University of Salford x BEYOND Conference 2025

The event was held in Salford for the first time last year and the University is once again the academic partner for the three-day event from Monday 24 November to Wednesday 26 November.

It will begin with Day 00 of the conference (Monday) which will consist of a series of fringe events, tours and performances across the MediaCity site before a creative mixer in the evening at the Hot House. The main conference schedule will then take place over the Tuesday and Wednesday at The Lowry, offering a packed programme full of keynotes, panel discussions, creative interludes, short-talks and meet-up opportunities.

BEYOND will be followed by the Key Cities Innovation Network’s i-Place 2025 Conference on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 November. Our Vice-Chancellor Nic Beech is vice-chair of the Network and will be in attendance. 

Tell me more about BEYOND 2025

The three themes for BEYOND 2025 are CreaTech (Creative Technology), the creator economy and innovation districts. What do we mean by these terms?

CreaTech is an emerging industry that is forging connections that extend beyond the arts and driving collaboration across health, education and manufacturing. The Creator Economy sits at the epicentre of a seismic shift, as the boundaries between creator and audience dissolve and new voices rise through platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Innovation districts are the next evolution in creative placemaking, where talent, research and enterprise converge to drive regional growth, nurture talent pipelines, support startups, and foster sustainable ecosystems.

The conference is hosted by broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake and will feature global speakers based within the creative industries including Yannai Kadamani, Minister of Cultures, Arts and Knowledges of the Government of Colombia, Alison Lomax, the Managing Director for YouTube UK and Ireland, Joel Mawhinney, a Blue Peter presenter and content creator & Ruth Mackenzie, the Director of Arts at the British Council.

This year, the conference has launched a new programme called Emerging Innovators to spotlight diverse early-career talent within the UK’s creative research community.  This year’s chosen innovators will take part in a takeover event on Wednesday 26 November where they will showcase their work and the innovations for which they have been recognised.

The University is proud to have had two of the nine-strong cohort come through our doors, Glen Watts, a Creative Technical Demonstrator within the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology & Arpana Nandakumar, a former Research and Development Associate via the MediaCity Immersive Technologies Innovation Hub.

The event is also offering free tickets to students and early career creatives (aged 18-30) to be able to attend the conference. The ticket offers free access to the fringe events on Monday 24 November, including the flagship creative mixer event in MediaCity’s Hot House, free access to the conference’s unique showcases such as the Immersive Futures Lab and the R&D showcase & free access to a range of speakers and session on Tuesday 25 November between 2pm to 5pm.

What is the University of Salford doing for BEYOND 2025

As the lead academic partner for the conference in 2025, the University is involved in a number of initiatives over the three days.

As announced earlier this week, the University will unveil Best Before Memory, the winning work from the CreaTech Artist CoLab project as part of the conference’s fringe events at the Hot House.

The project comes from emerging artist Isabella So, supported by Hathaikan Kongaunruan, and transforms an ordinary, broken fridge into a glowing digital artwork that explores how technology can preserve and reimagine cultural memory by creating an intimate archive where food, memory and belonging intertwine.

CreaTech Artist CoLab was ran in partnership between the University, Salford Culture and Place Partnership and Better Connected – GM Arts, with five emerging creative practitioners spending a week with our technicians and leading CreaTech specialists at MediaCity to develop a project idea for exhibition at the conference.

The project was backed by £5,000 from the University of Salford Art Collection, which will acquire Best Before Memory for their permanent collection.

Also on the Monday, the University is leading on the fringe session RIBA Design Generators & Reality Integrators. The session at Level 7 of the Blue Tower will explore the ongoing foresight and futures scenario research of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Led by Dr Derek Hales, RIBA Architect & Salford Practice Research Lead, the event will initially explore createch in science and the polluting impacts of media infrastructures, e-waste, rare metals and soils before an afternoon workshop that will explore future scenario construction for design generators and reality integrators. 

It will conclude with a lecture from renowned academic Neil Spiller, the editor of Architectural Design, on reflexive architecture and his views on the future of the profession.

We have also provided an opportunity for one MA Documentary for TV, Film and Digital Media student and one BA Film Production alumnus to produce social media content in the build-up to the conference.

Who is representing the University of Salford at BEYOND 2025?

In addition to Dr Derek Hales’ fringe session and the Best Before Memory exhibition, the University will have five academic speakers taking part in sessions over the main conference plenary.

On the morning of Tuesday 25 November, Sam Ingleson, Associate Dean; Knowledge Exchange at the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, will be speaking at Innovation in Education: Roadmap to Creative Industries in Aldridge Studio 3. The session will explore the ways in which education providers can prepare the next generation of creatives for the rapid advances in technology and the continued emergence of the creator economy. 

In the afternoon, Dr Charlotte Gislam, a Research Assistant on the University’s GAMEHEARTS project with the University of Vienna, will be speaking at Time Machines: Creative Technology and Global Cultural Memory, which also takes place in Aldridge Studio 3. The session will look at creative collaborations that are bringing together technology, community and imagination to keep cultural stories alive and shape the next phase of digital heritage practice.

On Wednesday 26 November, Professor Mandy Parkinson, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Knowledge Exchange will be speaking at Creative Industries 2035: A Vision for the Future in the Hexagon Room at 3.30pm. The session will feature a range of experts from across the creative arts, broadcast and gaming to explore how boundaries between the creative industries are blurring and what the sector needs to do to adapt, innovate and thrive in an ever-changing landscape.

Earlier that day, at 10am in the Hexagon Room, Daniella Gati, a Lecturer in Creative Computing at the University, will be speaking at Creativity Rewired: AI, Ethics and Innovation. The session will see a panel of industry experts discuss AI’s role in design, production, environmental impact and the differing rates of adoption across the creative industries as well as how they might integrate AI into their everyday workflows.

The University will be presenting the session Civic, Creative and Cultural: University Collaboration at 11.45am in the Hexagon Room, which will bring together members of the Greater Manchester Civic University Agreement to highlight how higher education institutions can powerfully intersect with and shape a more connected, creative and equitable city region.

It will showcase the ongoing collaboration between universities, industry and civic partners across Manchester and Salford, to tackle shared challenges and co-develop solutions that support sustainable economic growth, digital inclusion and digital viability. Professor Katy Mason, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Salford Business School, will be representing the University at the session.

How can I attend BEYOND 2025?

Tickets for the conference are available via the conference’s official website.

As detailed above, students or early career creatives can access parts of the conference for free. Fill out this form to receive the access code.

The Creative Mixer on Day 00 of the conference is free for those within the creative industries to attend. It will be hosted by broadcaster Nihal Arhanayake and feature a range of performances, showcases and installation. One of the performers will be Tamsin Middleton, a member of the University's Technical Services team, who will perform in her musician guise as VICE VERA.