About the event
Join this free, practical webinar to discover how Innovate UK Business Connect could help your innovation reach it’s highest potential. Whether you are shaping an idea, developing a prototype, finding your first customers or ready to grow, we will help you make sense of the innovation support landscape and identify your next step.
Meet the team behind Innovate UK Business Connect, hear honest insights from founders who have received and benefited from our support, and explore the programmes, networks, expertise and connections that could help move your innovation forward. No prior knowledge needed, just a clear introduction to who we are, how we can help and where you might go next.
This session is for innovators and innovation-led businesses across the UK. You do not need to know Innovate UK Business Connect or already be part of our programmes or networks.
Why attend?
At the event you will:
- get to know Innovate UK Business Connect and how we fit within the wider innovation ecosystem
- learn about the programmes, networks, expertise, connections and funding opportunities that may be relevant to you
- hear practical insights from two founders who have navigated the Innovate UK Business Connect support landscape
- understand when different types of support can be most useful across your innovation journey
- leave with greater confidence about where to start and what action to take next
Meet the speakers
-
Phoebe is the Stakeholder Relationships Lead at Innovate UK Business Connect.
She is the host and moderater of the session, helping connect the speakers’ insights to practical next steps for attendees.
-
Fran is the Managing Director of Innovate UK Business Connect and will introduce the organisation, its role in the UK innovation ecosystem and how it connects innovators with expertise, networks and opportunities.
-
David is the Associate Director of Networks at Innovate UK Business Connect and will share insights into the organisation’s specialist networks and how innovators can connect with relevant expertise and opportunities.
-
Jamie is an apprentice turned CEO, impact-focused inventor, coach and mentor. As Founder and CEO of Scannetix, he is working to prevent utility accidents and tackle the global challenge of digging safely in construction. Jamie has taken an unproven concept and built it into an award-winning business, while helping shape national safety standards and promoting the industry to the next generation. His recognition includes the LCCI SME Young Business Person of the Year award, becoming a Construction News Awards Rising Star finalist and receiving the Construction Livery Journeyman Award. Jamie will share what it really takes to turn an idea into a scalable, category-defining business.
-
Maryna is a co-founder and the CEO of Petiole Pro.
She is a member of the Women in Innovation Community Forum and a winner of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award 2026. Petiole Pro develops AI-powered plant measurement tools used by research organisations across six continents and cited in more than 110 scientific papers. She also founded MooMore, using thermal imaging and visual AI to detect inflammation in dairy cattle before lameness becomes visible. Maryna teaches AI in agriculture to more than 3,000 students across 129 countries and is an Oxford Farming Conference 2026 Inspire Programme delegate, a LinkedIn Top Voice in agritech and a fellow of the WIPO/ITC SheTrades IP mentorship programme.
Accessibility and Inclusion
We are committed to ensuring our events are accessible for all.
If you experience any barriers to registering, for any reason, please contact us by email: enquiries@iukbc.org.uk or phone: +44 03333 403250 and we will support your registration.