Businesses are being encouraged to register for the Isle of Wight Council’s “Digital Solent” event which is being held at Cowes Yacht Haven on 8th November.
The event runs from 9am – 5pm and is designed to provide opportunities to better understand digital technologies and the capabilities it offers, as well as business models, methods and the prospect of engaging with local digital firms to jointly solve business problems, develop new lines of business or transform existing ones.
The conference will focus on Island challenges and opportunities and provides a rare chance to hear from and interact with leading thinkers and network with companies already active in the digital space on the Isle of Wight.
The event will begin with a message of support from Sir Richard Branson and the conference will be run as a Digital Innovation Challenge event. Delegates will be invited to create a proposal
for a new digital application to address a key challenge facing the region or a new business opportunity. Over three sessions the speakers will act as coaches for the tables of delegate teams, to provide perspectives on the relevance, opportunity and resilience of any innovation developed.
Conference programme
9 to 9.30am Registration and refreshments (refreshments will be available throughout the day)
9.30am Welcome speech
David Stewart Leader of Isle of Wight Council
9.40am Format for the day
Nisha Pillai BBC World News presenter
Martin Thomas Social media commentator
The Digital Challenges – Team names and challenge selection
10.15am Session 1: The digital landscape
Andy Stanford-Clark Chief Technology Officer, IBM – Current challenges and future opportunities
Dr. Jeffrey Starr University of Maryland
John Irvine CEO, WightFibre
Q&A session with the speakers
11.15am to 12pm Innovation challenge part 1: Scoping concepts
12 to 12.45pm Session 2: Business benefits of digital presence
Patrick Slattery Managing Director, Accenture
James Lambert Associate Director – Oxford Economics/Huawei
Key findings from the report ‘The Digital Spillover – measuring the true impact of the Digital Economy’ www.huawei.com/minisite/gci/en/digital-spillover
Christina Conroy Director, Coralesce Ltd – ‘TechislandUK’
Q & A session with the speakers
12.45 to 1.30pm Lunch
1.30 to 2.15pm Innovation challenge part 2: Developing the proposition
2.15 to 2.45pm Session 3: Cyber resilience – risks and opportunities
This session will focus on the risks and threats facing digital business and the best means of addressing which in themselves may present business development opportunities
Paul O’Brien Director of Service, Security and Operations Lab, BT
Commander Dave Clark National Coordinator for Economic Crime, City of London Police
Dr. Jeffrey Starr University of Maryland
Q & A with the speakers
2.45 to 3.30pm Innovation challenge part 3: Preparing the pitch
3.30 to 4.45pm Innovation challenge part 4: Pitch and promote
Each table group presents its idea to the plenary. Virtual votes will be cast and a final winner announced
4.45 to 5pm Next steps and close of conference
To register for reserved places go to https://www.iwight.com/iwforms/digitalconf
