ARIA x Sunderland Software City: Opening New Routes to Breakthrough Funding in the North East
How does the North East plug into the UK's boldest R&D funder?
Join the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), in partnership with Sunderland Software City, to explore how we can widen the corridor between bold ideas, exceptional people, and breakthrough funding in the region.
Created by an Act of Parliament and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ARIA exists to back research that is too speculative, too hard, or too interdisciplinary to be funded anywhere else. This is about the high-risk, high-reward science and engineering that can shift what's possible for the UK and beyond.
Join us to discuss how ARIA works, how we identify and shape new opportunity spaces, how we fund R&D across the UK and internationally, and how we can engage more deeply with the North East. The session will bring together ARIA’s CEO Kathleen Fisher, Programme Director Jenny Read, and other leaders and players from across the North East ecosystem for an open conversation about ambition, funding, collaboration, and the kinds of people and ideas ARIA is looking to support.
ARIA welcomes applications from across the R&D ecosystem: not just universities, but start-ups and scale-ups, established companies, research institutions, and individual researchers with compelling ideas. The North East has a deep and growing base of talent across AI and digital, advanced manufacturing, offshore renewable energy, space and creative. This evening is about making the connection for these groups to understand where they might fit, and how best to engage.
Expect a relaxed evening of insight, conversation and connection, with time to network across the region's innovation community.
Agenda
18:00 | Doors open
18:30 | Opening remarks, talks and panel discussion
19:30 | Light refreshments and networking
21:00 | Event ends
Who’s it for?
This event is for anyone interested in ambitious science and technology, breakthrough R&D, and strengthening the North-East’s role in the UK innovation ecosystem.
We especially encourage people from across academia, startups, industry, government, venture capital, non-profits, charities, and civic institutions to attend — particularly those working with ambitious ideas, overlooked opportunities, or exceptional people who could shape the future.