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Programme

Packed with sessions, informative keynotes, and practical workshops, the Data Innovation Showcase provided a unique opportunity for attendees to connect with their peers, learn from our experts, and gain hands-on experience of the latest tools and techniques. 

Please note that this is 2023's programme. This will be replaced with 2024's programme once it is available.

The Programme

Day 1 | Wednesday 27 September 2023

08.00 Registration and Refreshments
09.00

Welcome Address - Prof. Paul Watson, Director, National Innovation Centre for Data

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

09.30

Keynote Talk - Bill Thompson, Head of Public Value Research, BBC R&D

The New 'New Journalism': How Big Data and AI are Transforming the News

The space within which we do journalism is changing, as big data and AI provide new capabilities on the computing infrastructure that supports the modern world, affecting the way news organisations like the BBC research, analyse and tell stories. This latest version of 'New Journalism' challenges journalists, editors and audiences. Bill Thompson considers the way news reporting could alter, and asks how we will figure out what works, and what works best for society.

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

10.15 Refreshment Break
10.45

Data-Driven Success Stories

Hear from speakers representing diverse organisations as they share real-world stories of successful projects leveraging data science.

  • Connected Energy - Frazer Wagg, Head of Data Services
  • NHS England - Adam Byfield, Principal Technical Assurance Specialist
  • Naimuri - Dr Will Wood, Data Scientist
  • Kinewell Energy - Steven Ziolkowski, R&D and Consultant Engineer

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

12.15 Lunch
13.15

Beyond the Hype

Panel discussion hosted by Colin Eberhardt, Scott Logic

  • Dr Peter Michalák, National Innovation Centre for Data
  • Louise Braithwaite, MSc,  National Innovation Centre for Data
  • James Heward, Scott Logic

Theatre - Ground Floor

Introduction to Computer Vision using PyTorch

Dr Antonia Kontaratou, National Innovation Centre for Data

Gorgon - First Floor

Generating PDF Reports using Python

Dr Fergus McClean, National Innovation Centre for Data

Team Decision Theatre - First Floor

Statistics and Machine Learning: The Two Cultures

Dr Matt Edwards, National Innovation Centre for Data

Electra - First Floor

Reinforcement Learning for Business

Dr Jacek Cala, National Innovation Centre for Data

Faraday - First Floor

14.45 Refreshment Break
15.15

Mastering Innovation

  • Richie Ramsden, National Innovation Centre for Data
  • Barry Hodgson, National Innovation Centre for Data
  • Graham Cole, Newcastle University
  • Hannah Marshall, Learning Curve Group

Theatre - Ground Floor

Introduction to Computer Vision using PyTorch

Dr Antonia Kontaratou, National Innovation Centre for Data

Gorgon - First Floor

Generating PDF Reports using Python

Dr Fergus McClean, National Innovation Centre for Data

Team Decision Theatre - First Floor

Statistics and Machine Learning: The Two Cultures

Dr Matt Edwards, National Innovation Centre for Data

Electra - First Floor

 

Reinforcement Learning for Business

Dr Jacek Cala, National Innovation Centre for Data

Faraday - First Floor

 

 

16.45

Closing Address

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

17.00 Onwards

Social

Revolution de Cuba

 

Day 2 | Thursday 28 September

 

08.15 Registration and Refreshments
09.00

Welcome Address - Prof. Barry Hodgson, Director of Strategy, National Innovation Centre for Data

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

09.15

Keynote Talk - Dr Birju Bartoli, Chief Operating Officer, Northumbria Healthcare Trust

The Data Engine Underneath the NHS

Known as one of the country’s greatest assets, how does one of the country’s largest employers use data to drive its services and for how much longer will the public continue to support the NHS? Birju considers how data is used to drive services, where hands on clinical care is only one part of the jigsaw and where data is being used to predict what services might need to look like in the future.

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

10.00

Refreshment Break

10.30

Data-Driven Success Stories

Hear from speakers representing diverse organisations as they share real-world stories of successful projects leveraging data science. 

  • Polybox Solutions - Rojin Yarahmadi, Co-Founder & CEO
  • Soil Machine Dynamics - Dr Andrew Ambrose-Thurman, Senior Engineer
  • Mitsubishi Chemical  - Gregory Shaw, Data Analyst
  • AkzoNobel - Marie Dale, Data Portfolio Leader

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

12.00 Lunch
13.00

From Zero to Data Science Hero

  • Monika Sharma, Gateshead College
  • Dr Colin Gillespie, Jumping Rivers
  • Dr Rhian Davies, Jumping Rivers
  • Dr Hollie Johnson, National Innovation Centre for Data
  • Dr Jacek Cala, National Innovation Centre for Data 
  • Richie Ramsden, National Innovation Centre for Data

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

The Lure of Large Language Models

Dr Mac Misiura, National Innovation Centre for Data

Electra - First Floor

 

Descriptive Data Products

Louise Braithwaite, MSc,  National Innovation Centre for Data

Gorgon - First Floor

To Code or Not To Code

Stephen Dowsland, MSc, National Innovation Centre for Data

Faraday - First Floor

Exploring AI in Edge Computing

Dr Peter Michalák, National Innovation Centre for Data

Team Decision Theatre - First Floor

 

14.30 Refreshment Break
15.00

Navigating Business Support

  • Sunderland Software City/ Digital Catapult, Dr Ashmita Randhawa, Head of Innovation         
  • Sunderland Council Smart Cities, Mo Chowdhury, Project Manager
  • Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Dr Oliver Willis, Manager -  Automation and Digital
  • Innovation SuperNetwork, Estelle Blanks, CEO

Theatre - Ground Floor

The Lure of Large Language Models

Dr Mac Misiura, National Innovation Centre for Data

Electra - First Floor

 

Descriptive Data Products

Louise Braithwaite, MSc,  National Innovation Centre for Data

Gorgon - First Floor

To Code or Not To Code

Stephen Dowsland, MSc, National Innovation Centre for Data

Faraday - First Floor

Exploring AI in Edge Computing

Dr Peter Michalák, National Innovation Centre for Data

Team Decision Theatre - First Floor

16.30

Closing Address

Theatre & Viewing Room - Ground Floor

 

The Conference Tracks

Data Mastery

Immerse yourself in our Data Mastery Track, where interactive workshops and practical hands-on sessions unveil the latest tools and techniques in data science. Whether you're a business leader, data scientist, or decision-maker, this track will equip you with all the skills necessary to leverage data effectively.

Why sign up?

  • Gain access to the latest tools and techniques in data science.
  • Benefit from interactive workshops and hands-on sessions.
  • Learn how to leverage data effectively to make informed decisions.
  • Develop your skills in areas such as computer vision, automated reporting, coding, and more.
  • Connect with like-minded professionals, industry experts, and thought leaders in data science.
  • Gain the knowledge and expertise to transform your business by leveraging data effectively. 

Who is this Track for?

  • Data professionals
  • Business leaders and decision-makers
  • Entrepreneurs and start-ups aiming to leverage data for business success
  • Professionals interested in understanding the impact of data-driven tools and strategies
  • Aspiring data scientists and students

Session Breakdown 

Day 1

Dr Antonia Kontaratou, Data Scientist. National Innovation Centre for Data

 

Have you ever wondered how an automated vehicle can read road signs or tell a pedestrian from a parked car? Or perhaps you've wondered how artificial intelligence can make diagnoses from medical scans or X-rays? How does the camera at the airport link your face to your passport? These are all applications of 'Computer Vision'. In this workshop, we will gently introduce you to Computer Vision, teaching your computer to learn how to identify items of clothing via a simple 'neural net'. We will be using an existing online dataset, the Python programming language and 'PyTorch'.

Dr Fergus McClean, Data Scientist, National Innovation Centre for Data

 

Creating PDF reports from data is a common but often painstaking task for many businesses. Building automated workflows to generate these reports can save time and, in turn, add value. In this workshop, we present one possible open-source solution using Python and ReportLab. You don’t need any prior coding experience to attend. We will walk you through the process of automating your first report and hopefully provide inspiration to optimise your own reporting workflows. 

Dr Matt Edwards, Senior Data Scientist, National Innovation Centre for Data 

 

Statistics and Machine Learning, though often confused with each other due to shared tools and techniques, possess distinctly different cultures and objectives. This intriguing workshop aims to explore these differences in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of their respective objectives and applications. By examining the complementarity of these two disciplines, we will explore how certain data science projects can benefit from one set of tools and techniques over the other. 

Dr Jacek Cala, Senior Data Scientist, National Innovation Centre for Data

 Reinforcement Learning (RL) is less well known as a Machine Learning technique, especially in business. But perhaps you've started to wonder what benefits this lesser-known ML technique might bring to your company? In this workshop we will introduce you to the Reinforcement Learning area, including Deep RL, and help you learn what problems can be solved using this technique. We will also take a closer look at some of the common challenges companies face, including product recommendation, A/B testing, and optimisation. You will then have a chance to build your own models and see how they perform, so be sure to bring your laptop with you! 

 

Day 2

Dr Mac Misiura, Data Scientist, National Innovation Centre for Data

Large language models have revolutionised the field of natural language processing (NLP), allowing breakthroughs for many NLP tasks including language generation, translation, and understanding. This session will dive deep into the theoretical foundations and recent advancements in large language models, and explore their potential applications in the business world. Join to discover how organisations can harness the power of these models!  

Louise Braithwaite, Data Scientist, National Innovation Centre for Data

Organisations often have broad goals around “visualising” their data. This is often driven by a desire to make the data they hold “accessible” and “actionable”. But how do you turn this goal into a reality? This workshop aims to help by introducing you to a great framework for developing descriptive data products, such as reports and dashboards. 

Stephen Dowsland, Senior Data Scientist, National Innovation Centre for Data


Join us to explore tabular data analysis through a progressive path, starting with the simplicity of "no-code" tools, moving to the customisation and automation offered by "low-code" solutions, and finally diving into the power and versatility of coding. Discover a step-by-step process to effectively work with tabular data, empowering yourself with the knowledge to choose the right approach at every stage of your data journey.
 

Dr Peter Michalak, Edge Solution Specialist, National Innovation Centre for Data

Join us to explore the exciting world of Edge Computing. As the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices steadily grows, so too does their processing capability. There are more opportunities than ever before to move computation from the cloud to edge devices, and by using edge computing strategies, applications can benefit from lower latency, reduced bandwidth and energy requirements, and improved data privacy (among other things). Be sure to join this session to explore the real-world applications and benefits of Edge AI! 


The Art of Innovation

Discover how to deploy data-driven innovation for business success in 'The Art of Innovation' Track. Gain insights from success stories of businesses harnessing data's power to drive growth and explore available support for data and digital journeys.

Why sign up?

  • Gain valuable insights into the world of data science and its impact on business success
  • Enhance your data science capabilities through access to strategies, tools, and expertise 
  • Learn from real-world case studies of successful data-driven transformations 
  • Enjoy networking opportunities with experts and like-minded professionals 
  • Explore available support and resources for data and digital journeys 

Who is this Track for?

  • Business leaders and decision-makers
  • Professionals seeking to unlock the potential of data science
  • Those looking to enhance their data science capabilities
  • Entrepreneurs and start-ups aiming to leverage data for business success

Day 1

In this panel discussion, jointly presented with Scott Logic, we strip away the buzzwords and delve into the reality behind the hype. Hosted by Colin Eberhardt, CTO of Scott Logic, panellists will dissect trending topics, exploring their practical implications and separating fact from fiction. Discover the true impact of these technologies on our daily lives, job roles, businesses, and society as a whole. Join the conversation, gain valuable insights and prepare yourself for the future with a grounded understanding of the potential these buzzwords hold.

Discover the keys to business innovation and growth in this insightful session. Learn the importance of a robust data strategy and how it drives organisational success. Overcome the challenges of capturing innovation in a time-constrained world with practical advice and tools for busy professionals. Navigate the decision-making process of insourcing or outsourcing skills for effective innovation. Integrate data science skills into your organisation and unlock new opportunities. Gain valuable insights to drive innovation and propel your business forward. Don't miss this opportunity to equip yourself with the knowledge and tools for success!  

Day 2

Ignite your data science journey with this insightful session. Discover the fundamentals of data science, empowering your organisation to drive innovation and make informed decisions. Our expert speakers break down complex concepts, providing an introduction to data science. Gain valuable insights on harnessing the power of data, from understanding principles to practical implementation strategies. Don't miss out on this opportunity to innovate!

Learn about diverse funding and support programmes from regional experts nurturing innovation in the fields of data and digital. Gain a comprehensive understanding of eligibility, application processes, and success stories.

Discover how to access support programmes and accelerate your growth. Whether you're a start-up, established business, or aspiring entrepreneur, this session equips you with the knowledge to navigate the funding ecosystem. Make informed decisions, secure funding, and propel your ventures forward in the dynamic landscape of digital and data science innovation.