Tech Events in Belfast

We’re back! Join us after a spring/summer hiatus for AWS, food, fun, and community. It’s been a while, so we’re kicking off with an unconference-style event - we want to hear from you! What kinds of topics should we dive into? Who should we bring in for guest speakers? What kinds of services, tooling, or technology would you like information sessions or hands on workshops? Do YOU have something exciting you want to share?

We welcome everyone with an interest in AWS, and no idea is too big or too small. Pizza, beer, and soft drinks (and maybe some fun swag!) will be provided. 🍕

Special thanks to Kainos for hosting and sponsoring this event.

This event is part of #BelfastTechWeek - a week of events curated by the tech community, for the tech community.

Join us for an evening of insights, innovation and networking as IoTBelfast heads to Digital Catapult in Belfast for our next meetup in September: IoT Belfast 35: IoT Security & Trustworthiness – Privacy, Identity and Trusted Connected Systems.

Taking place as part of Belfast Tech Week, this meetup will explore security and trustworthiness within the Internet of Things, looking at how organisations can collect, share and use connected-device data while maintaining privacy, security, identity and trust.

We’ll be digging into privacy-enhancing technologies, secure digital identity, data provenance and trusted connections between devices, as well as the challenges of applying effective policies and guardrails to increasingly autonomous and agentic systems.

Whether you’re a developer, engineer, researcher, technology professional, student or simply interested in IoT, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, digital identity, privacy-enhancing technologies or connected systems, you’ll come away with practical knowledge and insight from experts working in the field.

This event is part of #BelfastTechWeek - a week of events curated by the tech community, for the tech community.

About the Speakers & Topics

Tim Wood | Digital Catapult
Bio: Tim is a Technology Specialist in distributed systems. After completing his PhD in Cryptography in 2019, he worked in the defence sector as a consultant on cryptography for high-assurance environments. Since 2023, he has worked at Digital Catapult, where he advises on privacy-preserving digital identity standards and post-quantum cryptography adoption.

Talk: Privacy Enhancing Technologies for IoT

Description: Privacy Enhancing Technologies are advanced cryptographic protocols that allow organisations to gain insights from data without exposing the data itself. This talk will explore how PETs can be applied to IoT, including privacy-preserving AI model training through Federated Learning and population-level statistics through Multi-Party Computation.

Keerthi Thomas | Digital Catapult
Bio: Keerthi is a Senior Technologist at Digital Catapult, specialising in digital identity, trust and decentralised systems. With over 20 years’ industry experience, he contributes to BSI and ISO standardisation in decentralised identity management.

Talk: Enabling Know Your Assets/Agents (KYA) in Trusted Networks

Description: Keerthi will explore digital identity for IoT devices and autonomous agents, secure peer-to-peer connections and protocols to support data provenance, decentralised access control and policies needed for increasingly agentic systems.

📣 Speaker 3: Just announced!

Seán Ó Fithcheallaigh | Pervasive Computing Research Centre (PCRC)
Bio: Seán is a PhD Researcher at the Pervasive Computing Research Centre (PCRC), specialising in Federated Learning frameworks for sensor networks and IoT devices. He also researches IoT Autonomics at BT Ireland Innovation Centre (BTIIC). With a decade in electronics and software engineering, he understands AI deployment constraints at the edge.

Talk: Building Trust at the Edge: Federated Learning in Resource Constrained Devices

Description: We increasingly live in a world of sensors, gathering data about us and our surroundings. As these networks grow, so does the need for data privacy, and systems we can trust with our data. This talk explores how federated learning offers a path toward that trust, enabling smarter, connected devices without compromising the data they depend on.

Agenda

6:30 pm – Doors open, informal networking and refreshments
7:00 pm – Welcome and introductions from Martin Naughton/Galvia Digital and Digital Catapult
7:10 pm – Talks begin
Tim Wood – Privacy Enhancing Technologies for IoT
15 minutes followed by 5 minutes of Q&A
Seán Ó Fithcheallaigh – Building Trust at the Edge: Federated Learning in Resource Constrained Devices
15 minutes followed by 5 minutes of Q&A
Keerthi Thomas – Enabling Know Your Assets/Agents (KYA) in Trusted Networks
15 minutes followed by 5 minutes of Q&A
Speaker 3 – Name and talk to be announced soon
15 minutes followed by 5 minutes of Q&A
8:10 pm (Approximately) – Networking, refreshments and informal discussions
9:30 pm – Event close

Event Details

Venue: Digital Catapult, 6th Floor, 8 Lanyon Place, Belfast, BT1 3LP
Date: Thursday, 24 September 2026
Time: 6:30 pm–9:30 pm
Host: Digital Catapult
Part of: Belfast Tech Week 2026

Upon arrival, attendees should enter 8 Lanyon Place and make their way to Digital Catapult on the sixth floor. Any additional reception or access instructions will be shared with attendees before the event.

• Pizza, light refreshments, beer and soft drinks will be provided.
• Food and drinks will primarily be served in the breakout and kitchen area adjacent to the event space.
• This event is facilitated by Martin Naughton and Galvia Digital. If you have any questions about the event, or if you’re interested in speaking at or hosting a future meetup, please get in touch.

Want to host or speak at an upcoming IoTBelfast event? Register your interest today!

Join CGI to rethink tech talent through transferable skills, allyship and inclusion, as part of Belfast Tech Week 2026.

This event is part of #BelfastTechWeek - a week of events curated by the tech community, for the tech community.

Whether you're considering a career in technology, progressing your professional journey, or looking to help create a more inclusive workplace, join CGI for an engaging lunchtime event, as part of Belfast Tech Week, featuring two thought-provoking sessions led by Ryan Watson, Senior Operations Manager | People Strategy, Culture and Business Operations.

Session 1: Why Taylor Swift is the Dream Candidate for a Job in Technology

What does it really take to succeed in today's technology sector?

This light-hearted but thought-provoking session uses Taylor Swift's global success as an unexpected lens through which to explore what employers value most. From adaptability and resilience to collaboration, strategic thinking and continuous learning, Ryan will examine the crossover of skills that underpin success in both the entertainment and technology industries.

By challenging traditional perceptions of what 'tech talent' looks like, attendees will gain a fresh perspective on the transferable skills that can help them stand out and thrive in their careers.

Session 2: How to Be a Better Ally in the Workplace: Your Key to Bridging the Tech Skills Gap

As organisations continue to face skills shortages, creating workplaces where everyone can succeed has never been more important.

Drawing on his own experiences of navigating the workplace as a neurodivergent person, Ryan explores the role allyship can play in helping individuals and organisations unlock talent, foster inclusion and bridge the tech skills gap. This practical session will provide actionable steps that anyone can take to support underrepresented groups, create more inclusive environments and help build workplaces where people from all backgrounds can thrive.

Attendees will leave with real-world insights into how allyship can become a powerful driver of positive change.

Pizza, connections and conversation
Afterwards, grab a slice of pizza and stay for a relaxed networking session with CGI professionals and fellow attendees. Share ideas, ask questions, hear about careers in tech and make connections that could shape your future. Recent CGI joiners will also be on hand to chat about their application journey and starting their careers at CGI.

Date: Friday 25 September 2026.

Time: Join us from 11:30am for registration and networking. Presentations will run from 12:00pm to 1:00pm, followed by complimentary pizza.

Venue: Conference Room, The Kelvin, Belfast.

Who should attend?
With 30 places available, this event is ideal for students, graduates, early-career professionals and anyone interested in exploring a career in technology or learning more about inclusion, allyship and community within Northern Ireland's growing tech sector.

After a full week of talks, workshops and meetups, come and close out Belfast Tech Week with us.

The Wrap-Up is an informal social to mark the end of the week, catch up with the people you met along the way, and have the conversations there wasn't time for between sessions. Expect a relaxed couple of hours, a few drinks, and good company from right across the Belfast tech community.

No agenda, no slides, no pitches. Just the community in one room before everyone heads into the weekend.

Free to attend. Register to let us know you're coming.

Please note, by registering for this event, you consent to be included in any photography or videography taken on the day.

This event is part of #BelfastTechWeek - a week of events curated by the tech community, for the tech community.

Join us for a relaxed informal Combat robotics meet up! Whether you are looking for ideas for how to build the next blender or you simply want to see if your bot is the best, come along and share your experiences and ideas and talk all things bots. Get the chance to test your bot in the CRNI arena and find out what your competitors are doing to make your bot victorious in a tournament in the future. Have an idea but don’t have the right tools? Use Farsets machines and bring your bot to life.

We currently have two arenas out at the meetup one non-destrictive and one destructive for 150g and 454g robots!

Kicking off a regular series of monthly community events, we're heading to the pub, and we're gonna pick some locks.

Bring your picks, tumblers, shims, decoders, tensioners and most importantly, locks, and we'll keep picking them till we can pick no more!

Or, if lockpicking isn't your thing, just come and chill out and chat about everything infosec.

Food is available at the venue, please see their website if you want more info.

Cloud conference in Belfast, United Kingdom