North East Tech Scene 2025

Intro

I'm Peter and this is the RoguePlanetoid Podcast where you will find insights about Microsoft or related platforms and technology, along with so much more whether you are beginner or an experienced professional or just interested in technology. Keep Current, Keep Coding!

Welcome

Welcome to episode twenty-nine of the RoguePlanetoid Podcast about the North East Tech Scene 2025. North East England, although often overlooked, is thriving with tech and creative startups or scaleups with events to celebrate. Last year I spoke about the North East Tech Scene in Episode Eighteen of the RoguePlanetoid Podcast, having lived here all my life I covered the history, present and future of the region and pleased to say that many things are getting better for tech and creative in the region, although we're still waiting for The Sage Events and conference venue to be built in my home town of Gateshead, it is great to see that a region that was proud of its past and present is prouder than ever, and strives to overcome barriers and issues. If you want to listen to that episode then visit rogueplanetoid.com/podcast/episode-eighteen, wherever you're listening to this episode or check out the link in the show notes.

UK Startup & Scaleup Week 2025

This year with June in particular demonstrated showcase events including UK Startup and Scaleup Week, which was a five-day multi-venue festival in Sunderland here in the North East of England, which aimed to inspire and educate those who went on how to start, grow and fund a business, whether that be in the North East, further afield in the United Kingdom or anywhere else. UK Startup and Scaleup week was organised by Paul Lancaster who also runs PLATFORM which are regular events around the region including Sunderland, Newcastle upon Tyne, Middlesbrough along with further afield in Edinburgh, Scotland. PLATFORM events are a chance to get inspired, build your network and learn how to grow your business, with many people at different stages of their journey talking about their experiences to share with others. I've also had the opportunity to speak about Cluarantonn at PLATFORM events in Newcastle and Edinburgh about how we help people start, grow or guest on a podcast.

Day One of UK Startup and Scaleup Week was for Inspiration and was held at The Fire Station in Sunderland to help motivate anyone starting or growing a business. Day one started with a panel on Enterprising Sunderland talking about the investment in the city including an e-sports campus and upcoming dedicated arena to help make Sunderland and the UK the global capital of e-sports. The panel also discussed the investment from businesses with the best packages for supporting them, and make sure what is in place is fit for purpose and works, so businesses get what they need to grow and thrive. Creativity is at the heart of many plans with Crown Works Studios to bring Hollywood production to the banks of the River Wear in Sunderland, and becoming a Music City with a whole series of things happening supporting grass roots and people wanting to start their career in music, along with supporting all the businesses that goes behind it to make Sunderland a real creative city.

Inspiration on Day One of UK Startup and Scaleup Week also talked about partnerships such as those with Sunderland's football club to make the best use of their data to help understand their fans better. There was also a chance to hear from Adds Lad who is a videographer and content creator along with being host of The Content Cast podcast, who spoke about how they got into photography including getting to the right events or connections they made with people and following their journey. It was also great to hear from the co-founders of Now Is Your Time who talked about doing what they wanted to do to inspire people and about being unique in what you do, this was echoed by Paul Mort who is a master coach and international speaker who talked about when doing something you can't just dabble, but instead should double down on what you do, and that the cost of success is failure and if you feel discomfort by being nervous or intimidated then this really means growth and you have to go through it.

Day One of UK Startup and Scaleup Week for Inspiration also included Dave Swan who spoke about being focused and confident in what you do, they help develop tech products that take ideas to market, they talked about knowing your strengths and finding the right people for the right jobs along with nurturing your network. Daniel Priestley who is a founder, author and international speaker talked about the changes in the economy from agriculture to industry and now with digital, which came with different way of doing things with a different way of producing value with intellectual property with problems you can solve in a unique way, they also spoke about the importance of being on podcasts with around ten per year being suggested. Inspiration was the certainly the key theme of Day One of UK Startup and Scaleup Week with the speakers helping inspire those there, to hopefully kickstart or grow their ideas.

Day Two of UK Startup and Scaleup Week was Getting Started, which was held at the British Esports Performance Campus in Sunderland along with chance to hear about it which is a hub and host to those passionate about gaming professionally. Sunderland and the wider region are also supported by the North East BIC which hosts many businesses but also advises with one-to-one support, which I've benefitted from myself. There was also an opportunity to hear about the support such as from NatWest Accelerator which was running an pitching competition for businesses there along with hearing from others including Slimming World, about how you can be proactive with your time and how you can invest it in your dreams and focus on tasks that align with your goals, and if what you are doing is taking you away from those goals and dreams, then you need to stop doing it.

Getting Started on Day Two of UK Startup and Scaleup Week also featured workshops which included Video Content Creation with Issy Howell, a Pitching and Practise session with NatWest Accelerator, Tech Product Development with Mark Renney and a Social Enterprise and Community Interest Company session. I was also proud to help host a Podcast Workshop alongside by wife Dawn along with Paul, Ashleigh, Percy, Danika and Joe. The Podcast Workshop covered planning your podcast, podcast artwork in a nutshell, podcasting and the guest experience along with an intro to recording your podcast, using AI to write, and podcast smarter not harder, plus touching on podcast hosting and marketing. It was great to be involved with the key theme of Getting Started of Day Two of UK Startup and Scaleup Week with our workshop and appreciated all those there who came along.

Day Three of UK Startup and Scaleup Week held in Sunderland's City Hall was on Funding and Finance, it included British Business Bank who talked about their support to deliver public and private sector funding, something that UMi help with too with business support to make sure businesses have the most up-to-date information and expertise available to empower businesses to access the right funding. Knowing what funding, grants and support available was a key focus of the North East Support Directory, which aims to match businesses with funding opportunities and working towards creating a North East based funding ecosystem. There was also a great panel discussion which talked about using the support available to get funding to grow their businesses and having the right team of people to support their business.

UK Startup and Scaleup Week about Funding and Finance on Day Three, also showed the investment that has been possible in the area with Sunderland City Council showing off the regeneration schemes to create new homes and employment. There was a range of different opportunities for businesses with many of the new office spaces surrounding the new City Hall in Sunderland, which included the Maker and Faber buildings nearby, and I was also able to get an opportunity to look around the spaces available with impressive views of the nearby River Wear and the brand new Keel Crossing footbridge which connects the two sides of the river together. Although my time at UK Startup and Scaleup Week would end that day, due to supporting another event as a sponsor at the True Crime Awards in London, the event would continue with a day on growing and scaling along with keep going or pivot. If you want to find out more about the event along with the regular PLATFORM events in Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Edinburgh, then visit ukstartupweek.com or check out the link in the show notes.

TechNExt 2025

TechNExt is a celebration of the North East's thriving technology sector which spanned five days held across the region to spotlight the best tech businesses and talent the North East has to offer. TechNExt 2025 kicked off at Crowne Plaza in Newcastle upon Tyne, with the Main Stage hosted by Jamie Hardesty who welcomed everyone to the third year of the event. Jamie spoke about being proud of the tech sector here in the North East and how it interchanges with the rest of the economy, but did say we still need to do better in the North East, be inclusive and grow the sector, with the TechNExt events during the week which include fringe and hub events being about positivity and collaboration.

Main Stage of TechNExt had talks from Phil from the North East Combined Authority who agrees we should do more with the tech sector, but it is booming, employs thousands of people from games and immersive tech to esports and space, along with looking at growing AI such as a new data centre being built in Blyth in the North East. Zoe from the BBC congratulated everyone there as they were impressed with what was going on in the North East, and there is a lot to be shouting about more, and we can be ambitious with some exciting and powerful opportunities with challenges coming up fast but an opportunity to ride that wave.

TechNExt Main Stage also heard from Tom who talked about unicorns in the United Kingdom, where there is a lot to celebrate such as using the potential of universities with spinouts as well as building up knowledge along with powerful incentives, and a mostly pragmatic environment but also saying that we need to get the basics right across capital, regulation and talent where the dream is to create a unicorn production factory with the support they need. Emran from the Department for Science Innovation and Technology spoke about the things that were central to the government's approach, including building confidence in building things in school or having a permissive building environment.

TechNExt featured dedicated hubs for sessions which included the Data and AI Hub held at The Catalyst in Newcastle upon Tyne and I was proud to help kick off the day with my workshop, Build a Podcast AI with Blazor using GitHub Models. This workshop enabled people to create their own AI-powered podcast assistant to help kick start their podcast ideas or even customise it to become their own AI-powered assistant. It was wonderful to see those there and hear from many who said how interesting, accessible and useful the workshop had been including helping with ideas for their podcast.

Data and AI Hub at TechNExt also features sessions including AI agents: opportunity and threats, which talked about agentic AI and how AI agents are given specific roles within a workflow, but also how much trust is given to what they do and how well they do in a role. AI Voices That Engage: How Voice Direction Can Enhance Speech Models & User Trust was a workshop that showed how easy it can be to be fooled by artificially generated voices, but also how AI voices often sound worse than earlier iterations due the quality or direction of the inputs that produces sub optimal outputs.

TechNExt Data and AI Hub also had sessions on The AI Revolution: Decisions That Shape Our World, about the need to understand the process and potential of AI, along with explaining the innovations that helped shape AI, including deep learning, classification, transformer architecture for text and fine tuning along with preparing for an AI-driven future where AI will get significantly better especially with agentic AI. Making AI Work: Mindset, Fit, and Real Value was a session which talked about the practical ways and approaches to real-world applications for AI, and making sure to have the right problem-first mindset and if it doesn't take many rules to solve a problem you might not even need AI.

TechNExt also featured the Immersive Hub held at PROTO in my hometown of Gateshead, and featured sessions including Is XR driving a revolution in patient care, breaking barriers - unlocking the power of immersive technologies and virtual sustainability: energy monitoring in the world of virtual production. It was also great to see a session about the future of inclusive tourism with a great panel discussion about the importance of accessibility, along with panel discussions from speakers during the other talks which answered questions and went more in depth, with issues and points raised along with the fascinating keynote on the evolution and future of XR display technologies and ending with a great talk and immersive performance from Southpaw Dance Company.

TechNExt not only had the amazing immersive presentations of the Immersive Hub in Gateshead, but there were Festival Fringe events which included one from WE-AR, where they showcased a 4D racing simulator in the City Hall of Sunderland, with a chance to race a lap around Le Mans in a Porche without leaving the building, and the feeling of being totally immersed in that experience was incredible! My time at TechNExt 2025 ended with the fantastic Festival Party which was a great way to come together and celebrate including catching up and meeting new people too. If you want to find out about TechNExt then you can visit technext.co.uk or check out the link in the show notes.

Tyne Design Week

Tyne Design Week organised by Edge Innovation was a week-long event to shine the spotlight on North East design, with a celebration of creativity, innovation and design taking place across the North East of England. There were many sessions that were part of Tyne Design Week, including one on what is UX and tech design at the Northern Design Centre in Gateshead from the founder of Layers Studio, James Hanson, which was a great way to understand what is UX design which is how people feel when they interact with your product, and the importance of the discovery phase to ensure user stories and workflows are captured, to then produce the necessary outputs which should aim for a small minimal viable product as soon as possible. James also mentioned the important of not skipping research and assuming what users want or prioritising aesthetics over usability along with making sure that things aren't overlooked, and make sure to speak to the right people or ask the right questions.

Tyne Design Week also featured another session at Gateshead College on the safety and security on public transport, focused on Tyne & Wear Metro stations, which I was encouraged to go along to by Mel from Edge Innovation and am I so pleased I did! Nexus who operates the Tyne and Wear Metro here in the North East talked about the safety of women, girls and vulnerable people at Gateshead Interchange, to identify the issues that would help support them which would also provide benefits for all who use the station. I formed part of a team as part of a design led workshop where we had picked a persona, in this case it was a young woman who wanted to minimise risk, feel prepared and in control of her surroundings and we worked together to see what barriers there were before, during and after their time in Gateshead Interchange, along with barriers and challenges plus the solutions that could be put in place from better wayfinding and signage to information about approaching trains, improved lighting and ways to know how and where to report any issues.

Tyne Design Week also joined forces with a regular event here in the North East, which is Silicon Mingle, which is an event to get together and create meaningful connections for the community of tech and startup enthusiasts and professionals here in the North East. I have made fantastic connections at the event founded by Karl, Dylan and Travis which is a welcoming and accessible event for anyone who is interested in coming along. Tyne Design Week with Silicon Mingle brought many of those who were part of the creative events that week, along with those regular to Silicon Mingle and many more besides to get together, network and more. It was also a chance to work together again in groups with my group to see if AI is a great multiplier for designers, which was a great opportunity to talk about the potential of AI, with many of those there being very interested in AI, including myself as well as the impact it has to help those in the creative sector rather than replace them. If you want to learn more about Tyne Design Week, then visit ed-ge.uk/tyne-design-week or check out the link in the show notes.

Conclusion

June 2025 in the North East was jam packed with events not only from ones such as UK Startup and Scaleup Week, TechNExt and Tyne Design Week, but other regular events like the Qudos .NET Meetup which happens every eight weeks, with June's talks from Mike on powering your AI projects with Azure Integration Services and Marc on durable execution with Dapr being interesting and informative. June also saw one-off events such as the Tech Services Showcase as part of the North East Digital Technologies launchpad, which featured talks from James, Mark, Dylan, Ellen, Rojin along with a fireside chat with James, Chris and Karl. If you want to find out more about these then you can read about them at rogueplanetoid.com/articles or check out the link in the show notes.

Here in the North East of England in the United Kingdom with events such as UK Startup and Scaleup Week, TechNExt and Tyne Design Week along with others demonstrates the passion and pride we have here in sharing what we do, as well as welcoming others to see what we're doing. My goal has always been to share what I can with others, whether it be help with podcasting such as at UK Startup and Scaleup Week, along with our own Podcast Paddock events we hold monthly in Newcastle, or programming such as my workshop at TechNExt, along with writing about the events I attend here in the North East. However, the main aim is to still raise awareness of what is going on here in the North East and make sure we're not overlooked, but for those here you should be proud of what we're doing and where we are going.

Outro

Thanks for listening to the RoguePlanetoid Podcast where each episode you will find insights about Microsoft or related platforms and technology, along with so much more wherever you listen to your podcasts or at rogueplanetoid.com/podcasts for the RoguePlanetoid Podcast whether you are a beginner or an experienced professional or just interested in technology. Keep Current, Keep Coding!