BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//Columba Systems Ltd//NONSGML CPNG/SpringViewer/ICal Output/3.3- M3//EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260507T154205Z DTSTART:20260518T153000Z DTEND:20260518T170000Z SUMMARY:CreaTech Connect: Accelerating University–Industry Partnerships UID:{http://www.columbasystems.com/customers/uom/gpp/eventid/}u21z-mo7auq d8-v9zfjp DESCRIPTION:On 18 May\, Creative Manchester are delighted to present Crea Tech Connect 2026: Accelerating University–Industry Partnerships in the Sister (Renold) Building\, at the centre of the Innovation District.\n\n CreaTech as described by the Creative Industries Council (CIC)\, "is whe re creativity meets technology. It brings together creative skills and e merging technologies to create new ways of engaging audiences and to ins pire business growth and investment."\n\nAt The University of Manchester \, we know the value of working together. We break down barriers and get involved\; we collaborate across disciplines\, cultures and industries to solve problems\; and we transform people’s lives by generating positi ve\, relevant impact through our research.\n\nDuring the event\, you wil l hear from alumni of the CreaTech Innovation Lab 2025\, hosted in partn ership with The University of Manchester’s Business Engagement team\, as well as academics and industry partners about their experiences working in interdisciplinary teams to solve real business challenges.\n\nFollow ing the Lightning Talks as 'case studies' for collaboration\, a panel di scussion with representatives from the University\, industry and local g rowth partners will provide strategic direction and information on how U niversity-Industry partnerships work.\n\nAgenda\n4.30pm: Welcome from Cr eative Manchester\n4.40pm: Lightning Talks\n5.15pm: Panel discussion and Q&A\n5.50pm: Closing words and future funding and collaboration opportu nities\n\nThis event aims to highlight collaborative pathways for\n - Academics from all backgrounds interested in interdisciplinary researc h\n - (Crea)Tech enthusiasts\n - Small and medium business owner s\n - Creative and Cultural Industries professionals\n\nRefreshments will be provided but capacity is limited\, so please register to avoid disappointment.\n\nAbout the projects\n\nVALIDATA\nVALIDATA is an indepe ndent integrity verification system for music streaming data. Built by D r Yishuang Xu and Dr Sergey Slizovskiy at The University of Manchester i n partnership with the music-tech start-up BandShare\, it tackles a grow ing systemic problem: bot-driven streams that distort charts\, divert ro yalties from genuine artists and undermine trust in the wider market. VA LIDATA combines Random Forests\, autoencoders\, cross-correlation analys is and geographic and temporal fingerprinting to detect manipulation\, r eturning a daily Green / Amber / Red confidence score\, with structured proof\, for every artist under observation. Seeded by The University of Manchester's CreaTech Innovation Lab\, the project is now moving towards larger-scale funding and is designed to extend beyond music into other digital industries where data integrity matters.\n\nAbout the speakers\n Dr Shukhrat Nasirov is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Techn ology and Innovation Management at Alliance Manchester Business School. His research examines how organisations develop and manage innovations\, with particular attention to collaboration between universities and ind ustry. At The University of Manchester\, he has contributed to research and knowledge transfer projects aimed at making university-industry inte raction more inclusive. Before moving into academia\, he worked in both banking and government\, where he focused on business planning and econo mic analysis.\n\nDr Yishuang Xu is a Senior Lecturer at The University o f Manchester and the founder of an AI start-up building tools for sustai nability in real estate. Her research applies machine learning to high-s takes data trust problems across sectors: from PropTech and ESG to the m usic industry\, where she leads VALIDATA\, a bot-detection system for st reaming data.\n\nDr Amanda Banks Gatenby is a Lecturer in Digital Techno logies\, Communications & Education at The University of Manchester.\n\n Dr Alex Roy is a Director of Innovation at the University of Manchester’ s new innovation capability\, Unit M. Having gained a PhD in economics f rom the University of Leeds\, he started his career at the Centre for Re search on Innovation and Competition (CRIC) at the University of Manches ter before moving into economic development consultancy. His consultancy work ranged across a number of areas\, but with a particular focus on s port and the cultural & creative industries and technology. He then move d into policy at New Economy\, the precursor to the Greater Manchester M ayor’s Combined Authority\, before leading strategy and policy at Manche ster Airports Group for ten years. Since returning to the University of Manchester\, his work is focused on ensuring Unit M’s projects maximise their contribution to Greater Manchester and the wider North and support the development of the UK’s innovation ecosystem.\n\nRachel Kenyon is B usiness Engagement Manager for the Faculty of Humanities\, within The Un iversity of Manchester’s Business Engagement & Knowledge Exchange (BEKE) team\; she is also the Business Engagement Lead across the University f or FinTech\, LegalTech\, and Digital Trust & Security themes. The BEKE f unction provides a mechanism for improved information flow between unive rsities and the wider-world\, facilitating collaboration with business p artners\, to inform research and increase economic & societal impacts.\n \nSeb Mariner is Head of Communications and Marketing at Manchester Came rata. Before that\, Seb worked for internet radio NTS setting up their M anchester office and programming events for cultural institutions around the North West\, including Yorkshire Sculpture International\, Tate Liv erpool\, The Whitworth and more. A huge advocate of anything left of cen tre\, Seb loves to challenge the status quo taking inspiration from all areas and applying them to the classical artform.\n\nAccessibility\nWe w ant to make the event a positive experience for all participants. If you have particular access needs or dietary requirements\, please let us kn ow in advance by providing details when registering for your ticket or b y emailing us at creative@manchester.ac.uk.\n\nAbout Creative Manchester \nCreative Manchester is an interdisciplinary platform based at The Univ ersity of Manchester. The platform champions research in creativity and creative practice\, bringing together research communities with external stakeholders to explore new research areas and address strategic opport unities. Please visit the website for more information: Creative Manches ter. STATUS:TENTATIVE TRANSP:TRANSPARENT CLASS:PUBLIC LOCATION:Flex Space\, SISTER (Renold Building) \, 32a Altrincham St\, Man chester\, M1 7JR END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR