Several globally-renowned businesses from the worlds of data, technology, construction, infrastructure solutions and education are joining forces at Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival this week.
Thousands of creative minds stemming from world-leading businesses such as Visa, Vyntelligence, Cognizant and Newcastle University will put their brains together to find new approaches to some of the biggest challenges facing the water industry.
The eighth iteration of the festival is returning to Newcastle Racecourse again on July 8-11th – complete with a whole host of celebrity guests, music, wellness sessions, fun, comedy and most importantly an array of sprints, hacks and dashes.
Among the 50 sprints, a number of different topics will be tackled by platinum sponsors such as:
- Visa and Vyntelligence will be looking at “plugging the leaks” within the utilities industry and focusing on how we can bring more skill into the sector.
- Linked to the River Deep Mountain AI project, led by Northumbrian Water, global IT services and consulting company, Cognizant, will be leading a sprint on how clever AI technology can be used to improve the health of our local rivers.
- Newcastle University will be looking at how we can best manage rainwater to reduce pollution.
Gold sponsors at Qualitest, National Robotarium and Jacobs will also be taking to the tents to look at issues from investment in nature-based solutions to using AI and robotics to improve services.
Angela MacOscar, Head of Innovation at Northumbrian Water, said:
“Every year, we welcome some amazing sponsors to our wonderful event – and we have been lucky enough to collaborate with our gold and platinum sponsors in different forms over the years.
“This means we can only expect great things!
“Each of our sponsors understand what it means to adopt technology and best practice techniques to make sure that our customers receive the greatest service possible. I just can’t wait to sit down with them all next week.”
The theme for the event is “speed and scale” – encouraging attendees to grow their ideas at a fast pace.
The festival-style get-together is expected to see thousands of attendees descend on the Racecourse, including 400 Year 10 students taking part in the Young Citizens Work Experience Festival – which is a second event running parallel to the main festival.
The full list of sprints can be found here – www.innovationfestival.org
