UKBlackTech

🔥 We have residents! 🔥 This week, we had the pleasure of meeting with our future residents from some of the biggest engineering and tech companies and institutions in the UK. We got to hear about the amazing projects they're working on in their respective fields and industries. Their expertise, vision, and insights will help the institute tackle critical challenges requested by different regions, including: 🌊 Flooding 🌫️ Air pollution 🏙️ High street innovation ♿ Assistive & accessible technology ...and so much more! 🌟 📅 Mark your calendars! The next round of applications will open in early 2025. A big thank you to everyone who applied in this cycle—we’re so excited about the future ahead!

This year, the BTA Awards ( @ukbbshow & @btaawards ) launched something special, the BTA Top 50, the first definitive list of the most influential Black professionals in UK tech. @UKBlackTech has been a proud supporter of the BTAs since inception, and seeing the awards evolve to introduce an initiative of this scale is exactly why. The BTA Top 50 isn't just a list. It's a statement. It makes Innovators in tech visible, measurable, and impossible to overlook. Every name on it represents leadership, innovation, and real impact across the UK tech sector. To all 50 honourees, congratulations. Your recognition is well deserved. And to the BTA team, thank you for continuing to raise the bar. We're proud to stand alongside you. #BTATOP50 #BlackInTech #UKTech #BTA2026

Some conversations remind you why the work matters. As Civic Mayor, one of my goals has been to create spaces where business, innovation and community come together around the issues that matter. I believe businesses have a vital role to play in building opportunity and my job is to open the door for those conversations. Tuesday’s Mayor’s Business Breakfast at @founderscoders did exactly that. A room full of innovators, startups, tech leaders and community organisations. From @ukblacktech , Octophin Digital and Stack8s to Amazon and Google, with brilliant contributions from Eddie Copeland, Polly Robbins, Melanie Rose and Filip Hnízdo. All asking the same question: how do we make sure technology actually works for people? Having studied Big Data and the relationship between technology and society, this is a conversation I care deeply about. As UK Black Tech put it “this wasn’t a ceremonial breakfast. It was a proper exchange about technology, community and what comes next”. None of this happens without the people behind the scenes. A huge thank you to Caroline Wilson, Hamish Mackay and the team at LIFT Futures, my mayoral team and the @islingtoncouncil Islington officers who made the morning run seamlessly. Events like this look effortless because of the work they put in beforehand. The talent exists. The innovation exists. The ambition exists. Our job now is to keep building the partnerships that turn that potential into real impact.

Ahead of International Women’s Day next week, we held an International Women’s Day Business Breakfast earlier today! We wanted to share a huge thank you to everyone who joined us to explore how we can better support women’s health in the workplace and strengthen connections between employers, healthcare and our communities. The conversations were thoughtful, honest and focused on practical action — exactly what we hoped to achieve. We’d like to extend a special thank you to Cllr Sabrina Francis for hosting the panel and our fantastic speakers Ruth Duston OBE, OC, Dr Julie Hammond, Angela T., Alexander Jan, Mark Martin MBE and Dr Bethan Jones, who shared their insight and experience so generously. Your contributions helped highlight that supporting women’s health is not just a wellbeing issue, it’s a workforce, community and economic priority. We’re also grateful to our partners and co-hosts who helped make the morning possible. A huge thank you to @theorangerytcr @ukblacktech , @dfs_greaterlondon and @sodexogroup To be the first to hear about our events in the future, make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter via the link in our bio!

🚨 New Harvard Business Review study: AI didn't make workers less busy. It made them busier. Berkeley researchers spent 8 months inside a 200 person US tech company. What they found challenges everything we've been told about AI and productivity. #AI #FutureOfWork #Productivity #Burnout #Leadership

Mrinank Sharma led the safeguards research team at Anthropic, the company behind Claude AI. His last project before resigning was studying how AI assistants could make people "less human" or distort their humanity. What he found was enough to walk away. So what did the study actually find? #AI #CriticalThinking #HumanAutonomy #AIethics #Leadership

✨ We were delighted to partner with Diverse & Equal to host the Women’s Health Venture Builder launch. Founded by Annette Joseph MBE, @diverseandequal exists to challenge systemic inequality and create real pathways into innovation, leadership, and opportunity for underrepresented communities. As Annette shared at the launch, this partnership matters because women’s health innovation cannot succeed without diversity, equity, and lived experience at the centre. When we widen who gets to build, fund, and lead, we widen the solutions themselves. This venture builder is about more than startups — it’s about changing who innovation is built for, and who gets to build it. Proud to collaborate with leaders who turn values into action. #DiverseAndEqual #AnnetteJosephMBE #WomensHealth #FemTech #HealthEquity #InclusiveInnovation #WomenInLeadership #WomenLedVentures #TechForGood #WomenSupportingWomen

Mindy Simon, Co-Director (NHS Innovation), shares why women’s health matters and why this sector holds enormous potential to save lives and deliver meaningful returns on investment. For too long, women’s health has been under-researched, under-funded, and under-prioritised, despite its impact on population health, workforce participation, and economic growth. Addressing these gaps isn’t just the right thing to do — it represents one of the most significant opportunities for innovation in healthcare today. With the right investment, data, and collaboration across healthcare, technology, and industry, women’s health innovation has the power to transform outcomes for millions while building scalable, sustainable solutions for the future. #WomensHealth #HealthInnovation #FemTech #NHSInnovation #HealthcareLeadership #InvestInWomen #InclusiveInnovation #HealthEquity #LifeSciences #DigitalHealth

Shoutout to @philyb1 from @UKBlackTech , for helping to bring the Women’s Health Venture Builder to life. The programme is designed to support women-led startups tackling some of the biggest challenges in women’s health. Over 12 months, founders receive access to industry expertise, mentoring, networks, and strategic support to help turn bold ideas into scalable, investable ventures. Phil’s leadership reflects @UKBlackTech ’s commitment to building inclusive innovation pathways and backing founders who are too often overlooked — especially in healthcare and tech. Proud of the role our community played in launching this programme, and excited to see the impact these ventures will make. #UKBlackTech #WomensHealth #FemTech #HealthInnovation #InclusiveInnovation #WomenLed #StartupSupport #EcosystemBuilding

The Women’s Health Venture Builder launch, hosted by WIRED Consulting, brought together leaders from UK healthcare, tech, academia, and industry to celebrate a groundbreaking collaboration between UKBlackTech, Diverse & Equal, and CGI—all to back innovators shaping the future of women’s health. We had the pleasure of having @candgoods_ founder of @thegynaeproject who shared her amazing platform and her insights into Women's Health. 💡 Women’s health inequality isn’t niche. ➡ It costs the UK billions in lost GDP every year due to misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, and overlooked conditions (menopause, anyone?). ➡ Most medical tools aren’t designed for women, with surgical instruments still built for male hands and bodies. When people who rarely collide share a room, you can feel the energy, the ideas, and the potential for change. Excited to see what the 12 women-led ventures will achieve over the next 12 months! 👩‍⚕️💻 Are you ready to see femtech innovation in action? #WomensHealth #FemTech #HealthInnovation #womenshealth #femalehealth #womenhealth #womenshealthmatters #womenswellness #womensupportingwomen #womenempowerment #health #periods #period #menstruation #menstrualhealth #menstrualcycle #periodproblems #pms #periodpain #menstruationmatters #periodsarecool #normaliseperiods #periodpositive #periodsmatter

🚀 2026 is about action, not observation. UKBlackTech & the UKBT Institute are opening new ways to get involved. This year, our major vertical is Women’s Health and we’re bringing together technologists, practitioners, and non-technical specialists to tackle real-world challenges. 👉 How you can get involved: 🔹 UKBLACKTECH • Share your expertise in tech, entrepreneurship, or education through blogs & vlogs • Showcase your innovation by tagging us on LinkedIn and linking to your GitHub • Join events, campaigns, and ecosystem conversations via Discord & our Newsletter • Champion and amplify Black-led innovation across your networks 🔹 UKBT Institute • Contribute to research, pilots, and thought leadership • Join cross-sector working groups, with a strong focus on Women’s Health • Resident Programme opens February 2026  – Apply with your LinkedIn profile + CV • Join our Practitioner Programme, bringing together: Doctors • Lawyers • Policy & Compliance • Scientists • Life Sciences Specialists • Supply Chain • Non-tech professionals 💡 If you want to build, influence, and shape solutions that matter, this is your moment. 👉 Which programme are you applying for in 2026? #UKBlackTech #UKBTInstitute #WomensHealth #InclusiveInnovation #HealthTech #TechForGood #OpenInnovation

The next geopolitical wars won’t be fought over oil — but over minerals. Phones. EVs. Wind turbines. AI chips. All depend on a handful of rare minerals. And control is dangerously concentrated. #Geopolitics #CriticalMinerals #SupplyChains #EnergyTransition #TechPolicy #Innovation