As a catalyst for greater capacity, efficiency and value on the UK network, the Digital Railway initiative is central to the evolution of our rail industry as a world leading capability. But what does it mean for the supply chain?

The Rail Alliance BCRRE in collaboration with the DIGI-RAIL initiative will present a series of up-skilling workshops, harnessing value from data in the broadest commercial sense and exploring the vision, benefits and opportunities of the Digital Rail Revolution. The aim of the first workshops is to:

• Raise awareness of new data-driven processes that will accelerate and refine appropriate solutions

• Effectively capture user-centric perspectives and real user needs

• Understand the challenges in delivering against these from a supply chain point of view

• Explore and exchange ideas and experience

• Identify possible solutions that meet the requirements for your organisation.

In partnership with the Science and Technology Facilities Council Hartree Centre (STFC), the Rail Alliance BCRRE and DIGI-RAIL have designed the first workshop that will focus on, how Data Science, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning for Operation & Maintenance (O&M) can enhance the rail sector, where we will walk you through what data is, how data can be exploited and how to narrow down your challenges, using our established tools and techniques.

The workshops will be followed by 1:2:1 consultancy sessions with members of the Hartree Centre’s technical and business development teams to review company challenges, outline project scopes and assist with funding applications.

Held at the University of Birmingham, please see below agenda for the day:

8.00 - 8.30: Registration and light breakfast

8.30 – 8.40: Welcome to the Hartree Centre

8.40 – 9.00: Data Science – what you can do with data

9.00 – 9.40: Research Software Engineering (RSE) – Building Digital Solutions

9.40 – 10.00: High Performance Computing (HPC) – Machine Learning For Operation & Maintenance (O&M)

10.00 – 10.40: Getting Data Ready – how to collect and prepare data for analysis

10.40 – 11.00: Q&A with the Panel

11.00 – 11.15: Coffee Break and Networking

11.15 – 11.45: An Introduction to Design Thinking

11.45 – 12.15: Design Thinking Open Discussion

12.15 – 1.00: Lunch & Networking

This event is a great opportunity for businesses to explore adoption of new and exciting approaches with the help of advanced technology and top-level expertise from the University and its partners.

Please note that the above workshop is the first event of three. We will share dates and information of the upcoming workshops during the event.

*Orders/registrations will be reviewed ahead of the event to ensure that those attending are eligible for the funding and pathways discussed in the workshop. The event is capped to a limited number and we want to ensure that individuals and businesses attending have direct relations to Rail or are affiliated with this sector. We may be in touch.*

Who should attend?

Technical Directors, Designers and Development professionals, Product Managers, Manufacturing and Production Managers, Process Managers, Software Engineers, Business Analysts and Technical Sales professionals, with a focus on the rail industry.

What could this workshop lead to?

• Opportunities to partner with the Rail Alliance BCRRE , DIGI-RAIL, STFC and/or the University of Birmingham to potentially boost R&D, productivity and growth.

• Potential ideas and solutions to the identified business challenges

• Future technical business problem solving

• Potential funding

What is the eligibility Criteria? To be eligible for funding you must:

• Be a UK based business of any size registered at Companies House

• Have a manufacturing base for the relevant product in the UK or provide the relevant service in the UK

• Intend to exploit the results in the UK

Where can I park?

We encourage you to take public transport where possible. However, if you are travelling by car there is a car park available directly outside The Edgbaston Park Hotel B15 2RS and there is also the bottom floor of the multi-story car park next door to the hotel. Permits will be issued on the day.