Nov 4 2010
More than 60 speakers from market-leading organisations including Microsoft, the BBC and Cambridge University - including former IBM EMEA chairman Larry Hirst - are appearing at this year's Technology World in partnership with UK NanoForum conference.
Hirst was appointed a business ambassador by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and awarded a CBE in 2006 for services to the IT industry. He is also chairman of e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for IT, Telecoms and Contact Centres, and chairman of the 'Transition to Teaching' Steering Committee.
In addition, Roger Mosely - the BBC's director of London 2012, who is overseeing the BBC's coverage of the London Olympics - will be delivering a keynote speech. Other speakers include Alex Gray, senior product marketing manager at Microsoft, David Bott, director of innovation programmes at the Technology Strategy Board, and Chris Rider, director of Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre at Cambridge University.
The Technology World in partnership with UK NanoForum event - taking place at London ExCeL on 7-8 December - showcases the best of UK science and technology to a global audience, and provides businesses, organisations and academia with the opportunity to present their products, solutions and knowledge to an unrivalled international audience. It is expected to generate £118 million of potential business transactions for technology companies in the UK.
The conference comprises three programmes - energy & environment, digital media and nanotechnology - for the 2,000 industry professionals expected to attend. Speakers representing each programme will be appearing at the event, discussing several topics such as 'Sustainable cities', 'The rise of social and casual gaming' and 'Formulating solutions with nanomaterials'.
David Sharp, sector specialist science and innovation at UKTI, said: "It is fitting that an event aimed at promoting the UK's expertise to an international audience should also host speeches from more than 60 leaders in technology, nanotechnology and digital media. Their experience proves that the UK's technology industry is both thriving and highly innovative - and sharing their knowledge during the conference will help delegates to further develop their understanding of new developments within these sectors."
In addition to the conference, Technology World in partnership with UK NanoForum 2010 includes some 3,000 face-to-face meetings, an exhibition, awards and a workshop programme. It has grown substantially since last year, when Technology World '09 and UK NanoForum '09 were separate events. The event provides opportunities for business-to-business collaboration, ensuring that companies of all sizes from SMEs to large corporations have the chance to network and learn from both UK and international companies.