Tech Events in Newcastle upon Tyne

We're back at Opencast for our final A11y North of the year, and we have got two great guests lined up:

Beverley Newing (Head of Accessibility at the Ministry Of Justice) will talk through some of the structures that the MOJ team has had over the past 5 years. There’s no one size fits all, as each organisation is different, but this will give you some ideas of different potential team shapes and sizes, and roles that might fit into an accessibility function.

This will be followed by a special Q&A session with Paralympian Jack Smith MBE, who brought home a gold medal in Wheelchair Rugby at the 2020 Toyko games

There will also be food and drink, courtesy of the wonderful folk at Access Given who are sponsoring this session.

Agenda:
18:15 Introductions
18:30 Beverley Newing
19:15 Pizza Break
19:30 Jack Smith MBE
20:15 Close/networking

Access needs/Dietary Requirements
If you have any access needs or dietary requirements, please reach out to us.

Logistics:
Exact Location via what3words: ///device.normal.cheese
Free parking is available, but attendees must enter their car registration into the touchscreen at the front desk.

Join us for an interactive, roundtable discussion in an unconference format. Everyone is encouraged to suggest topics related to software development, craftsmanship, or any tech-related challenges. After voting on the topics, we’ll focus on discussing the most popular ones.

It’s a great chance to dive into the issues that matter to you, share insights, and collaborate on practical solutions. Whether you're seeking advice, offering your perspective, or eager to learn from others' experiences, this is a space to tackle real-world problems together.

No preparation is needed, just bring your ideas, challenges, and curiosity!

Food and drinks are provided, with vegetarian and vegan options available.

Join 450+ attendees for one of the most highly anticipated tech awards in the country!

Now in its thirteenth year****, the**** Dynamites Awards – also known as the North East Tech Awards – have become the North East's most anticipated celebration of the IT and technology sector, and one of the largest technology awards events in the UK.

As a not-for-profit organisation, Dynamo uses the awards to showcase the region's exceptional talent and shine a spotlight on the organisations and individuals driving innovation across the North East of England.

We are delighted to confirm that this year's ceremony will once again take place at Newcastle Civic Centre, with Accenture returning as our headline sponsor.

We look forward to welcoming more than 450 attendees from over 150 organisations to celebrate the region's tech stars and the achievements shaping the future of our sector.

Join us for:

🧨 A drinks reception and the opportunity to connect with fellow attendees from across the region's tech community

🧨 A premium three-course dining experience, including wine or equivalent beers and soft drinks for each guest

🧨 The prestigious Dynamites Awards ceremony, celebrating the organisations and individuals shaping the future of tech

🧨 Live entertainment throughout the evening

🧨 The opportunity to raise your company's profile, gain regional and national recognition, and become part of Dynamo's growing network

🧨 An evening of celebration, reflection and inspiration, recognising the sector's contribution to innovation, skills, communities and economic growth

🧨 A complimentary ticket to the official Post-Ceremony Celebration (aka the afterparty, commencing from 23:00 at a nearby venue)

The Dynamites Awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise outstanding achievements, celebrate success, and showcase the incredible talent driving the North East's thriving tech sector.

Whether you're recognising an individual, a team or an organisation, these awards provide a platform to share your achievements with the region's tech community and beyond.

2026 DYNAMITES CATEGORIES

🌟 Best Use of Data & AI – sponsored by Neptune North

🌟 Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion - sponsored by Opencast

🌟 Growth Explosion – sponsored by LDC

🌟 Skills Developer – sponsored by CGI

🌟 International Success - sponsored by AWS

🌟 Tech for Good – sponsored by tombola

🌟 Tech Champion – sponsored by Accenture

🌟 Rising Star – sponsored by Scott Logic

🌟 Tech Startup – sponsored by Sage

🌟 Remarkable Innovation - sponsored by Scrumconnect

🌟 Project Excellence - sponsored by Bulien

🌟 People's choice - sponsored by Womble Bond Dickinson

🌟 Marketing Impact - sponsored by Greggs

🌟 Outstanding Workplace – sponsored by Gateshead College

and new for Dynamites 2026:

🌟 Individual Technical Excellence Award - sponsored by Newcastle College

FOOD AND BEVERAGES INCLUDED

Food - Delegates can choose either the chef's special or the meat option for dinner.

• Option 1: Chargrilled Mediterranean vegetable stack on a pesto & sun-blushed tomato risotto
• Option 2: Chicken fillet finished with Dolcelatte, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan & crème fraiche

Gluten-free, vegan and other dietary requirements will be catered for on request.

Drinks - Each ticket includes:

• A welcome drink on arrival during the networking reception
• Half a bottle of wine per person (with the meal)

If you'd like to swap your wine for another option, alternatives such as beer or soft drinks are available – please state on your booking form whether you would like to arrange some soft/non-alcoholic drinks for your table.

ABOUT DYNAMO MEMBERSHIP

If you're not currently a Dynamo North East member, why not explore the benefits of joining? Membership gives you access to a range of exclusive offers and services, including savings of £550 per table at the Dynamites Awards.

As a not-for-profit organisation, Dynamo's vision is for a North East where our members drive a world-class tech ecosystem that connects businesses, strengthens communities and ends digital exclusion****.**** Through our mission to champion our members and amplify their impact, we bring together organisations and individuals committed to shaping the future of the region's tech sector.

To find out more about becoming a member, the benefits available, and how you can get involved, please contact us at info@dynamonortheast.co.uk.

BOOKING & CANCELLATION POLICY

Please note that a booking is only confirmed upon receipt of full payment. These awards are run on a not-for-profit basis, with proceeds supporting Dynamo's work and initiatives, including the Dynamo Digital Inclusion Fund.

Once your booking has been made, any cancellations must be submitted in writing to events@dynamonortheast.co.uk. The following cancellation terms will apply:

• Cancellations received by 31 July 2026 will incur a charge equal to 10% of the total booking value.
• Cancellations received by 31 August 2026 will incur a charge equal to 50% of the total booking value.
• Cancellations received on or after 30 September 2026 will incur a charge equal to 100% of the total booking value.

Bookings may be transferred to another attendee from the same organisation at no additional cost, subject to written notification being provided to Dynamo before the event.

Dynamo reserves the right to make changes to the event programme, speakers, entertainment or venue where necessary. In the unlikely event that the Dynamites Awards are cancelled by Dynamo, attendees will be offered a refund of the ticket price paid.

Any dietary requirements, accessibility requirements and attendee details must be provided by the deadlines communicated by the event team. While every effort will be made to accommodate requests received after these dates, this cannot be guaranteed.

Your attendance makes a real difference.

A proportion of every ticket sold supports the Dynamo Digital Inclusion Fund, helping people across the North East build digital confidence and access pathways into careers in technology. By attending the Dynamites Awards, you are not only celebrating the region's tech success stories – you are helping to shape a more inclusive digital future.

If you would like to make an even greater impact, you can include an additional donation to the Dynamo Digital Inclusion Fund as part of your ticket purchase through this booking.

To learn more about the fund, please click here.

SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT

We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of our events. Working closely with our venues, suppliers, partners and attendees, we strive to reduce the impact of our activities wherever possible and make more sustainable choices at every stage of event delivery.

Our November event is here!

Remember that to register for this and future events, you'll need to sign up and join the Newcastle Chapter on Ministry of Testing. It's free to join, and you get access to some other stuff on there too! Just follow this link:

DON'T JOIN THE WAITLIST - GO TO THE LINK BELOW TO SIGN UP

👉 November Meetup with Stu Day and Alex Burley👈

On the 17th of November, the MoT Newcastle is returning with 2 great talks,

We've got...

Quality Begins with Understanding by Stu Day (of 'Quality Talks' podcast)

What does quality actually mean to the people around us?

Before we can influence quality, improve quality or even agree on what “good” looks like, we need to understand the world we’re working in — the people, the context, the challenges and the perspectives around us.

In this interactive talk, we’ll explore why quality begins with understanding, and how building shared understanding can change the conversations we have, the decisions we make and ultimately the outcomes we create.

Expect stories, questions, a few opportunities to get involved, and plenty to think about. This isn’t a workshop where you’ll leave with a completed action plan — it’s a chance to pause, challenge your thinking and see quality from a slightly different perspective.

Effective Approaches to Harnessing AI Agents by Alex Burley

When faced with a high-priority project in a regulated industry, Atom Bank rolled out Claude Code to its engineering team. Within three months, we delivered not just on the code but on the overall quality of the engineering solution.

By harnessing AI alongside a robust, BDD based functional testing suite across a domain aligned service and building discipline on manual testing, we were able to land safely in production.

Join us to talk about testing data in pipelines.

We'll be hosting this event at Thought Works in Newcastle - 78 Grey St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6AF

And after heading to a local pub for a debrief, chinwag and chat

As always, we'll be providing food (pizza) and refreshments.

18:15pm- Welcome, networking, and introductions

18:30pm-From Chatbots to Agents: The Modern Copilot Studio
Speaker: Dylan Hayes
Copilot Studio has changed significantly over the last few years. What started as a way to build conversational bots has evolved into a broader platform for creating agents that can use enterprise knowledge, structured data, tools, workflows, reusable skills, MCP servers and even computer use.
In this session, we’ll look at what modern Copilot Studio can do, where it fits into the wider Microsoft AI ecosystem, and how to decide which capabilities make sense for a given problem.
We'll have fun practical demonstrations of using knowledge and structured data through different integration points including tools, skills, MCP and computer use.
We'll look at the cost implications of Copilot Studio, and consider how it compares to other AI tools and deterministic methods in terms of cost, capabilities and governance.

19:15pm- Break, food and networking

19:30pm- Beyond Code Generation: Building Systems That Can Evolve
Speaker: Dan Byrne
AI can accelerate writing software, but how do we keep the resulting systems understandable, interoperable and safe to change?
I’ll explore the architectural foundations that support AI-assisted development and operation, covering three broad themes:
Metadata as a shared understanding of the system: how explicit models of data, actions and interfaces help both developers and AI discover capabilities, understand behaviour and make changes.
Connecting AI to existing software and human workflows: integrating with established systems and enabling people and agents to work through shared capabilities, business rules and permissions.
Keeping change understandable and controlled: the role of authorisation, human oversight, observability and traceability in understanding what happened, who initiated it and why.
The emphasis will be on practical architectural ideas and lessons from building NXTStack, with examples relevant to business applications and the D365/Power Platform community.

20:00+ : Close and Drinks Social

End the year in style at our fun and festive event! Join us at Lane7 for games, connections, and plenty of laughs...

Dynamo does social events differently... 🥳 Join us for an end-of-year bonanza at Lane7 in Newcastle!

Dress in your festive best and get ready for an evening packed with:

🍕 Some complimentary pizza & a drink

🤝 High-energy networking with fellow tech sector professionals

🎳 Competitive fun! Enjoy a variety of activities, including bowling, pool, karaoke, shuffleboard and more. Whether you're catching up with colleagues or making new connections, there's plenty of opportunity for networking and friendly competition.

🍹 On-site bar with additional food and drinks available to be purchased all night

• Network like a pro: Meet tech peers, potential collaborators and clients
• Share ideas & learn: Swap insights, trends, and tips from across the tech sector
• Boost your career: Discover opportunities, make connections, and get inspired
• Fun & festive: Bond over games, food, and drinks in a relaxed, lively environment

At Dynamo, our Tech Mixers are all about connection and energy. No one is left standing alone – meet familiar faces, make new connections, spark conversations, and exchange ideas in a lively, engaging setting.

Bring yourself, your team, or even a client to celebrate the end of the year in style.

Dynamo Members:

• 2 free tickets per member organisation
• Additional tickets: £25 per person

Non-Dynamo Members:

• Tickets from £50 per person
• 2 tickets for £80 (20% multi-ticket discount applied)

All prices include VAT. Invoices available upon request. Non-Dynamo member prices incur Eventbrite booking fees.

For additional event or ticketing enquiries****, please contact: events@dynamonortheast.co.uk****

Dynamo is a not-for-profit tech sector membership organisation on a mission to build a stronger tech ecosystem in the North East of England. With over 115 members employing more than 15,000 people in the tech sector, Dynamo welcomes organisations of all sizes that are genuinely interested in driving positive change in the region.

As a community interest company, Dynamo operates thanks to its paying members, who contribute to building a better North East tech economy.

Our vision is for a North East of England where our members drive a world-class tech ecosystem that connects businesses, strengthens communities and ends digital exclusion.

If you are not yet a member but would like to support our work or join the community, contact us for a no-obligation conversation via info@dynamonortheast.co.uk.

Welcome to our December meetup! Pizza and soft drinks will be provided on a first-come-first-served basis from 6pm as usual. We have two excellent talks to look forward to. Full details below :)

Schedule

1800--1830h: Refreshments

1830--18:35h: Welcome

1835--1905h: Ishbel Carlyle @ Northumbria University
MCPs: A What, Why, How Guide

1905--1915h: Intermission

1915--1945h: Speaker 2
Talk 2

1945--2000h: News & Announcements

Talks

Ishbel Carlyle, PhD Researcher @ Northumbria University
MCPs: A What, Why, How Guide

Model Context Protocols (MCPs) are the industry standard of connecting your AI model to the outside world. But how do they do that? Why would you want to and how would you go about setting this up? I spent 3 months working at Jumping Rivers doing just that, so come learn how I used an MCP to connect Claude to diffify.com and let's find out if my MCP actually made Claude Code better or worse...

Bio: Ishbel is a PhD candidate in Space Weather and Data Science at Northumbria University. She recently completed a 3-month Data Science internship at Jumping Rivers, and has also worked as a Science Communicator at Kielder Observatory.

Speaker 2
Talk 2

Abstract 2

News and Announcements

Have a news item or announcement you'd like to make about upcoming data events or job opportunities in the North East? Comment below or email us at neds@jumpingrivers.com and we'll do our best to circulate this information during the session.

Please also get in touch if you'd like to volunteer yourself for a talk at a future meetup!

Come intercede in online prayers for the technology sector in North East England

We are a global community at the intersection of faith & technology here in the North East! Are you a Christian working/studying in tech, or just someone curious about the the intersection of faith & tech? Then you won't want to miss FaithTech Newcastle community meetups!
Read more about FaithTech 👉🏽 HERE

• Prayer (30 minutes): At FaithTech, we exist to see a Jesus revival in and through technology. But revivals are birthed through the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer! Which is why we have dedicated a day each month to pray as a community.

This event brings together anyone who:

• wishes to see a Jesus revival in the tech sector
• wishes to see a Jesus revival in & through technological innovation
• God has given a burden to intercede in prayer on behalf of others
• simply curious about tech + faith

Invite a friend as you come and we can't wait to see you there!

Sincerely,

FaithTech Newcastle Team.

A quarterly forum for North East tech stakeholders to explore regional sector challenges, opportunities and developments.

Join Sunderland Software City for the final North East Tech Quarterly of 2026, examining the performance, developments and direction of the region's technology economy.

We'll bring together the latest sector data, business developments and perspectives from across the ecosystem to explore sector developments with a nod ahead to 2027.
Director of Ecosystem Development, Jamie Hardesty will open with a data-led presentation examining annual sector data, including investment activity, business growth, innovation, policy and the wider conditions shaping the industry.

We'll then bring together a panel of technology founders, investors and ecosystem leaders to interrogate the findings, share their experiences and discuss the opportunities and challenges ahead.

• The latest data and developments shaping the North East's technology economy.
• Insights into investment, business growth and innovation.
• A panel discussion examining the health and direction of the sector.
• An opportunity to contribute to the conversation and connect with others across the ecosystem.

Whether you're building a technology business, investing in the region or helping shape its economic future, North East Tech Quarterly offers an opportunity to understand the bigger picture and contribute to an informed discussion about where we go next.
Free to attend. Registration required.

At Sunderland Software City, we support and grow the North East tech sector by helping people explore careers, start businesses and grow their organisations.

If you have any questions regarding this event, please get in touch with our team by emailing info@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com

Artificial Intelligence (AI) conference in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom