Top keynote speakers unveiled for major AI-focused innovation summit in Glasgow

A trio of female “future tech leaders” will be the keynote speakers for a major Scottish innovation summit this autumn.

The Can Do summit will also include an immersive showcase, on Scotland’s largest IMAX screen, of Opé M’s AI-enabled fashion collection ‘Emergence’, for which she received a top three award at the first AI Fashion Week in New York City.

Elena Corchero, director of emerging technology at DowJones Live and a globally recognised tech futurist, New York-based virtual AI fashion expert Opé M and Edafe Onerhime, ranked among the 20 most influential women in the data field, are set to join Scottish businesses at the annual Can Do Innovation Summit, on November 7.

Now in its fourth year and in-person for the first time since the pandemic, the event at Glasgow’s Science Centre connects start-ups and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with top innovators and academics to explore how new technologies and leadership can tackle the challenges faced by Scottish industry and society. More than 800 delegates and 40 speakers are expected to take part in the summit, which is funded by Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise and Innovate UK. This year’s event will focus on the challenges operating in an “increasingly virtual and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled world”.

Susie Mitchell, programme director, Glasgow City of Science and Innovation, the lead agency for the innovation summit, said: “Scotland is already well regarded as a leader in innovation, but the pace of change has hugely accelerated. This summit will support start-ups and SMEs to make the most of AI and emerging technologies, key tools for businesses to thrive in a challenging economic climate. I’m also immensely proud to launch the summit with a line-up of local and global female experts, showcasing the talented women in tech and helping to inspire the next generation of diverse leaders.”

Other speakers and panellists for the event include Nick Rosa, industry technology innovation lead from Accenture, and Nicola Anderson, the chief executive of FinTech Scotland. The summit will also include an immersive showcase, on Scotland’s largest IMAX screen, of Opé M’s AI-enabled fashion collection, “Emergence”.

Corchero added: “I’m excited to be part of this important event to talk about building a technology manifesto on ‘the why’ and how companies must embed well-being, immersiveness, sustainability and ethics to ensure tech and innovation adoption is challenge-based and purpose-driven.”