York Business Festival - Innovation Wednesday

Join us on Wednesday at the York Business Festival with a focus on Innovation.

Explore our full programme for Wednesday below. When booking your ticket, you will be able to choose your workshops and request an appointment with the Business & Law clinic. Please note that places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first served basis.

Your ticket includes lunch and morning refreshments.

Programme

Registration and morning refreshments, 9.00am - 10.00am

Understanding Where the Real Value is Within Your Business, 10.00am - 12.00pm
Terry McStea, RTC North

We'll be helping you to understand and explore where the real value is in your business, what it costs you, how to create more, and most importantly how to help your customers do the same.

This workshop will be suitable for companies of any shape or size.

Lunch and expo, 12.00pm - 1.00pm

Exporting Made Easy, 1.00pm - 2.00pm
Adam Butterworth, Department of Business and Trade

Understand what support is available to assist in exploring and working with overseas markets. This session will also demystify perceptions that exporting is any more difficult than trading nationally.

Transformation in a Digital World, 2.00pm - 5.30 pm
Rebecca d'Orazi Flavoni, York Learning

The workshop is as much about good leadership, the importance of culture and building teams, as it is about implementing actual tech solutions to your business's challenges. At it's heart, the session is about how to get comfortable with change within an organisation, how to embrace innovation and how to manage an evolving business landscape. The session is relevant for any leaders/aspiring leaders within small, medium and large companies, including those currently within education.

Men's Mental Health Matters Social Media Showcase, 4.00pm - 6.00pm
Winojith Sanjeewa, York Business School

As part of Men's Mental Health Month, this event showcases creative video campaigns created by York St John students, each offering an unique perspective of the challenges men face in professional environments. Whether you're a student, academic or business leader we invite you to join this important conversation and be part of the movement towards healthier and more compassionate workplaces.

Women of York: Film Screening and Panel Discussion, 6.00pm - 8.00pm (Free)
Professor Anne Marie Evans, York St John University

The event aims to raise awareness of the crucial role women have played in our city's development and to widen access to women's history in York's many tourism and heritage sites.

In 2024-2025, York St John University worked closely with the Yorkshire Film Archive (YFA) to produce a short film about the history of women's everyday life in York, based on archival footage from the YFA.

The aim of the film is to present the diverse spaces in York where women lived, gathered, worked, played, worshipped, and more, while taking into account the challenges that they faced in their day-to-day lives, from international conflicts to experiences of poverty and displacement. We hope that the film can start a conversation about women's history in York, and make viewers think about the many ways, and particularly the many everyday actions, through which women made the city and it's history.

Watch the trailer on YouTube.

Tickets to Women of York and the York Business Festival Launch Event (Free, Monday) can be added when you purchase your day ticket.

If you would like to make a corporate booking for 3+ colleagues, please contact events@yorksj.ac.uk

Events Access & Inclusivity

At York St John University we are committed to making our events as welcoming and inclusive for as many people as possible.

If you are planning to attend one of our events and have specific access requirements, including wheelchair access, then please contact us by e: events@yorksj.ac.uk or t: 01904 876318 and we will make every effort to accommodate you.

If you need a suitable seat reserved for you (and your companions), please let us know, preferably at least one week before the event. Sign language interpreters and real-time captioning may be requested in advance. Please contact us as soon as possible (ideally at least 3 weeks before the date of the event) if you require either BSL interpretation or captioning. We will try our best but cannot guarantee provision.

Parking

There is no parking for any vehicles on site and ANPR cameras are in operation 24/7.

We have a small number of Blue Badge spaces available, these spaces can only be used if guests have pre registered their number plates by emailing events@yorksj.ac.uk.

Registering your details does not guarantee a space, as they operate on a first come, first served basis. Please ensure your blude badge is displayed clearly in the vehicle.

Privacy Policy

York St John University will use the data you submit in Eventbrite for the purposes of administering this event. York St John University utilises third party software for data storage, tracking and analysis activity but your details will not be used by any of these third parties in order to contact you. Any data you share with us will be used to help us improve your event experience and for event tracking and analysis activity within the University.

We will only send you important information and reminders related to the event you have booked unless you tell us otherwise. During the booking process, if you opt-in to receive emails about the latest events hosted and supported by York St John University, you consent to York St John University contacting you with relevant information.

If you no longer wish to hear from us you can opt-out at any time by changing your contact preferences via the link in emails you receive from us or by emailing events@yorksj.ac.uk.