Event: Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival (NWG IF) 2024

Date: July 2024

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Role: Keynote Sprint Speaker

Type of CPD: Innovation leadership / digital transformation / collaborative problem‑solving

Duration: Full‑day participation (keynote + sprint engagement + stakeholder discussions)

Summary of the Event

I participated in the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival 2024 as a Keynote Sprint Speaker, contributing to one of the UK water sector’s most dynamic and collaborative innovation events. The festival brings together utilities, technology innovators, regulators, academics, data scientists, designers and cross‑sector partners to co‑create solutions to some of the industry’s most pressing challenges.

The 2024 festival focused on digital transformation, environmental performance, customer trust, climate resilience, and the future of wastewater and drinking water operations. Sprints explored real‑world challenges through design thinking, rapid prototyping and collaborative problem‑solving.

My keynote set the tone for the sprint I supported, emphasising the role of real‑time biological monitoring, microbial activity sensing, and high‑resolution data in enabling predictive operations, environmental protection and PR24 delivery.

My Contribution: Keynote Sprint Speaker

Keynote Title: Real‑Time Insight for Real‑World Impact: Biological Data as the Next Frontier in Water Innovation

Key messages delivered:

• Demonstrated how real‑time biological monitoring provides early‑warning capability and strengthens treatment resilience.
• Highlighted the role of microbial activity sensing in improving wastewater stability, reducing pollution risk and supporting environmental compliance.
• Positioned biological data as a critical missing layer in digital twins, predictive analytics and automated optimisation.
• Encouraged sprint participants to consider biological, chemical and physical data integration when designing future solutions.
• Reinforced the importance of cross‑sector collaboration in scaling innovation and delivering measurable environmental outcomes.

Sprint engagement:

• Supported a multi‑disciplinary sprint team exploring digital optimisation, environmental monitoring and operational resilience.
• Provided technical insight on biological data integration, sensor deployment and analytics workflows.
• Helped shape sprint outputs, including prototype concepts and recommendations for utility adoption.
• Engaged with participants from utilities, academia and technology companies to explore practical pathways for innovation scaling.

Key Themes Covered

Customer trust and transparency Data‑driven communication and evidence‑based reporting.

Digital transformation and predictive operations AI, automation, digital twins and integrated data ecosystems.

Environmental performance and river health Monitoring transparency, compliance expectations and ecological outcomes.

Advanced sensing and real‑time monitoring Biological, chemical and physical sensors for operational insight.

Innovation adoption and scaling Pilots, procurement, capability building and cross‑sector collaboration.

Climate resilience and future planning Managing extreme weather, asset vulnerability and long‑term sustainability.