IoT Collective UK MeetUp, 16th Sept @ PlusX

🚨 Save the date 🚨 Speakers confirmed

Our next meetup is confirmed for 16th Sept 2026 at Plus X Innovation, Slough 🙌

The theme for this session is robotics in IoT - explored through real-world case studies and honest growth journeys. 🤖⚙️

Will Cooper-Ivory from Northforge — UK Innovation Funding Advisory

Will has 15 years of consulting experience, the majority of which has been dedicated to winning funding for innovative technology projects. He has a track record of leading teams that have raised over £1 billion in funding from grant agencies including Innovate UK, DEFRA, DESNZ, EIC, Horizon Europe, the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), the European Space Agency, and others. His work in robotics has spanned innovative projects seeking to address critical challenges in manufacturing, space, agriculture, healthcare, defence, and the creative industries.”
Session focus…

We will cover key grant funding opportunities for UK organisations involved in robotics, provide an overview of specific funding calls that may be relevant to your business, and share tips and tricks gained from leading over 300 grant funding engagements. It will also be an opportunity for Q&A and one-to-one follow-up afterwards, either in person or via a video call.
Toby Corballis from Strategic Flow
Toby has over 20 years across financial market infrastructure, capital markets, financial services, EV technology, and PE-backed businesses, the pattern is consistent. Effort is not the issue. Intent is not the issue. What is missing is usually diagnostic clarity — someone who can walk into the complexity, identify what is structurally in the way, and design the specific operating system that closes the gap between strategy and delivery.

Session focus…

"Robots Are the Easy Part" - a talk that starts at the most visible layer of automation (the robot or autonomous vehicle itself) and walks down through the layers most people never think about: the IoT/network layer it operates in, and the infrastructure underneath that everything else depends on. The argument is that the robot is rarely where automation projects actually go wrong. It's everything underneath and around it. I'll draw on real examples from an EV charging rollout, autonomous freight, and datacentre infrastructure, plus some of the AI literacy and process automation work I've been doing recently.

Pizza and refreshments provided as usual 🍕

As always, these events work because you show up, bring good questions, and spread the word. If you know someone who should be in the room, give them a nudge 👀

Looking forward to seeing the community together again.

Alan and Gary

This event is run in partnership with the communities of Viva Slough and Plus X Innovation