Tech Events at Future Space, Bristol

A business breakfast at UWE Bristol's Future Space on the Frenchay campus, about the routes small companies actually use to pull expertise and money out of a university: Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, industrial PhDs, consultancy and contract research, and the innovation funding around them. A 30-minute overview from 09:15, then guest presentations and Q&A from regional businesses that have been through it, then networking to 11:30. Free, pastries and coffee from 09:00. Parking needs a vehicle registration submitted at least 48 hours ahead and is first come, first served. Future Space is step-free and wheelchair accessible. Why go: KTPs and industrial PhDs are among the cheapest R&D capacity a small company can buy, and almost nobody outside the universities knows how to start one. Best for technical founders and R&D leads in the region with a problem they cannot staff.

A free startup-focused SOLIDWORKS session at Future Space: a full mechanical design workflow demo, an overview of CAD data management and simulation, a hands-on session, Q&A with the technical team and lunch, plus the SOLIDWORKS for Startups programme for eligible companies. Hawking meeting room, 09:00 to 14:00. Places limited.

An hour with IAAPS, the University of Bath's propulsion and automotive research centre, on using simulation and system modelling to test an idea before building the hardware. The pitch is evaluating concepts earlier, cutting development risk, and having evidence for funders and customers that does not depend on a physical prototype existing yet. Worked examples of comparing concepts, understanding real-world performance and building a case for investment. Aimed at founders and technology businesses developing new products, systems or technologies. In the Hawking meeting room at Future Space, UWE North Gate, Filton Road. Free. Why go: digital engineering is the kind of capability regional manufacturers are entitled to use and mostly do not know is there. Worth an hour if you are building anything physical and burning money on prototypes.

Future Space puts one resident company on stage per edition, with founder insight, the behind-the-scenes story and a live product demo. This one spotlights Ferryx, a health-tech company developing a next generation of probiotics for chronic gut conditions. Its product Ferrocalm is described as the first probiotic designed to work during stress or an IBS flare-up, when conventional probiotics struggle; Future Space cites consumer trials in which 76 percent reported improvement in key IBS symptoms within eight weeks and 88 percent would take it again. Run by Future Space, the high-tech incubator on the UWE Bristol campus, as the evolution of its Beer and Pizza nights. 16:00 to 18:00, deliberately relaxed, with beer, pizza and networking around the talk. No individual speakers are named beyond the Ferryx team. Free to attend. Why go: a rare chance to hear a research-born life sciences company explain the commercial path out of the lab, demo included. Best for deeptech and health founders, and for anyone tracking what comes out of UWE.

A one-hour working session on AI Optimisation and Generative Engine Optimisation: how models such as ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview decide what to say about a company, what part earned media plays in that, and what you can change. You audit your own AI visibility in the room, find gaps and quick wins, and leave with three actions. Part of Future Space's Innovation Forum series, 12:00 to 13:00, face to face and interactive. The listing frames the content around media coverage, thought leadership, content structure and digital PR, and carries a profile of Purplefish, a Bristol technology PR agency; no individual presenter is named. Free, at Future Space, Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, BS34 8RB, on the UWE campus north of the city. Why go: a short, practical slot for marketers and founders who have watched organic search traffic fall and want to see where they actually stand inside AI answers. Read the PR framing as a point of view, not neutral ground.

BioUK and Future Space present the South West Health and Life Sciences Cluster Report, with a panel on what its findings mean for the region and what comes next. Richard Seabrook and Sarah George lead the report showcase and panel Q&A at 18:05; Julian Hamilton-Shield and Gemma Taylor speak for the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre at 18:30; Tom Draper presents the South West Healthcare Centre of Digital Excellence at 18:40; then ten quickfire showcases from emerging entrepreneurs. Arrival from 17:30, drinks, pizza and networking from 19:00, close at 20:00. At Future Space, North Gate, Filton Road, Stoke Gifford. Free for BioUK members, with a nominal fee for non-members. Entrepreneurs can email BioUK to request a quickfire slot. Why go: the region's life-sciences numbers and ten early-stage companies in a single evening. Best for health-tech and biotech founders, and investors mapping the South West cluster.

A lunchtime workshop on what investors expect a business to have in place before funding talks begin: the legal and commercial basics, the due-diligence process, and how to prepare at each stage of an investment timeline. Led by Laura Guest and Amelia Roe as part of Future Space's Innovation Forum. Arrival and networking 12:45, information session 13:00, Q&A and practical discussion 13:40, then sandwiches and networking from 14:00. In the Hawking meeting room at Future Space, Filton Road, Stoke Gifford. Free. Why go: diligence is where raises slow down, and this is a focused hour on getting ahead of it. Best for founders planning a raise in the next year, especially those based around Future Space and the UWE campus.

The inaugural meeting of the Bristol SME Defence Network at Future Space — a new forum for regional SMEs working in defence and dual-use technology.

The South West's AI community gathers for a full afternoon and evening: show-and-tell presentations, co-creation workshops, insight sessions, panels and the AI Bumper Quiz, with food and beer. Built to work whether you are AI-curious or already running models in production — the largest AI gathering in the Bristol calendar this month.

Deeptech founder spotlight on Albotherm, with the origin story and live demonstrations of the product, followed by networking among Future Space's science park tenants.