Bristol ARIA x 5050 Roadshow: hosted by PRIMED
A Look Inside How ARIA + 5050 Supports Ambitious UK Talent
Join us for a networking lunch, talks, Q&A, and a panel discussion with leadership from ARIA and 5050 UK, alongside founders building in frontier science and technology.
Schedule
13:00 to 14:00, Networking lunch
14:00 to 16:00, ARIA and 5050 UK leadership session, talks and Q&A
The session will include:
An introduction to ARIA and 5050 from leadership
ARIA’s Programme Director role and funding opportunities
A 5050 UK fireside with a 5050 alumni founder
Q&A and networking
Lunch and soft drinks will be provided.
Speakers
ARIA: Ryan Olf (Programme Director), Alice Pettitt (Frontier Specialist), Aayush Chadha (Frontier Specialist), Maximilian Sichrovsky (Science & Technology Lead),
Arthur Richards (ARIA Creator + Professor of Robotics and Control at the University of Bristol)
Fifty Years: Steph Avraamides (UK Lead), Bjorn Fraser Olaisen (5050 alumnus, founder + ARIA creator)
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ARIA is a UK R&D funding agency built to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs by empowering scientists and engineers to pursue research that is too speculative, too hard, or too interdisciplinary to pursue elsewhere. It operates through Programme Directors: exceptional scientific and technical leaders who define opportunity spaces, shape bold technical visions, and build the teams and project portfolios needed to pursue them. Drawn from across academia, entrepreneurship, and industry, ARIA’s Programme Directors are given unusual independence to design and lead ambitious, multi-year R&D programmes. Each Programme Director has a budget of around £50M to select, fund, and actively steer a diverse portfolio of projects across disciplines and institutions. ARIA is now recruiting its 3rd cohort of Programme Directors, with applications opening in August 2026 for a May 2027 start date.
5050 helps scientists and engineers become founders tackling the world’s biggest problems. Powered by ARIA and run by Fifty Years, the part-time programme distils lessons from backing 135 companies whose founders have raised over $6B into a free, part-time venture programme for technical people with ambitious ideas. Early applications are open for the 4th cohort of 5050 here.
Hosted by PRIMED. The PRIMED community, run by researchers, creates spaces for interdisciplinary entrepreneurial exploration across the UK.