Creating a Scientific Superpower 2026

Registration and Breakfast Networking

Welcome and Opening Remarks

A short welcome framing the day around confidence, progress and momentum. And explaining why 2026 represents a key moment for the Growth Corridor. The welcome should set the tone and context for a conference focused on delivery and impact.

Keynote – Delivering the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor

Lord Vallance will set out how Government is translating ambition into delivery across the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor. He will focus on how policy, investment, planning and institutional leadership are being aligned to reduce friction, accelerate decision-making and enable growth. The speech will send a clear signal of confidence to business, investors and global partners.

Panel Discussion: Why Global Investors Are Committing to OxCam

This session explores why global capital is committing to the Growth Corridor. Speakers will address what has changed, how confidence in the system has improved, why the region stands out globally and what makes OxCam an investable proposition at scale.

Networking Break  

Panel Discussion - Turning Growth Ambition into Delivery

An update on how Oxford and Cambridge are moving from growth strategies to delivery. Covering dev cos, governance, infrastructure, housing, utilities and place-making. This session demonstrates how local leadership and national backing are aligning to unlock sustainable growth at pace.

Connecting OxCam and the Northern Arc

A perspective on how the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor and the Northern Arc can reinforce one another, to strengthen UK productivity, capability and balance, through connection, complementary specialisms and shared ambition.

Lunch and Networking 

Panel Discussion: Building Global Businesses from OxCam

Real stories of companies that have grown, scaled and stayed in the Growth Corridor. Speakers will reflect on the enablers and the policy shifts that have helped them move faster, the barriers that could be unblocked and the policies that will create more opportunity to scale. Providing confidence that OxCam/UK is a place where businesses can scale and go global.

Panel Discussion: From Breakthrough to Industry

A discussion on how the UK can more effectively commercialise world-class R&D into globally competitive companies designed, scaled and produced in the UK. Spanning advanced manufacturing, life sciences, AI and robotics. The session will focus on commercial pathways, scale-up capital, talent, and industrial partnerships that enable production and long-term value creation in the UK.

Afternoon Break

Global Partnerships to Accelerate Growth

A global perspective on how leading innovation economies are building and scaling their ecosystems. The session will explore how innovation ecosystems are increasingly operating as interconnected systems rather than isolated clusters, sharing learning and deepening cross-border collaboration to accelerate capital formation, company scaling and scientific impact.

Closing Keynote: A Moment of Opportunity

A rousing call to action to close the conference, emphasising the scale of the opportunity, the importance of leadership and the momentum now building behind UK innovation. The keynote will highlight the strength of the UK’s scientific and industrial foundations, reinforce confidence in what is happening, and challenge the audience to act. Recognising that the future of the UK’s scientific strength depends on collective action now.

Closing Remarks

Summarising the day and key takeaways