LOCATION: The REP Theatre, 6 Centenary Sq, Birmingham B1 2EP

The Leadership Breakfast is Birmingham Tech Week’s flagship strategic convening for senior leaders navigating AI, economic transformation and the future competitiveness of the West Midlands.

Bringing together C-suite executives, founders, investors, policymakers and enterprise leaders, the event will explore how organisations are responding to rapid technological change, shifting global markets and the increasing importance of regional innovation capability.

The programme will focus on practical leadership challenges surrounding AI adoption, industrial transformation, investment, talent, infrastructure and long-term growth, with particular emphasis on the West Midlands’ strengths across advanced manufacturing, mobility, clean energy and applied innovation.

Please note: This is an invite-only event!

LOCATION: The REP Theatre, 6 Centenary Sq, Birmingham B1 2EP

LOCATION: BOX, 1-2 The Waters Edge Brindley Pl, Birmingham B1 2HL

Be the heartbeat of Birmingham Tech Week by sponsoring the Opening Event—an event of celebration and networking. Open to all attendees, this event unites the diverse tech sector, providing a unique opportunity for your brand to mingle with industry leaders, tech professionals, and enthusiasts in a vibrant, collaborative atmosphere.

LOCATION: Eastside Rooms, Woodcock St, Birmingham B7 4BL

Tech For All explores how emerging technologies can reduce/ deepen inequality across society, education, work and public services.

The event brings together community organisations, educators, accessibility advocates, policymakers and technology leaders to examine how inclusion (gender, ethnic, neurodiverse plus social mobility, LGBTIQ+) can be embedded into the design, deployment and governance of technology.

The programme will focus on inclusive AI, accessibility, digital exclusion, ethical innovation and practical approaches to ensuring technological progress creates meaningful social impact across communities.

LOCATION: Eastside Rooms, Woodcock St, Birmingham B7 4BL

As threats evolve at machine speed, organisations are being forced to rethink resilience, trust and security leadership.

Cyberverse explores what cyber resilience, digital trust and security leadership look like in an increasingly AI-powered and geopolitically complex world.

Bringing together cyber professionals, enterprise leaders, researchers and public sector organisations, the event focuses on the rapidly evolving threat landscape facing businesses, infrastructure and society.

Topics will include AI-enabled threats, cyber resilience, post-quantum security, critical infrastructure protection, digital sovereignty and the growing intersection between cybersecurity, emerging technologies and global risk.

Designed for both technical and strategic audiences, Cyberverse aims to bridge operational expertise with leadership-level decision-making.

LOCATION: The ICC, 8 Centenary Sq, Birmingham, B1 2EA

The AI Symposium explores how organisations are moving from AI experimentation to real-world deployment.

Positioning the West Midlands as a leading region for AI adoption, the event brings together enterprise leaders, founders, policymakers, technologists and innovators to examine how AI is being implemented across business, manufacturing, health, professional services, creative industries and the public sector.

Inspired by Birmingham Tech Week’s 2026 theme, FAST FORWARD, the symposium explores what happens when organisations are forced to adapt faster than traditional systems, workflows and leadership models were designed for.

Rather than focusing on AI hype or infrastructure alone, the programme concentrates on the practical realities of adoption including workflow transformation, organisational culture, data readiness, governance, experimentation and measurable operational value.

LOCATION: ICC Birmingham, 8 Centenary Sq, Birmingham, B1 2EA

Through a series of provocations, critical discussions and demos, Frontiers Day responds to Birmingham Tech Week’s ‘Fast Forward’ theme, bringing together creators, researchers, gamers and entrepreneurs who are shaping the way we will live, learn and play. 

The 2026 programme explores four themes through a series of panel discussions: Faster Brains (EdTech), Faster Defence (gaming/defence), Faster Horse (innovation and place) and Faster Focus (designing for the attention economy).

Hear from leading creators and experts including Eloise Singer, British Esports, Netflix and Outernet, alongside the Createch Frontiers Expo showcasing work from the first year of the CreaTech Frontiers programme.

At the heart of Frontiers Day is Faster Horse, a 6-metre inflatable sculpture by Bruce Asbestos, commissioned by BOM for Birmingham Tech Week in partnership with West Midlands Growth Company and the It Starts Here campaign.

The sculpture is inspired by Henry Ford’s famous ‘faster horses’ quote, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses,” which has become shorthand for the idea that transformative innovation is hard to imagine before it exists.

As an emblem for disruptive innovation, Faster Horse has also inspired West Midlands Growth Company’s new It Starts Here campaign, spotlighting disruptive innovators from across the region. Faster Horse launches outside The Rep on Wednesday 21 October, accompanied by a live performance by CBSO.

Join Frontiers Day and explore the impact of emerging technologies and the role that human centred, design thinking can play in a future where creativity is our last defence.

LOCATION: The Exchange Assembly Rooms, 3 Centenary Sq, Birmingham B1 2DR

As technology, geopolitics and investment landscapes evolve rapidly, the event explores how regions and organisations remain globally competitive.

Global Growth is Birmingham Tech Week’s international innovation showcase, bringing together investors, universities, founders, trade organisations, policymakers and global innovation ecosystems to explore the technologies, industries and ideas shaping the future economy.

Structured around fast-paced showcases, lightning talks and international perspectives, the event highlights the West Midlands’ strengths across areas including advanced manufacturing, mobility, health innovation, creative technology, AI, DeepTech (e.g robotics and synthetic biology) and Quantum.

Alongside international perspectives and startup innovation, the event will include focused discussions on areas such as defence, sovereign capability, future industries and international collaboration in an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic landscape.

Designed as a platform for visibility, partnership and global connection, Global Growth aims to position the West Midlands as a globally relevant region for innovation, investment and future industry leadership.

LOCATION: Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BB

The Universities & Investment Dinner is an invitation-only convening bringing together investors, university leaders, corporates, founders and policymakers for strategic discussion and relationship building.

Focused on research commercialisation, innovation investment and long-term regional competitiveness, the dinner creates space for high-value conversations around collaboration, growth and future capability.

The evening will highlight the critical role universities, R&D partnerships and innovation ecosystems play in accelerating investment, supporting future industries and strengthening the West Midlands’ position as a globally connected innovation region.

LOCATION: The Studio, 7 Cannon St, Birmingham B2 5EP

In an era of accelerated markets, AI disruption and shifting investor expectations, scaling sustainably has never been more complex.

Scale Up Summit is designed for founders and leadership teams scaling beyond startup mode.

Focused on the operational realities of growth, the summit explores the challenges businesses face as they expand teams, enter international markets, secure investment and build long-term competitive advantage.

The programme will focus on AI-enabled growth, scaling operations, leadership, investment readiness, industrial innovation, climate technology and international expansion, with practical insight from operators, investors and founders navigating high-growth journeys in real time.

LOCATION: The ICC, 8 Centenary Sq, Birmingham, B1 2EA

The Engineering & Developer Conference is Birmingham Tech Week’s dedicated event for software engineers, developers, architects and technical teams building real-world systems and products.

Focused on technical depth rather than high-level commentary, the conference explores modern engineering challenges including infrastructure, AI tooling, DevOps, cybersecurity, developer experience and large-scale system design.

The programme will combine technical insight, practical learning and real-world case studies from teams building production-ready systems across sectors including mobility, manufacturing, gaming, fintech and enterprise technology.

LOCATION: The ICC, 8 Centenary Sq, Birmingham B1 2EA

The Birmingham Tech Week Awards Gala is the closing celebration of the festival, recognising the organisations, founders, leaders and innovators shaping the future of the region’s technology ecosystem.

Bringing together sponsors, investors, policymakers, partners and the wider tech community, the evening celebrates achievement across areas including AI, engineering, cyber, immersive technology, innovation, scale-up growth and social impact.

The event is designed as both a celebration and a statement of ambition for the West Midlands as a globally connected region driving applied innovation, future industries and long-term economic growth.