Yorkshire Data and Digital Conference: Leaders hail region's 'inspiring' tech sector

The event was part of the Leeds Digital Festival, an annual celebration of digital culture in all its forms and held at the home of Flutter Entertainment, at Wellington Place, Leeds.

A dynamic programme of speakers debated key topics which impact business, with themes including the future of artificial intelligence (AI), women in tech, removing barriers for entry to the world of tech and how to build a world-class business community here in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire’s digital industry is the fastest-growing in the UK and is set to create an extra 42,000 digital tech jobs and grow by at least £1.6bn by 2025, according to a DCMS Regional Ecosystems Report.

Tech jobs now make up more than 27 per cent of all available jobs in Leeds, with the sector across Yorkshire attracting £120m in venture capital investment in 2021.

The conference was hosted by Sue Daley, director of Technology and Innovation at techUK, which is leading pivotal work on cloud, data analytics, AI, and transformative technologies.

She also co-chairs the Government’s National Data Strategy Forum.

She said: “There’s a real positive buzz clearly on display. That energy is helping power and change other parts of the region, but also the UK’s and global economy too.”

Education and the national curriculum were also discussed and it was stressed that it was vital for children at school and young people to be introduced to computer studies at an early age and for it to become a compulsory part of learning and core GCSE subject.

Yorkshire is home to a combination of almost 1,500 start-ups and scaleups, which are transforming industries such as health, transportation and fashion.

According to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the Leeds City Region’s Digital Technology sector is worth £6.6bn to the economy and employs 102,000 people.

The Data and Digital Conference, attracting more than 150 people, was sponsored for the second year in a row by healthcare technology company TPP, whose founder and CEO Frank Hester, said: “The Yorkshire Post’s flagship conference for 2023 gives a clear message on the strength of digital and data across the region, and the potential we have to grow as a world-class centre for tech.

“I am passionate about the power of digital to positively change people’s lives.

"I grew up in Armley, Leeds. In my teens I discovered computer programming and learned how to code. My parents ran a plastering business and they did the accounts and payroll manually. I was able to write some software to do this for them saving them lots of time.

“The number of employees soon went from 20 to 200, and it became very

successful.

“I’m now lucky enough to work around the world, although my company TPP is still firmly based in Leeds. In every conversation I have with health ministers and hospitals, from China to Africa, the message is the same: ‘how can data and digital help?’

“We have lots of shared global challenges in healthcare and there is incredible expertise in healthcare technology across Yorkshire, within industry, the public sector, and academia.

“We need to shout about it. There are skills and services here that we should be using to help our NHS through difficult times and exporting to every

corner of the planet. There’s every reason to believe that our region can become the health technology capital of the world.”

He added: “I really am grateful to our fantastic Yorkshire Post for highlighting this and providing a great opportunity to showcase the power of data and digital to transform lives. The region is lucky to have many fantastic, talented people working in the sector, across many industries.”

Mike Warriner, Chief Technology Officer at Flutter UK&I, said: “There is no doubt that the ecosystem in Yorkshire continues to thrive. The event has been a great chance to discuss the opportunities and challenges. We think Yorkshire has an incredible future and are proud to have hosted such a successful summit.”

Conference host Ms Daley, of techUK, said afterwards that it had been hugely successful, with experts from the world of tech sharing ideas and views: “I’m always inspired and optimistic for the tech sector in Yorkshire.

“Anyone under 40 has lived their entire adult life with broadband, and anyone under 33 has lived their entire adult with smart phones. For many children and young people this is a normal part of their lives and the pace of technological change is only increasing.

"We need to prepare our young people for what comes next and how it will impact their working lives, social lives, and every day experiences.”

Chris Burn, Business and Features Editor of The Yorkshire Post, added: “The packed programme was arranged by The Yorkshire Post’s events team, offering a fascinating and enlightening day.

“I must add my sincere gratitude to TPP, Flutter, AND Digital, Bauer Media, the Leeds Digital Festival and techUK for backing this event.

"Their support and expertise is truly appreciated.”