take stock of what is being done individually and collectively, and to explore what more they need from government and from institutional leaders and practitioners to deliver effectively.
The afternoon provides focused space for deeper discussion. Track A explores the specific contextual requirements for securing research across different technology domains. Track B focuses on the organisational, governance and behavioural factors that shape how trusted research is delivered in practice, from policy interpretation to day-to-day decision-making.
Track A: Secure technology domains
Within this track we’ll focus on sensitive technology areas where stronger safeguards support trusted research and secure innovation.
AI under scrutiny
Fireside chat
AI under scrutiny
1.25pm – 2.15pm BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 50 mins
Fireside chat
Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging research domain, it is infrastructure, and that shift brings new and complex risks for research security. This session examines AI as both a target for state-backed exploitation and a vector for research risk, and considers what risk-based governance of AI research looks like in practice.
Protecting the UK semiconductor pipeline
Panel discussion
Protecting the UK semiconductor pipeline
2.30pm – 3.15pm BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 45 mins
Panel discussion
The UK’s semiconductor research base is both a national asset and an increasingly complex risk environment, where threats run from state-backed IP acquisition to compliance pressures created by allied-nation export controls. This session considers how academic research, catapult infrastructure and industry can collaborate securely, and how the own/collaborate/access framework holds up in a world where even friendly partnerships carry regulatory risk.
Securing future telecoms research and innovation
Panel discussion
Securing future telecoms research and innovation
3.30pm – 4.15pm BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 45 mins
Panel discussion
The next generation of telecoms infrastructure, being shaped today across platforms such as JOINER, CHEDDAR, HASC and TITAN, raises acute trusted research questions where academic experimentation operates at national infrastructure scale. This session examines how to embed research security into shared testbeds without compromising the collaborative models that make them valuable, and what it means to protect UK influence over international standards in a contested technology environment.
Track B: Culture and practice
In this track we’ll explore the people centred conditions that enable consistent and confident approaches to trusted research and secure innovation.
Partner vetting and shared services
Presentation
Partner vetting and shared services
1.30pm – 2.15pm BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 45 mins
Presentation
Partner vetting and due diligence are among the most resource-intensive obligations facing research institutions, with sector-wide costs estimated at close to £11 million per year and growing. This session examines the case for a shared national approach, drawing on ARMA and Jisc’s work on a Research Collaboration Diligence Exchange, and explores what a viable national service would need to look like.
Enabling trust through digital identity and access control
Panel discussion
Enabling trust through digital identity and access control
2.30pm – 3.15pm BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 45 mins
Panel discussion
Effective research security depends not just on policies but on identity assurance and granular access control. This session explores how digital identity infrastructure, including federated identity systems, is evolving to support research due diligence, access governance and compliance, and where integration with due diligence workflows offers the greatest practical benefit.
Designing for the researcher: a UX approach to trusted research
Panel discussion
Designing for the researcher: a UX approach to trusted research
3.30pm – 4.15pm BST, 13 October 2026 ‐ 45 mins
Panel discussion
Trusted research frameworks are only as effective as the people implementing them, yet security systems and compliance processes are rarely designed with the researcher experience in mind. This session explores what it would mean to apply a user-centred design lens to trusted research, examining how tools and workflows can reduce unnecessary burden without compromising rigour and foster a culture of security that feels enabling rather than obstructive.
