# Where to Meet Nightingale HQ This Autumn: Our 2026 Events Calendar > Nightingale HQ's Autumn 2026 events calendar — Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham and the Netherlands. See where to meet the team and get in touch. > > **URL:** https://www.gosmarter.ai/newsroom/autumn-2026-events-meet-nightingale-hq/ **Date:** 2026-08-24 **Author:** Ruth Kearney **Categories:** news **Tags:** nightingale-hq, manufacturing, artificial-intelligence, smes, wales ## Meet the Nightingale HQ team this Autumn. Our events calendar is out, and we are speaking and meeting people across the UK and Europe over the next few months. If you work in metals and want to meet, get in touch. If you work in software and want to collaborate, get in touch too. We are always keen to talk to people who understand what it takes to build for manufacturers. Here is where you will find us. ## September ### 3 September — Belfast: Innovate UK Horizon Europe brokerage event Innovate UK is running an in-person Inward Multilateral Brokerage event just outside Belfast on 3 September. It brings together organisations keen to engage in Horizon Europe Cluster 4 (Clean Steel) and Cluster 5 topics. We are attending to build connections around clean steel research and the funding routes that support it. ### 10 September — Belfast: Manufacturing NI We are heading back to Belfast a week later for an event with [Manufacturing NI](https://www.northernirelandmanufacturing.co.uk/), the organisation representing manufacturers across Northern Ireland. Our CEO, Ruth Kearney, is delivering a talk and joining a panel called "Making AI Strategy Stick!" The session moves past expensive strategy documents that sit on a shelf and shows manufacturers how to build an AI strategy that actually drives implementation. Ruth will draw on the approach behind Florence, our AI strategy platform, to show how manufacturers can combine AI, collaboration and the tools they already use into one practical, living strategy. By the end of the session, attendees will know what to include in a strategy, how to gather the right information, how to bring it together, and, most importantly, how to turn it into action. ## October ### 1 October — Cardiff: Wales STEM Awards We are finalists at this year's [Wales STEM Awards](https://www.stemawards.wales/shortlist-2026/). Nightingale HQ is shortlisted for the Sustainability Award, and our co-founder Steph Locke is a finalist for STEM Woman of the Year. The winners are announced at a reimagined ceremony at Techniquest in Cardiff on Thursday 1 October, during the science discovery centre's 40th anniversary year. We are looking forward to an evening out with the rest of the Welsh STEM community. Read more about [our shortlistings](/newsroom/nightingale-hq-and-steph-locke-shortlisted-wales-stem-awards-2026/). ## November ### 4–5 November — Birmingham: UK Metals Expo [UK Metals Expo](https://www.ukmetalsexpo.com/) has become an annual fixture for us. It is the UK's leading event for the entire metals supply chain, from raw materials and processing through to engineering, manufacturing and construction. We go to discover new technologies, benchmark suppliers, and grow our network, and it is consistently one of the best places to connect with collaborators and hear the latest thinking from across the UK metals sector. Read about what we [took away from last year's expo](/blog/nightingale-hq-team-attend-uk-metals-expo/) to see why we keep going back. ### 24–26 November — The Netherlands: one-to-one meetings with metals businesses As part of the Welsh Government's Export Programme, we are travelling to the Netherlands for a series of one-to-one meetings with metals businesses based there. If you are based in the Netherlands and want a slot in the diary, let us know before we finalise the schedule. We already have one date locked in for early 2027: [Manufacturing Expo Wales](https://www.manufacturingexpowales.com/), at the ICC in Newport on 25 February 2027. More on that closer to the time. ## Come and say hello Conferences and brokerage events work best when both sides turn up with something specific to talk about. If you are a metals manufacturer wrestling with mill certificates, scrap rates, or a cutting plan that never quite adds up, come and find us. If you are a software company working on tools for manufacturing, or a researcher working on clean steel, we would like to compare notes too. We will keep adding to this calendar as more dates firm up, so check back if you are planning your own Autumn schedule. In the meantime, reach out through our [contact page](/contact/) and we will make sure we find time to talk, whichever event brings us together. ## FAQs {{< faq question="How can I meet the Nightingale HQ team at an event?" >}} The fastest way is to reach out before the event through our [contact page](/contact/) and let us know which date you are interested in. We plan our schedules around meetings, so booking ahead gives us the best chance of finding proper time to talk rather than a rushed exchange on a trade stand. If you spot us at Manufacturing NI, UK Metals Expo, or one of the brokerage events, feel free to just come and introduce yourself too. {{< /faq >}} {{< faq question="What is Innovate UK's Horizon Europe Cluster 4 brokerage event about?" >}} Innovate UK's Inward Multilateral Brokerage events connect UK organisations with international partners working on specific Horizon Europe research topics. The Belfast event on 3 September focuses on Cluster 4, which covers clean and low-carbon industrial processes including Clean Steel, alongside related Cluster 5 climate and energy topics. It gives organisations a structured way to find research and funding partners rather than networking cold. {{< /faq >}} {{< faq question="What will Ruth Kearney's talk at Manufacturing NI cover?" >}} Ruth's session, "Making AI Strategy Stick!", addresses a problem most manufacturers recognise: an AI strategy document that gets written, presented, and then filed away without ever changing how the business operates. Drawing on the approach behind Florence, Nightingale HQ's AI strategy platform, the talk covers how to combine AI, team collaboration, and the tools a business already uses to build a strategy that stays live and drives real implementation, rather than one that sits on a shelf. {{< /faq >}} {{< faq question="What are the Wales STEM Awards?" >}} The Wales STEM Awards celebrate the businesses, organisations, educators and individuals driving science, technology, engineering and mathematics forward across Wales. Nightingale HQ is a finalist for the 2026 Sustainability Award, and our co-founder Steph Locke is shortlisted for STEM Woman of the Year. The winners are announced at a ceremony at Techniquest in Cardiff on 1 October 2026. {{< /faq >}} ## Further reading - [Nightingale HQ and Steph Locke Shortlisted for Two Wales STEM Awards 2026](/newsroom/nightingale-hq-and-steph-locke-shortlisted-wales-stem-awards-2026/) — more on our STEM Awards finalist placings - [Nightingale HQ team attend UK Metals Expo](/blog/nightingale-hq-team-attend-uk-metals-expo/) — our takeaways from last year's expo - [Wales Tech Week 2025: Connecting, Showcasing, and Inspiring Welsh Innovation](/blog/wales-tech-week-2025-connecting-showcasing-and-inspiring-welsh-innovation/) — another recent event recap from the team - [Why Supporting Early-Stage Careers Really Matters](/blog/supporting-early-stage-careers/) — more on what Nightingale HQ has been up to this year