GSE Conference
Illuminate - Level 5
18th September at 10:00AM
Illuminate Level 5 - Watch a replay of the live stream
Agenda
10:00-10:10 Welcome remarks from Professor Dame Angela McLean
10:10-10:40 Keynote from the Royal Institution
'A Brief History of Electrical Innovation at the Royal Institution'
The Ri will tell stories of innovation in this interactive session using live demonstrations and volunteers from the audience. It will leave you surprised, enthused, and with plenty to talk about for the rest of the day.
11:10-12:05 Panel Session 1: Cross Profession Collaboration for ‘A More Innovative Public Sector’
Chaired by Professor Dame Angela McLean, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Head of GSE Profession
Session outline: Given the breadth and scope of the 28 professions available to join in the civil service - how well do you and your team understand what the other professions within your department do, and how you can support one another? In this session, the heads of science and engineering, policy, finance and communications come together to discuss the role of professions in government, their role in ensuring a more innovative public sector and how we can work more effectively across government to achieve this ambition.
Panellists:
Professor Sir Ian Diamond, UK National Statistician and Head of Government Analysis Function
Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary for DEFRA and Head of Government Policy Profession
Simon Baugh, Chief Executive of Government Communication Service
13:05-14:00 Panel Session 2: Delivering public services in the era of AI
Chaired by Dr Dave Smith, National Technology Adviser
Session outline: Artificial Intelligence has massive potential to support the government to deliver public services, not only to be more efficient – but also to be more personalised and responsive than those we have now. How far has this potential been realised to date, and how much further is there left to go? There are many different methods for different government use cases – but is it only the technology which determines our road ahead?
Panellists:
Laura Gilbert, Director of 10DS, the data science and analytics team in Downing Street
Nick Watkins, Deputy Director - Data Science and Geospatial at UK Health Security Agency
Final panellist to be announced
14:25-15:20 Panel Session 3: Innovating to achieve Net Zero by 2050
Chaired by Professor Paul Monks, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero
Session outline: Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 – the binding target legislated by the UK government – requires deep cuts in emissions of sectors where decarbonisation is a complex challenge. This session will give an overview of how research and innovation can support delivery of this target, including translating innovative technologies to make net zero a reality.
Panellists:
Alex Buckman, Innovative Solutions Architect – Flexibility at Energy Systems Catapult
Professor Victoria Gibson, Professor of Energy Materials at Newcastle University and Academic Lead for the Northern Net Zero Accelerator PB-IAA (Place Based Impact Acceleration Account)
Final panellist to be announced
15:45-16:00 Afternoon Plenary: Building a collaborative government science and engineering community
Professor Jas Pal Badyal, Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales
16:00-16:25 GSE Awards 2024
Presented by Professor Dame Angela McLean