UKREiiF West Yorkshire Programme 2024
We're planning an engaging and interactive programme for the West Yorkshire Pavilion at UKREiiF 2024.
Programme
We're excited to offer a warm welcome to the West Yorkshire Pavilion where we'll be showcasing key investment opportunities.
Tuesday 21 May
Opportunity for all in West Yorkshire
10.00 - 11.00 am
One year on from the launch of our ambitious West Yorkshire Plan we discuss the opportunities emerging from our West Yorkshire Economic Strategy, set to be launched later this year
We’ll highlight how West Yorkshire's innovative clusters and sector strengths in areas such as healthtech, culture, digital, AI and space can be powerful drivers of a modern, inclusive economy.
We’ll also launch our new investment propsectus, detailing investible propositions across the region.
West Yorkshire’s Investment Zone
11.00 - 11.45 am
West Yorkshire’s global strengths in health, lifesciences and digital have been recognised with the announcement of a new flagship Investment Zone.
In this session we will unveil opportunities for healthtech and digital tech anchored around innovation sites in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.
Set to unlock £220 million in new investment and create 2,500 jobs in our region, the West Yorkshire Healthtech and Digital Tech Investment Zone will accelerate growth in these sectors.
Leeds is driving innovation to build a healthier, greener and inclusive future
11.45 am - 12.45 pm
Join Tom Riordan, CEO Leeds City Council, Dame Linda Pollard, Chair Leeds Innovation Partnership and partners to hear how you can join in.
Introducing West Yorkshire's world leading data and AI ecosystem
2.00 - 3.00 pm
West Yorkshire is a world leader in data and AI and has been named by the UK Government as a site of High Potential Opportunity in this area.
Hear from pioneering businesses from across the region as they discuss how generative AI and data has driven their investment opportunities and why they chose West Yorkshire to start, grow or scale their ambitions.
Wednesday 22 May
Delivering net zero collaboratively: Developing a West Yorkshire strategic partnership
10.00 - 11.00 am
In West Yorkshire we have ambitious plans to become a net zero region by 2038.
Meeting this goal will require urgent, decisive and collaborative action with public and private sector partners working together to find locally led solutions.
We’ll discuss how to build relationships between local government and the private sector and attracting investments for net zero projects to deliver on our region’s climate ambitions.
Exploring the impact of how an integrated transport system will regenerate and transform West Yorkshire.
11.00 - 11.45 am
West Yorkshire has unveiled an ambitious vision for integrated transport, bringing together mass transit, major changes to our region’s buses and promoting active travel.
But more than helping people get from one point to another, integrated transport can be an opportunity to redefine our communities, champion sustainability and make sure everyone can access opportunities.
Join us to discover how these strategies form the bedrock of a vision where integrated transport becomes a driving force for positive change in the heart of West Yorkshire.
Leeds through the next decade and what to look forward to through a built environment lens
11.45 am - 12.45 pm
Join Martin Farrington, Director, City Development and Angela Barnicle, Chief Officer, Asset Management and Regeneration and partners to hear how the city has transformed in recent years and what to look forward to in the next decade.
Warm, comfortable and low carbon homes: A vision for West Yorkshire
2.00 - 3.00 pm
We have ambitious targets to invest in our housing stock through a region-wide retrofit programme so everyone in West Yorkshire can live in a warm, comfortable and low carbon home.
This session will set out the vision for sustainable housing, and discuss practical measures we can take to attract investment for retrofit activity, prepare supply chains to deliver retrofit at scale, and innovative finance solutions to make sure all residents and communities can benefit from this programme.
Thursday 23 May
Culture as an anchor
10.00 - 11.00 am
West Yorkshire’s creative and cultural heritage is world renowned, with a contemporary arts and cultural scene that rivals anything the UK has to offer.
With plans to develop a new site for British Library North in Leeds, create a National Poetry Centre led by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, years of culture like Culturedale, Our Year, Bradford 2025, and the regeneration of our industrial past into arts and cultural spaces, culture is part of who we are and what we do.
We’ll examine the potential of culture as a lever to both level up West Yorkshire, by creating jobs, growth, and attracting investment, and its vital role in inspiring people across the region.
Our next generation: Young people having their say about mass transit in West Yorkshire
11.00 am - 12.00 pm
During this interactive panel and Q&A in collaboration with Mott Macdonald and Ahead Partnership, students from local schools will share their thoughts and perspectives on mass transit.
They will share why they believe it’s so important for the youth voice to be included in public consultation on major civic projects such as the proposed new mass transit system in West Yorkshire.
The programme is subject to change and will be updated regularly.
