PLATFORM Conference 2026: Scaling Businesses in the North East

⌖ Newcastle · Northern Design Centre

Hosted by Digital Pathfinders

Learn how to adopt AI without exposing your organisation to avoidable intellectual property, data or financial risks at this practical Gateshead workshop. Taking place on Wednesday 28 October 2026, from 9:30am to 12:30pm, AI: Myths, Risks & Benefits offers a clear-eyed introduction to the potential downsides of artificial intelligence,and the practical measures small organisations can take to protect themselves. The three-hour, in-person session will be held at the Northern Design Centre in Gateshead, within the wider Newcastle area. What the workshop covers AI can create genuine benefits, but organisations may adopt it without fully understanding what happens to their information, content or budget. Rather than relying on hype or technical jargon, this workshop examines common ways AI use can go wrong and what those mistakes could cost. Topics include: - Intellectual property: how businesses can unintentionally hand over valuable ideas or material through everyday use of free AI tools, including services that train on information submitted by users. - Personal information and data exposure: how sensitive information may be revealed, and what that could mean both for your organisation and for the people whose data you hold. - Cost management: why unchecked AI usage can lead to runaway costs and why organisations need to keep an eye on consumption. - Reducing exposure: practical steps that help teams use AI more sensibly while limiting avoidable risks. The emphasis is on helping attendees understand what to watch for before problems arise. By the end of the session, you should have a more grounded view of AI’s risks and benefits, alongside practical ways to approach adoption with greater care. Who should attend? This workshop is designed specifically for small businesses and charities that want to start using AI,or improve how they already use it,without being caught out by hidden consequences. No prior technical knowledge is required, making it suitable for leaders, staff and decision-makers who need an accessible overview rather than a highly technical session. The event is organised by Digital Pathfinders and takes place at Northern Design Centre, Abbott’s Hill, Gateshead NE8 3DF. Register for AI: Myths, Risks & Benefits

⌖ Newcastle

AiX Conference brings AI and product design leaders to Newcastle on 21 April 2027 for a focused day of talks, ideas and networking. Designing with AI starts here This one-day AI × Design conference explores how artificial intelligence is changing the way digital products are designed, built and experienced. Rather than spreading the programme across competing sessions, AiX uses one stage and one track, giving everyone a shared journey through the most important questions facing modern design and product teams. Attendees will hear how practitioners are applying AI in real working environments, discover emerging tools and examine examples of design innovation. The programme centres on two closely connected themes: - Designing AI products: how teams create AI-powered experiences that people can trust and enjoy using - Building with AI: how designers and product teams use AI to move from early ideas towards production more quickly The event is particularly relevant to product designers, design leaders and members of digital product teams who want to understand AI’s practical impact on their craft. It will also appeal to professionals responsible for shaping product experiences, evaluating emerging workflows or helping teams adopt AI thoughtfully. No specific experience level is stated; the emphasis is on industry insight, real-world practice and the changing relationship between AI, design and product development. Speakers announced for 2027 The developing line-up brings together designers and design leaders working across banking, employee benefits, sustainability software and technology products: - Jay Clark, Senior Design Manager at Monzo Bank - Miriam Khenissi, Senior Product Designer at Perkbox - Tom Hiskey, Senior Product Designer at EcoOnline - Stephen Patterson, Principal Product Designer at Deck - Paavan Buddhdev, Product Designer at Granola Further speakers are due to be announced as the 2027 programme is refined. Alongside the talks, the conference offers opportunities to connect with the people exploring and shaping AI-led product design. Its single-track format creates common ground for conversations throughout the day, making it easier to compare approaches, discuss lessons from the stage and build relationships with peers facing similar design challenges.… Register for this event

⌖ Newcastle · The Catalyst

Hosted by Jumping Rivers

AI in Production 2027 brings practitioners to The Catalyst in Newcastle on 10–11 June to share real-world lessons from deployed AI and machine learning systems. The conference opens with workshops on Thursday, followed by a full Friday programme of standard talks and lightning talks. Its focus is firmly on AI systems used beyond the people who built them, not speculative predictions, standalone benchmarks or polished product pitches. Call for speakers Jumping Rivers is accepting abstracts until 29 January 2027. Proposed talks can explore: - Deployment, serving, rollouts and rollbacks - Monitoring, observability, drift and feedback loops - Evaluation, human review, red-teaming and guardrails - RAG pipelines, agents and assistants in production - Cost, latency, caching and model-selection trade-offs - Production incidents and the lessons that followed - Responsible AI, regulation, governance and liability - Ownership and collaboration across technical teams Strong abstracts should describe a specific system, a consequential decision or turning point, what went wrong, and one clear takeaway supported by evidence where possible. Work in progress, internal tools, small-scale systems and discontinued projects are all welcome, and first-time speakers are explicitly encouraged. Standard sessions run for approximately 25 minutes, including five minutes for questions. Lightning talks last six minutes, use slides that advance automatically every 20 seconds and conclude with one question. Standard-talk speakers receive a free conference ticket. Submit a title and an abstract of up to 300 words through the speaker submission form. Applicants should hear back within two months of the deadline, and likely sooner. View conference details and registration information

⌖ San Francisco · Hyatt Regency Burlingame

Hosted by Open Data Science Conference (ODSC)

Learn to build production-ready AI systems in just seven weeks with the AI Engineering Accelerator bootcamp, a hands-on training program that bridges the gap between using AI and building it. Running from June 9 through October 29, 2026, this intensive program combines virtual instruction with a multi-day in-person capstone at the Hyatt Regency Burlingame during ODSC AI West 2026. Designed for professionals ready to move beyond tutorials, the Accelerator provides comprehensive training in the core disciplines of modern AI engineering: large language models (LLMs), agentic AI systems, and production deployment. You'll gain practical experience with the latest tools and frameworks used by leading AI teams, learning not just how to use AI, but how to architect, build, and ship AI-powered applications. Program Structure The bootcamp follows a hybrid learning model that maximizes flexibility while ensuring hands-on engagement. Starting with the Summer Cohort on June 9, you'll participate in virtual training sessions led by experienced AI practitioners. The program culminates in an intensive in-person segment from October 27-29, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, California, integrated with the main ODSC AI West conference. This dual-format approach allows you to build foundational knowledge remotely while maintaining your current work commitments, then apply those skills in collaborative, hands-on projects during the in-person sessions. You'll also gain full access to ODSC AI West's conference tracks, expo, and networking events. What You'll Learn The curriculum focuses on production-grade AI engineering, covering: - LLM development and deployment — Fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and optimization techniques - Agentic AI systems — Building autonomous agents and workflow automation - AI Engineering fundamentals — MLOps, model serving, monitoring, and scaling - Real-world implementation — Moving from prototype to production with confidence Organized by Open Data Science Conference, which has spent 11 years training thousands of AI engineers and data scientists, the Accelerator draws on ODSC's deep expertise in practical AI education. The program features specialization tracks tailored to different AI engineering domains, allowing you to focus on the areas most relevant to your career goals. Who Should Attend This bootcamp is designed for professionals who already work with AI tools and are rea

⌖ Sheffield · The Edge, University of Sheffield, 34 Endcliffe Crescent, Sheffield, S10 3ED

Hosted by APRIL

The APRIL AI Hub Annual Summit 2026 brings together researchers, practitioners, and innovators at the forefront of artificial intelligence and machine learning for a full day of knowledge sharing and collaboration in Sheffield. Taking place at The Edge at the University of Sheffield, this conference serves as the flagship annual gathering for the APRIL (AI for Precision Medicine and Healthcare, Privacy, Reproducibility, Interpretability, and Learning) community. As the second annual summit following the inaugural event in Edinburgh, this conference continues APRIL AI Hub's mission to advance responsible AI research and practice across healthcare, precision medicine, and beyond. The summit provides a vital platform for cross-sector dialogue between academic researchers, industry partners, healthcare professionals, and policy makers working at the intersection of AI, ethics, and real-world applications. What to Expect While the detailed programme is still being finalised, attendees can expect a comprehensive agenda featuring: - Keynote presentations from leading figures in AI research and healthcare innovation - Research showcases highlighting cutting-edge work in precision medicine, privacy-preserving AI, reproducible research methodologies, and interpretable machine learning - Panel discussions exploring the ethical, regulatory, and practical challenges of deploying AI systems in sensitive domains - Networking opportunities to connect with peers across academia, industry, and healthcare sectors - Poster sessions and demonstrations of ongoing research projects Who Should Attend This summit is designed for: - AI and machine learning researchers working on healthcare applications - Data scientists and engineers building trustworthy AI systems - Healthcare professionals interested in AI-driven precision medicine - Policy makers and ethicists concerned with responsible AI deployment - PhD students and early-career researchers in AI and related fields - Industry partners exploring AI applications in regulated environments About APRIL AI Hub The APRIL AI Hub represents a collaborative initiative advancing responsible AI research with particular emphasis on healthcare applications, data privacy, reproducible science, interpretable models, and robust learning systems. Previous APRIL events have established a strong reputation for bringing together diverse perspectives on the challe

⌖ Location TBC

Hosted by Sijthoff Accountants Academy

Finance professionals face mounting pressure to innovate, optimize processes, and deliver insights faster than ever. This hands-on workshop shows you how to harness the power of no-code and low-code solutions to transform your organization's data management and automation capabilities—without needing an IT background. Built around the Microsoft Power Platform (including PowerBI, PowerApps, Power Automate, and Dataverse, enhanced by Copilot), this intensive one-day session equips you with practical skills to drive process optimization and support the emerging role of "Citizen Developers" in your organization. You'll discover how finance professionals can take a proactive, strategic role in digital transformation by championing accessible, scalable automation tools. What You'll Learn The workshop covers three core areas: Building Low-Barrier Applications - Optimize and automate internal processes using no-code/low-code platforms - Understand the shift from traditional IT development to Citizen Development models - See real-world examples of process improvements in finance organizations Microsoft Power Platform in Practice - Hands-on introduction to PowerBI for data visualization - PowerApps for custom business applications - Power Automate for workflow automation - Dataverse for centralized data management - Copilot integration for AI-enhanced productivity The Finance Professional as Change Agent - Strengthen internal controls through automated processes - Improve data quality and information provision - Lead innovation initiatives within your organization - Bridge the gap between business needs and technical solutions You'll work through practical examples and case studies that demonstrate how organizations across private, public, and non-profit sectors are leveraging these tools to achieve faster, more efficient, data-driven operations. Who Should Attend This workshop is designed for accountants in business, controllers, internal auditors, government accountants, and other professionals involved in decision-making, information management, data quality assurance, management reporting, or process automation. Whether you work in a corporate environment, SME, or non-profit organization, the Microsoft Power Platform principles apply across sectors and organizational sizes. Your Takeaways By the end of this practical session, you'll und

Sponsors: Alex van Groningen