The National Edge AI Hub is established to build national capacity in edge AI by supporting the translation of advanced technical capability and research into real world impact. A central part of this mission is enabling engineers and researchers to think beyond technical performance and towards adoption, value creation and sustainable use. The hub provides a connected environment in which skills, infrastructure and expertise are aligned to support commercialisation, responsible innovation and the creation of new ventures that address genuine societal and industrial needs.

Within this context, this CPD programme is designed as a practical and accessible entry point for engineers who are technically strong but have limited exposure to business and commercial thinking. Over two intensive days, participants are guided from early-stage idea formation through to market validation, business modelling and routes to growth, using AI focused examples. The workshop aims to create capacity when it comes to translating engineering capability into credible and testable commercial opportunity.

The programme is positioned as the first step in a wider engagement journey with the Hub. Participants leave with clearer problem definitions, an initial value proposition and a shared language around markets, customers and business models. These early outputs provide a foundation for progression into more in depth and tailored support offered by the hub, including follow on CPD activity, one to one mentoring, access to technical and commercial expertise, and structured incubation support. In this way, the programme creates a clear funnel from skills development to venture formation, strengthening the pathway from research and capability to impact.

The CPD is open to engineers and computer scientists from industry and research, as well as final year undergraduate students, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research students, and recent graduates with little or no formal business background. It is designed to complement technical training by introducing commercial awareness, entrepreneurial thinking and practical tools that enable participants to explore how their skills and ideas could be developed into viable, responsible and scalable AI driven ventures.

The sessions will be delivered by Dr Dinara Davlembayeva (Business School), Dr Davit Marikyan (Business School) and Dr Tejal Shah (Computing Science).

Registration: This programme is free to attend.  Participants selected are expected to attend both days in full.  

Session Leaders

Dr Dinara Davlembayeva is a Lecturer in Digital Business at Newcastle University Business School and an Associate Editor at the International Journal of Business Systems & Applied Management. She holds a Ph.D. in Management from Newcastle University Business School and an MSc in Marketing and Strategy from Warwick Business School. Dinara’s research focuses on the use of digital technology within organisations for developing and managing stakeholder relationships. In particular, she adopts a multi-stakeholder perspective to understand how organisations can implement digital technology in business management and marketing, social organisation within digitally-mediated environments, and the implications of digital technology for stakeholder sustainability. Her research explores consumers’ experiences, cognitions, and behaviours when interacting on e-commerce and sharing economy platforms, as well as their interactions with innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and the metaverse. Read more about her on her Newcastle University webpage.

Dr Davit Marikyan  is a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems Management. Davit Marikyan holds a Ph.D. in Management from Newcastle University Business School (UK). He attained a Master’s degree in Marketing and Strategy from the University of Warwick, Warwick Business School (UK), and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing from Westminster University (UK). Davit holds several internal roles, such as PhD Convenor for the IS&O group, and external roles, including Deputy Chair of the E-Business and Information Systems Management SIG and Track at the British Academy of Management. Read more about him on his Newcastle University webpage.

Dr Tejal Shah is a Lecturer in Informatics and member of the Networked and Ubiquitous Systems Engineering (NUSE) group and is the Responsible Innovation Director for the EPSRC National Edge AI Hub. Previously, Tejal was the co-Director of Education (with Jennifer Warrender) in the School of Computing leading on the learning and teaching strategy and was responsible for the quality of education within the school. She has led on the design and delivery of multi-disciplinary Continuing Professional Development programmes that focus on digital skills and knowledge development across various domains including the accredited Health Informatics CPD programme that she co-developed with Health Education England (now NHS England) North East. You can read more about her on her Newcastle University webpage.

Agenda

The agenda is provisional.

Location: National Edge AI, USB Building, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5TG

Dates: 18/19 May 2026

DAY 1

Time	Session and focus
11.30 to 12.00	Registration and informal networking
12.00 to 12.15	Welcome and programme context introducing the National Edge AI Hub, the CPD journey and progression routes
12.15 to 13.15	Ideation and opportunity discovery exploring problems, unmet needs and trends
13.15 to 14.15	Understanding customers, markets and competitors to define value.
14.15 to 14.30	Break
14.30 to 15.30	Business Model Canvas, Business Model Typologies and developing business model assumptions and hypotheses.
15.30 to 16.30	Testing assumptions and hypotheses with users, gathering feedback and pivoting
16.30 to 17.00	Forming teams to exploit opportunities.

DAY 2

Time	Session and focus
09.15 to 10.30	Business models in practice developing value creation, delivery and capture
10.30 to 10.45	Break
10.45 to 12.00	Technology adoption and diffusion examining how AI innovations are accepted, adopted and scaled
12.00 to 12.45	Lunch
12.45 to 13.45	Practice Insights: Prototyping and MVPs turning ideas into testable solutions
13.45 to 14.45	Responsible AI and legal obligations ethics, regulation and trust
14.45 to 15.00	Break
15.00 to 16.00	Funding and financial foundations funding routes, cash flow and sustaining growth
16.00 to 16.45	Digital presence and go to market channels online visibility, engagement
16.45 to 17.00	Closing remarks reflection and signposting to tailored support and incubation pathways