MACH seminar programme combines star power, sector analysis and skills

Kicking off on Monday 9 April, two of the week’s star attractions will help get the event underway with a bang. Ben Ainsley, the most successful sailor in Olympic history, will speak at the opening ceremony (10.30). Now the team principal at Land Rover BAR (Ben Ainslie Racing), the four-time gold medallist can be expected to provide insight about the role of technology in the team’s America’s Cup efforts. Ainslie is followed in the afternoon (14.00) by Bloodhound pilot Andy Green, who will be giving an update on the supersonic car’s progress.

Tuesday’s centrepiece is a British Standards Institution (BSI) discussion panel exploring the impact of robotics and autonomous systems on manufacturing (11.15). Chaired by BSI’s head of market development, Dan Parker, the panel will feature LDRA’s Andrew Banks, Drone Major Group CEO Robert Garbett, Microsoft’s Ruptesh Pattanayak and Stephen Cameron from Oxford University. Later in the day (13.00), Stephen Ringler, head of future business at the Satellite Applications Catapult, will give an overview of the UK space sector and the opportunities for advanced engineering.