Skip to content
MeetupOnline

AIoT Hub: (Re-)engineering AI

Explore the topics

Event artwork for AIoT Hub: (Re-)engineering AI
About this event

What to expect

Explore how AI systems can be engineered for efficient deployment on resource-constrained devices in this online AIoT Hub talk on 3 November 2026 at 6:00pm.

Rethinking AI beyond the cloud

As machine learning moves from powerful cloud infrastructure onto smaller devices, capable models alone are not enough. “(Re)-engineering AI” examines the systems-level challenges that determine whether AI can work efficiently and reliably in real-world, resource-constrained environments.

Hosted by the AIoT Hub – Newcastle Upon Tyne community, formerly known as IoT North, this online talk features Blesson Varghese, Professor of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews. Rather than concentrating on one model or application, Varghese will unpack the engineering principles needed to make distributed and edge AI practical at scale.

The presentation centres on three fundamental deployment problems:

  • ML systems do not run efficiently on small devices
  • Sequential dependencies can restrict efficient execution
  • AI workloads are highly memory-intensive

Varghese will introduce research solutions developed through hands-on experience designing and deploying distributed and edge AI systems. Attendees will learn why existing approaches need to be reconsidered and how changing the design and execution of ML systems can support more practical AI deployment outside conventional cloud environments.

About the speaker

Blesson Varghese has more than 15 years of UK and international experience in the design, development and deployment of large-scale distributed computer systems. His research focuses on edge computing and distributed systems, with a strong emphasis on translating academic research into practical technology.

He received the 2021 IEEE Rising Star Award and held a Royal Society fellowship in partnership with British Telecommunications plc. He directs the Rakuten Mobile-funded Edge Computing Hub and co-leads research within the UK’s National Edge AI Hub. His work has produced more than ten patent filings and has appeared in a New Scientist video series and the documentary Clouded.

Who should attend?…

Register for this event

Running an AI event?

List it here, free.

Meetups, workshops and conferences go in front of thousands of builders after a quick review.

List your event