Tag: CAN DO Innovation Summit

Trio of female future tech leaders announced as keynotes for Scotland’s Leading Innovation Summit

Glasgow event in November helps businesses to navigate AI and emerging tech 

Global experts including DowJones emerging technology director and a top New York based virtual AI fashion expert will join Scottish businesses at Scotland’s annual CAN DO Innovation Summit, on 7th November. 

Now in its fourth year and in-person for the first time since the pandemic, the event at Glasgow’s Science Centre connects start-ups and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with leading innovators and academics to explore how new technologies, leadership and the right business cultures can tackle the challenges faced by Scottish industry and society.

More than 800 delegates and 40 speakers are expected to take part in the CAN DO Innovation Summit, which is funded by Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise and Innovate UK.

The Summit has fast-become a must attend for Scottish businesses from all sectors, with this year’s event providing valuable insights on innovating to build resilience in a tough economic climate and navigating an increasingly virtual and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled world.   

This year’s free to attend summit is spearheaded by female keynote speakers, with a focus on rapid advances towards a tech-driven, sustainable and virtual future. The three keynote speakers are:

  • Elena Corchero, Director of Emerging Tech at DowJones Live and Globally Recognised Tech Futurist (above).
  • Edafe Onerhime, Data Specialist and Global Financial Services Lead, Top Twenty Most Influential Women in Data 2023.
  • Opé M, Fashion Creative and Futurist and Top 3 Finalist New York AI Fashion Week 2023. 

Dr Susie Mitchell, Programme Director, Glasgow City of Science and Innovation (lead agency for the CAN DO Innovation Summit) said: “Scotland is already well regarded as a leader in innovation, but the pace of change has hugely accelerated.

“This summit will support start-ups and SMEs to make the most of AI and emerging technologies, key tools for businesses to thrive in a challenging economic climate.

“I’m also immensely proud to launch the summit with a line-up of local and global female experts, showcasing the talented women in tech and helping to inspire the next generation of diverse leaders.” 

Other speakers and panellists for the event include Nick Rosa, Industry Technology Innovation Lead from Accenture, and Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland. 

Delegates will hear from local and global experts who will share essential tech trends, insights and tools that allow businesses to keep up and stand out. The Summit will also include a raft of business leaders from Scotland’s growing innovation clusters – from health tech and advanced manufacturing to quantum and the digital creative industries. 

Keynote speaker Elena Corchero, Director of Emerging Tech at DowJones Live, said: “No matter your industry there is so much noise when you look at innovation and trends, and what can apply to your business.

“I’m excited to be part of this important event to talk about building a technology manifesto on ‘the why’ and how companies must embed well-being, immersiveness, sustainability and ethics to ensure tech and innovation adoption is challenge-based and purpose-driven.

“I’ll also share information on essential emerging (and merging) tech that businesses need to know about to stay ahead of the curve and embrace a better future.” 

The event will also include an immersive showcase, on Scotland’s largest IMAX screen, of Opé M’s stunning AI-enabled fashion collection ‘Emergence’, for which she received a top 3 award at the first AI Fashion Week in New York City. 

Tickets are now available for delegates to reserve free of charge on the CAN DO Innovation Summit Website, with the event taking place on 7 November 2023. 

www.candoinnovation.scot

Five-minutes of fame for Scotland’s winning SMEs

  • Prize-winning SMEs to take the stage at Scotland’s national innovation summit
  • The Summit announces new keynote speaker, Mari-Anne Chiromo, Entrepreneur and Business Growth & Effectiveness Specialist

Three of Scotland’s most innovative SMEs have secured a global audience spot at the CAN DO Innovation Summit after entering a competition to appear on the events #SMEstage.

The successful candidates; FC Laboratories Ltd, Cheemia ReSET and Danu Robotics Ltd, will join a host of world-class speakers, addressing an audience of over 800 investors, academics, entrepreneurs and innovators at the third-annual event held virtually on 23rd February 2022.

The competition, open to all small and medium sized Scottish businesses, required applicants to submit a short video demonstrating how their business drives innovation that is creating solutions to society’s biggest challenges.

The three winners were chosen from a wide variety of high-quality submissions and will now claim their prize spot on the Summit’s SME stage and will also benefit from two days of support from an Innovation Specialist at Scottish Enterprise worth £2K to help take their idea to the next level.

This year’s virtual CAN DO Innovation Summit will connect start-ups and SMEs with leading innovators, entrepreneurs, and academics from across the globe to explore new opportunities that marry purpose and profitability. It will feature a speaker line-up of over 40 multi-sector SMEs and a range of innovation support agencies across 12 industry-led panel sessions.

Keynotes, panel discussions and live Q&A sessions will run throughout the day covering practical insights on how people power, combined with the right tech, as well as sustainable and inclusive business practices can accelerate and enable a smoother digital transformation journey for businesses.

Mari-Anne Chiromo, Entrepreneur and Business Growth & Effectiveness Specialist at Apple is the latest name to join the selection of world class keynotes speaking at the event.

Further speaker highlights on the day include:

  • Kate Forbes MSP, Scottish Government
  • Wade Davis, Feminist, Former NFL Player and Educator on gender, race, and orientation equality (consulted with Netflix, Google and Viacom)
  • Gayemarie Brown, Forbes Top 25 Futurist, plus many more.

Delegates from a range of sectors – from fintech and health to manufacturing and the creative industries – have already signed up to this year’s event looking to expand their networks, learn about progressive workplace cultures and business models, and make connections for innovative project collaborations.

Dr Laura Bell of the CAN DO Innovation Summit, said: “Recent social and economic changes have created unprecedented challenges for SMEs and we would encourage them to attend the CAN DO Innovation Summit to be part of our vision of making Scotland a world-leading entrepreneurial nation.

“This virtual focal point for business will help SMEs adopt new technologies, build progressive working cultures and access the right support for innovation-led recovery and growth. We have a wide selection of world-leading speakers lined up for the event, as well as interactive sessions which can benefit SMEs across all sectors.

“I’d like to thank our panel of judges for selecting three excellent winners to take their well-earned place in the spotlight at the summit on the #SMEstage. We look forward to welcoming many more SMEs on 23 February.”

The #SMEstage competition winners were selected by an independent panel of judges made up of Evelyn McDonald, CEO at Scottish EDGE, Enoch Adeyemi, CEO at Black Professionals Scotland and Colin Meager, Innovation Team Lead, Scottish Enterprise.

FC Laboratories Ltd, Cheemia ReSET and Danu Robotics Ltd will appear at the Summit at 4pm to showcase how they are building innovation into their daily practices.

Colin Meager said: “It’s inspiring to see that, despite the economic and societal challenges we are facing, there are a wealth of entrepreneurs and businesses in Scotland using digital transformation to develop new business models and more innovative products and services. 

“Winning the competition will give these businesses access to useful connections and support as well as linking them into invaluable practical support from Scottish Enterprise.”

Early Bird rates are available for a limited time. If you’re keen to attend the Summit but the cost would prevent you from attending, visit the CAN DO Innovation website for info on how to get access.

For more information on the event and to register, please visit: 

www.candoinnovation.scot

Winning SMEs to take the stage at national innovation summit

  • Three of Scotland’s most innovative SMEs secure a global audience at the CAN DO Innovation Summit with #SMEstage competition win
  • Further details of the Summit are released

Scotland’s CAN DO Innovation Summit takes place tomorrow and there’s still time to book your seat at the virtual event. The national event for innovation in business will be live from 8am on Wednesday 3 February.

The three winners of the competition, open to all small and medium sized Scottish businesses, were chosen from high-quality entrants who were asked to submit a short video demonstrating how they are building innovation into their daily practices.

The winners are rising stars from across Scotland – Edinburgh-based Scene Connect, Aberdeen-based Recycl8 and Edinburgh-based Space Intelligence. Getting a spot on the Summit’s SME stage gives the businesses exposure to a global online audience of over 800 investors, academics, entrepreneurs and innovators. 

The winners will also benefit from two days of support from an Innovation Specialist at Scottish Enterprise.

This year’s CAN DO Innovation Summit, a headline event of the VentureFest Scotland festival of innovation, has been carefully crafted to support Scottish SMEs to build innovation-led recovery, resilience and sustainable growth after recent national and global challenges. It will feature a speaker line-up of over 40 multi-sector SMEs and a range of innovation support agencies across 12 industry-led panel sessions. 

Panel discussions and live Q&A sessions will run throughout the day covering the following themes: Journey to a Sustainable Future; Recovery & Resilience; Workplace Culture; Advance manufacturing & Digitisation; MedTech/Health Innovation.

Speaker highlights on the day will include world class keynotes: Lolita Jackson, Special Advisor for Climate Policy and Programs, in New York City’s Mayor’s Office; Ivan McKee, the Scottish Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation; Craig Foster, Art Director at Pixar Animation Studios; Chloe Demrovsky, the youngest and first female chief executive to oversee and expand the Disaster Recovery Institute’s international network; Dyan Finkhousen, founder and CEO of Shoshin Works in the US and John Reid, CEO of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS).

It has never been more important for business to be agile and creative – and over 800 delegates have already signed up to this year’s event, from Scotland, the UK and beyond. They have given a range of reasons for getting involved, including aiming to make new connections; wanting to learn about progressive workplace practices and hoping to learn how new technologies can help them tackle business challenges. 

Enabling connections is a key objective of the Summit, at a time when networking can be difficult in a virtual world. With multiple opportunities to connect with new people, share knowledge and ideas and explore opportunities for partnership, the Summit makes it easier than ever to spark new connections online.

Delegates can meet innovation leaders, support agencies, investors, entrepreneurs and academics through live Q&As, speed networking, 1:1s in the Delegate Hub, drop-in sessions and the Summit’s virtual Support Village.

Dr Laura Bell of the CAN DO Innovation Summit, said: “Recent events have created huge challenges for SMEs, who will now be critical to tackling the economic and societal challenges we are facing. This year’s Summit has been carefully crafted to help SMEs explore opportunities to develop new and better business models and to drive sustainable competitive advantage. 

“Our virtual focal point for business will help SMEs adopt new technologies, build progressive working cultures and access the right support for innovation-led recovery and growth. We have a wide selection of world-leading experts and local talent lined up to speak at the event, as well as interactive sessions which can benefit SMEs across all sectors.

“I’d also like to thank our panel of judges for selecting three excellent winners to take their well-earned place in the spotlight at the Summit on the #SMEstage. We look forward to welcoming many more SMEs on 3 February.”

The #SMEstage competition winners were selected by an independent panel of judges made up of senior representatives from Scottish EDGE, Innovate UK and Scottish Enterprise.

The winners will have their moment in the spotlight at the Summit at 3.45pm when they will showcase how they are building innovation into their daily practices.

Evelyn McDonald said: “Judging the #SMEstage competition was a great way to start the year as it reminded us all that despite the challenges we are currently facing there are a wealth of entrepreneurs and businesses in Scotland creating new technologies to enable innovation led recovery and growth. 

“Winning the competition will give the businesses access to a wide audience which will hopefully bring useful connections and support as well as linking them into invaluable support from Scottish Enterprise.”

This is the second Summit, following a successful inaugural event in Glasgow, and is the first time it has been held virtually.

For more information on the event please visit: www.candoinnovation.scot

Delegates can register for free here: 

https://www.registerforevent.co.uk/candoinnovationsummit/