KTP Associate Conference 2018 - Speakers

Keynote 1: Professor Sayed Azam-Ali

We’re delighted to invite Professor Sayed Azam-Ali, CEO of Crops For the Future (CFF), as our day one keynote. Founded in 2011 and based near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, CFF is the first-of-its-kind global centre with the mandate for research and development on underutilised plants for food and non-food uses.

CFF has access to a vast reservoir of indigenous and underutilised plant species and related knowledge systems, many of which can contribute to food and nutritional security, income generation and bridging the urban-rural divide both in terms of knowledge and development.

Through a programme of integrated activities, CFF conducts fundamental and applied research, scoping and policy studies and develop marketable outputs that provide improved opportunities and products for growers, consumers and wider stakeholders, especially in developing regions of the world.

Sayed was previous appointed as Vice-Provost (Research and Internationalisation) in 2008 at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. 

Sayed also holds the Chair in Global Food Security at the University of Nottingham.

Workshop: Professor Simon Mosey

Our 'Ingenuity Challenge' workshop, hosted by Simon Mosey, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, will help you to address the workplace challenges that seem the most intractable.

We will explore the underlying reasons why it is so difficult to encourage change within the workplace, introduce innovative approaches from different Universities and other entrepreneurial organisations and show how to deliver innovations that are more likely to result in a step change in workplace behaviours.

Simon is also Director of the Haydn Green Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the University of Nottingham.

Professor Simon Mosey is editor of the Journal of Technology Transfer and his research interests address technology entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education and innovation management. He is co-author of the popular books, Ingenuity and Ingenuity in Practice and has published his research within leading academic journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory& Practice, Research Policy, Journal of Management Studies, Academy of Management Learning & Education and periodicals such as the Washington Post and the Financial Times.

He is chair of the award winning Young Entrepreneurs Schemes that have developed the entrepreneurial skills of over 5000 academic researchers. Simon has led innovative training seminars to entrepreneurs and managers based within SMEs, multinational corporations, local government, the public sector and academe across Europe, the USA and Asia and he has held research and management posts at BP and Courtaulds. 

Keynote 2: Christopher Barnatt

'Future Gazing & Future Shaping'

Two decades ago the Internet changed the world. In the next 20 years the world will change again, with key drivers including the rise of AI and broader digital transformation, the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and increasing resource scarcity. In this keynote futurist Christopher Barnatt will explore these trends, before outlining potential strategies for individuals and organizations who wish to help shape a new narrative and build a positive future.

Christopher Barnatt is a futurist and freelance academic, and the author of thirteen books including ‘The Next Big Thing’ (2015) and ‘Digital Genesis: The Future of Computing, Robots and AI’ (2017). He has made over 200 contributions to broadcast, print and online media, and runs the websites ExplainingTheFuture.com and ExplainingComputers.com, as well as associated YouTube channels that have received over 35 million video views.

For 25 years Christopher lectured in computing and future studies in Nottingham University Business School, where he spent seven years as Director of Undergraduate Programmes. As a keynote speaker, he now works for a wide range of organizations in sectors that include education, food production, financial services, healthcare, logistics and the arts.

Keynote 3: Matt Hague

'From KTP Associate to Executive Director'

We are delighted to welcome Matt Hague, Executive Director of Product Strategy at Microlise, as our final keynote for the Conference. Matt started out his career as a KTP Associate way back in 1998 with the responsibility of managing Microlise's System Integration activities. He later drove the development of the company's move into telematics and transport management, building the team and developing market leading products which are used by many of the large fleets operating today in the UK and internationally. Matt has acted as Company Supervisor in a second KTP and, as Microlise has grown, Matt has taken on a more strategic role and is now responsible for Product Strategy & Management, managing the Microlise product roadmap.