BrumAI September 2026 - hosted by Accenture

SEPTEMBER 2026 - in-person event
#The event is now closed - we no longer can accept RSVPs, or waitlist, we have closed registrations and submitted the list of attendees to the venue. Thank you for your interest and hopefully see you again on the next one#

We are very excited to be back, kindly hosted once again by Accenture!
It's an opportunity to connect with entrepreneurs, researchers, people in academia, students, engineers, AI enthusiasts, and curious individuals. So bring your friends and co-workers!
This is an 18+ event. Limited space.

EVENT OVERVIEW
This session will include:
- Lightning talk by Shawon Sheikh, Accenture representative
- Main talk by Martin O'Hanlon, Neo4j - "GenAI Beyond Chat - Making LLMs Make Sense"
- Discussion with the audience facilitated by Dr Anandhi Vivek Dhukaram, co-organiser at BrumAI
- Networking with like-minded individuals

AGENDA
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm Arrival & Refreshments
6:00 pm - 6:10 pm Lightning talk by Shawon Sheikh, Accenture
6:10 pm - 6:40 pm Main talk by Martin O'Hanlon, Neo4j
6:40 pm - 7:05 pm Discussion led by Dr Anandhi Vivek Dhukaram
7:05 pm - 7:30 pm Networking & Close
TALK DESCRIPTION
How do we improve the responses of GenAI systems? Martin looks at what that takes once you move past the chat window.

SPEAKER BIOS
MARTIN O'HANLON
Martin is an experienced computer science educator and open source software developer.
Martin creates educational content for Neo4j and supports developers in using graph technology to understand their data.
As a child he wanted to be either a Computer Scientist, Astronaut or Snowboard Instructor.
Personal page: https://www.ohanlonweb.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-o-hanlon-3466a45/

SHAWON SHEIKH
Shawon Sheikh is a Full Stack Engineering Analyst at Accenture with a passion for AI, Generative AI, and emerging technologies. He enjoys exploring how AI can create real-world value for organisations and communities, and actively contributes to AI learning and knowledge-sharing initiatives across the Birmingham tech ecosystem.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawonsheikh/

DR ANANDHI VIVEK DHUKARAM
As a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in research, technology, and global business, with a PhD in cognitive systems engineering, Dr Anandhi specialises in driving human-centric responsible AI cultures across industries.
Throughout her career, she has witnessed firsthand the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) when harnessed responsibly. Her mission is to bridge the gap between AI technology and organisational readiness, ensuring businesses of all sizes can seize the opportunities and leverage AI effectively.
Through tailored AI literacy programs and as an EU AI Act compliance strategist, she aims to equip teams with the critical thinking and technical proficiency necessary to navigate the regulatory complexities of AI confidently.
Personal page: https://anandhiv.com
LinkedIn:[ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandhi-vivek-dhukaram](https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandhi-vivek-dhukaram)
Founder of Esdha: www.esdha.com

CAPACITY
In-person spaces are restricted, please only book if you can attend!
Only attend if you have a confirmed RSVP=yes and you are not on the waitinglist.
It will feel really good to have a full room so please don't reserve a seat unless you are coming, the event is in-person.
Please let the organisers know or cancel on meetup if you can no longer attend.
HOSTED BY
We are very grateful for the opportunity to be hosted by Accenture, Birmingham
https://www.linkedin.com/company/accenture-uk-ireland/
https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/careers
https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/about/company-index
Please feel free to connect with our host:
Tejas Kunjapur, Delivery Manager - DevOps Lead, and AI Community Lead
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tejaskunjapur/
Accenture is a leading solutions and services company that helps the world's leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise, bringing together the talent of our approximately 784,000 people, our proprietary assets and platforms, and deep ecosystem relationships.
Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world. Through our Reinvention Services we bring together our capabilities across strategy, consulting, technology, operations, Song and Industry X with our deep industry expertise to create and deliver solutions and services for our clients.
Our purpose is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity, and we measure our success by the 360° value we create for all our stakeholders. Visit us at accenture.com