TechNExt 2025 - Experience
Introduction
TechNExt 2025 celebrated the North East's thriving technology sector being held for the third time, for the first year I'd managed to catch a couple of events, the second year I made sure to attend as many events as possible but the only regret was not being part of the event itself which was something I wanted to put right for this third year of TechNExt. You can find out more about TechNExt at technext.co.uk.
Main Stage
TechNExt 2025 started by heading to the Crowne Plaza in Newcastle upon Tyne for the Main Stage for the launch of the festival. Jamie Hardesty welcomed everyone there including those for the first time and many like myself who had been at the festival before, it was great to hear how proud he is of the tech sector in the region, but also recognises that we need to do better about talking about what we do here, to be more inclusive and to grow the sector in the region. There was also a chance to learn about the festival including the Sustainability Hub in Blyth, the Data & AI Hub at The Catalyst in Newcastle, the Immersive Hub at PROTO in Gateshead and the Tech Startups Hub in Durham. It was also fantastic to see those from Norham High School with their Project Poseidon idea as part of the Schools Challenge to build an autonomous ocean cleanup drone to help clean up plastic and oil which was well thought through and very high quality.
Speakers on the Main Stage included Phil Witcherley from the North East Combined Authority which is excited about the tech sector which is booming and creating jobs in the region people can aspire to. Zoe Kleinman who is Technology Editor for the BBC spoke about being impressed with what she saw here in the North East and we should be shouting more loudly about this but is an issue common to many regions around the country. Tom Foster-Carter talked about the state of tech in the UK and talked about celebrating the success that companies have and hoped for more and about backing the founders not just their ideas to create more successful companies here in the United Kingdom and especially in the North East. Emran Mian who is from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology talked about their approach to supporting innovation in regions around the country including the North East. If you want to know more about the talks from the Main Stage then you can read my Article about TextNExt 2025 - Main Stage.
Crowne Plaza, Newcastle upon Tyne
Main Stage, TechNExt 2025
Main Stage Host, Jamie Hardesty
Phil Witcherley, North East Combined Authority
Zoe Kleinman, BBC
Tom Foster-Carter, Cherrypick
Emran Mian, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Anna Mooney, Sustainablity Hub
Jen Taylor, Data and AI Hub
Norham High School, Schools Challenge
Festival Fringe
TechNExt 2025 also had the Festival Fringe which was a great chance for others to be involved in the festival so had to check out the WE-AR 4D Racing Simulator in Sunderland's City Hall, it was a great chance to race around Le Man in a Porche without leaving the building, but it felt amazing and going off the track really felt like it with the rumble and feel of the gravel making sure you stayed on track, it was great to go around the track for a lap feeling completely immersed and afterwards was fun to watch others including one who hit the wall and their seat shook around that must have made them feel like they'd crashed for real but all within the safety of the City Hall and made me regret my more careful driving as it would have been fun to experience that!
City Hall, Sunderland
WE-AR Experence
WE-AR Racing Simulator
WE-AR Setup
Data and AI Hub
The Data and AI Hub was the first hub events I attended, and my opportunity to put right my aim to be part of the event as was honoured and proud to have my workshop, Build a Podcast AI with Blazor using GitHub Models, be part of the event and be one of those starting off the day! It was amazing to see those who came along and follow along with the workshop to build their very own AI-powered podcast assistant to kick start their podcast or have fun by customising it to become their very own custom AI-powered assistant. I really enjoyed delivering the workshop and was great to hear how much people thought of it and heard a few people talk about it afterwards too, including those saying how accessible it was, walking around and seeing what people had achieved from all levels from beginner to experienced programmers was fantastic, plus it was great to do a vox-pop on camera talking about what I thought about the day and the event.
There were more great sessions including AI agents: opportunity and threats from Gordon Murray and Marianne O'Loughlin which was a great way to find out more or learn about agentic AI. Nic Redman's talk on AI Voices That Engage: How Voice Direction Can Enhance Speech Models & User Trust was interesting and showed how easy it is to be fooled by an AI voice and how older voice technology was often better due to the effort put in at the start and how AI voices could improve by putting in that same effort. The AI Revolution: Decisions That Shape Our World by Colin Tempest was a great talk that helped understand the potential of AI and Making AI Work: Mindset, Fit, and Real Value with a talk from Elisio Silva who then formed part of a panel along with Erin Kinnee with Elisio Silva, Rohan Nakashe & Danielle Armstrong was a great way of showing how best to make use of AI. If you want to know more about the talks from the Data and AI Hub then you can read my Article, TextNExt 2025 - Data and AI Hub.
The Catalyst
Gorgon Room
Build a Podcast AI with Blazor using GitHub Models (Photos by Nic Redman)
Build a Podcast AI with Blazor using GitHub Models
Gordon Murray & Marianne O'Loughlin
Nic Redman
Colin Tempest
Erin Kinnee, Elisio Silva, Danielle Armstrong & Rohan Nakashe
Immersive Hub
My final day at TechNExt 2025 started with the Immersive Hub at PROTO in my home town of Gateshead and was there for every session from start to finish, it was also a chance to enjoy and be up-front to listen to those there which included Is XR driving a revolution in patient care with Tammy Vivian, Vikki Rand and Denis Martin along with Breaking Barriers - Unlocking the Power of Immersive Technologies - Harvey Trent, Richard Laing, Craig Gilchrist and Ashmita Randhawa plus Virtual Sustainability: Energy Monitoring in the world of Virtual Production - Laura Partridge, Vicki Williams, Phil Adlam and Paul Dolan. There were also interesting panel discussions from those there that helped understand better many of the talks and topics that were discussed. The last session was about Southpaw Dance Company followed by an amazing immersive performance that was fantastic to witness and enjoy and was an amazing way to finish the day of sessions at the Immersive Hub. You can read more about the talks from the Immersive Hub in my Article, TechNExt 2025 - Immersive Hub.
PROTO, Gateshead
Tammy Vivian
Vikki Rand
Denis Martin
Liza Kukovska, Tammy Vivian, Vikkia Rand & Denis Martin
Harvey Trent
Richard Laing
Craig Gilchrist
Ashmita Randhawa, Harvey Trent, Richard Laing & Craig Gilchrist
Jenna Ingoe
Simon Laing, Andrew Blance, Kat Paylor-Bent & Jenna Ingoe
Laura Partridge
Vicki Williams
Phil Adlam
Paul Dolan
Phil Adlam, Vicki Williams, Paul Dolan & Laura Partridge
Shermin Arab
Robby Graham
Southpaw Dance Company
Dancers
Augmented Performance
Augmented Person
Festival Party
My time at TechNExt 2025 ended with the Festival Party at BALTIC in Gateshead, it was a great way to end the event and catch up with a few of the people involved, share my thoughts and praise for the event as a whole as well as meet a few new faces and make connections so it was well worth coming along to. I spent my final few hours talking to people there which included Jamie Hardesty and was pleased I got a chance to say how much I enjoyed the event and appreciated being part of it this year and the fantastic job they had done as host during the Main Stage that started the event. Although my time at TechNExt was at an end as I left the Festival Party I was pleased to have made the most of the time I was there and was a great way to end this year's TechNExt.
BALTIC, Gateshead
Festival Party
Conclusion
I was pleased to have been able to do four out of the five days of TechNExt which started with the informative and inspirational Main Stage to celebrate and share what is going on in the North East Tech Scene and beyond. This was then followed by a chance to check out the Festival Fringe with an unforgettable VR experience and then a chance to be part of the event with the Data and AI Hub with my workshop which was the highlight of my time at TechNExt, which ended with the amazing Immersive Hub and Festival Party.
Attending the events this year for TechNExt and being part of one was incredible, my aim as part of the North East Tech Scene is to highlight it with my Articles, including this one, and to showcase the amazing things we do here and to celebrate those who come here or are from here who want to share what's going on here in the North East. Last year I was keen to look forward to this year's TechNExt and get involved with my own event or go to more events, both of which I was able to achieve so look forward to seeing what happens, meeting new people and so much more at TechNExt 2026.