This is a significant milestone, not only for the Royal Academy of Engineering but also for Northern Ireland and the wider island of Ireland, says Gillian Gregg, Associate Director for Regional Engagement, Royal Academy of Engineering.
The theme - Resilience of Digital and Physical Infrastructure - speaks to Belfast’s strengths as a cybersecurity hub and will bring cross-European concerns about safety and security of energy, communications and transport infrastructure onto the table.
At the heart of the Royal Academy’s work is a commitment to “engineering better lives”. We do this by supporting high-potential deep tech startups through our Enterprise Hub, advising policymakers on complex challenges, and facilitating research that drives sustainable and inclusive growth.
One of the most powerful ways we support these goals is through our Regional Hubs, which amplify excellence outside the London-South East corridor and help build place-based engineering ecosystems across the UK. Our first Regional Hub was piloted in Belfast in 2020.
The Academy saw early on that Northern Ireland had all the ingredients for success: a strong industrial heritage, world-class universities, a diverse and skilled workforce, and an agile, tightly connected innovation ecosystem.
The region’s size is a strategic advantage - it’s large enough to think globally, yet small enough to foster tight-knit collaboration between academia, industry, investors, and government. That powerful mix has enabled the region to punch well above its weight. The Academy’s Enterprise Hub ranks as 3rd leading startup hub and 1st for networking in UK in the Financial Times / Statista “Europe’s Leading Startup Hubs” rankings 2025.
Happily, the success of the Belfast Hub has become a blueprint. We've since launched Hubs in Swansea, Glasgow, Newcastle and Liverpool, with Sheffield joining soon and two more planned for 2026. Each Hub reflects the unique strengths of its region, but all share a mission: to build inclusive, resilient, and high-performing deep tech ecosystems.
Why ICC Belfast?
For an event of this significance - bringing together 200 to 300 delegates from across Europe, Ireland, and the UK, we needed a place that could showcase the best of UK engineering and the unique strengths of Northern Ireland to an international audience.
ICC Belfast’s central location, proximity to George Best Belfast City Airport, Belfast International Airport, and even Dublin Airport just over an hour away, ensures ease of access. Add to that a thriving hospitality sector and walkable city centre, and it becomes a perfect setting to deliver networking, collaboration, and discovery.
A Cross-Border, Cross-Academy Vision
This event is a joint initiative between the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Irish Academy of Engineering - a collaboration that reflects our shared vision for inclusive innovation on the island of Ireland.
Together, we’re striving to address significant challenges: building sustainable societies, driving inclusive economic growth, and leveraging engineering to improve lives. By hosting the conference in Belfast, we’ll be shining a spotlight on a region that exemplifies excellence in these.
Our goal is to create a dynamic, engaging agenda that sparks new ideas and collaborations and builds lasting and inspiring connections.
We’re focusing on:
1. Elevating research and collaboration: Providing a platform for European innovation leaders to discuss crucial challenges and opportunities around the main theme. And we’ll be tapping into the region’s academic powerhouses - Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University - as well as its industry leaders and local Fellows of the Academy, many of whom are truly global innovators.
2. Showcasing local innovation: Northern Ireland is home to pioneering companies like Artemis Technologies and Spirit AeroSystems. If we can get a hydrofoil moored outside the ICC or display aerospace innovations inside it, we will. This is our chance to spotlight the region’s advanced manufacturing and engineering excellence, and Belfast has it in spades.
3. Impressing our peers: We want our European counterparts to leave inspired - feeling that Belfast, Ireland, the UK have raised the bar even further from previous signature events across Europe.
Engineering Better Outcomes
This conference is a platform to grow networks, inspire action, and elevate ambition. The real magic happens in the conversations - in panels, over coffee or at a dinner showcasing Northern Ireland’s fabulous local produce - where delegates will connect, challenge assumptions, and leave with something new to build on.
By choosing ICC Belfast, we’re not just hosting a conference - we’re making a statement: that the future of engineering is happening everywhere, not just in London, Berlin or Paris. It’s happening in Belfast too.
And we can’t wait to welcome the world to see it for themselves.
Euro-CASE Belfast will take place from 18-20 November 2026.
Gillian Gregg, Associate Director for Regional Engagement, Royal Academy of Engineering
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