CHEDDAR Connects with Industry at London Tech Week 2026

The CHEDDAR Hub was pleased to have a presence at London Tech Week 2026 through Imperial College London’s exhibition stand, where visitors could learn more about CHEDDAR’s research activities, upcoming events and opportunities for collaboration.

Held from 8–12 June across London, with the main exhibition hosted at Olympia London, London Tech Week is one of Europe’s largest technology events, bringing together innovators, investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to explore the technologies shaping the future of business and society. This year’s event attracted thousands of attendees from across the global technology ecosystem and featured discussions on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, cloud computing, advanced connectivity and emerging technologies.

Representing CHEDDAR at the event, Tom Rumbelow. Policy Manager engaged with a wide range of organisations from across industry, government and the wider innovation community. CHEDDAR information and promotional materials were available on the Imperial College London stand, helping to raise awareness of the Hub’s research and its role in advancing future telecommunications technologies.

Several themes emerged consistently throughout the event that closely align with CHEDDAR’s research priorities.

Artificial intelligence was a dominant topic across many sessions and discussions. Alongside the rapid advancement of AI technologies, there was considerable debate around digital sovereignty, strategic technology capabilities and the future role of national and regional technology ecosystems. Discussions highlighted the importance of maintaining critical capabilities in areas such as computing infrastructure, semiconductors and AI systems while continuing to foster international collaboration.

Digital twins also featured prominently throughout the event. Conversations increasingly focused on how digital twins can move beyond visualisation tools to become real-time operational systems capable of supporting decision-making, optimisation and automation. The importance of high-quality, interoperable data and actionable insights was repeatedly emphasised as organisations seek to deploy digital twins at scale.

Cybersecurity remains a critical challenge as digital systems become increasingly connected and AI-enabled. Industry discussions highlighted the growing need for resilient architectures, continuous monitoring and advanced security mechanisms to protect future communications and computing infrastructure. These challenges closely reflect CHEDDAR’s ongoing work across trust, security and resilient network design.

Beyond the technical discussions, London Tech Week provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and establish new connections across industry and academia. Several organisations expressed interest in future engagement opportunities, including the forthcoming Friends of CHEDDAR & Industry Day 2026, which will bring together researchers, industry leaders and policymakers to explore the future of advanced connectivity technologies.

It was also encouraging to hear positive feedback regarding the quality of research, innovation and talent emerging from Imperial College London and the wider UK research community.

As CHEDDAR continues to drive research in areas including AI-native networks, distributed cloud systems, intelligent communications and secure future connectivity, events such as London Tech Week provide valuable opportunities to exchange ideas, identify emerging trends and strengthen collaboration between academia, industry and government.

The CHEDDAR Hub looks forward to building on these conversations and welcoming new partners and collaborators to future events and activities.