Please see below events, updates and support available
Celebrate International Women’s Day with IWD: Women Who Build Brands – Marketing Trends 2026 & Business Networking, hosted by Hollywood Agency.
This inspiring and practical event explores the trends set to shape marketing in 2026, alongside honest conversations about building bold, resilient brands. While the focus is on celebrating women in business, men are absolutely welcome and encouraged to attend. It’s about strong brands, smart growth and meaningful connections.
Join us on Thursday 5 March 2026 at The Workshop & Loft in Mirfield. There’ll be fizz on arrival, expert insight, a live panel Q&A and relaxed networking with founders, leaders and marketers.
Tickets are FREE, simply below to book your place.
Reset Connect
Will take place at Leeds Royal Armouries on 3–4 March as part of the West Yorkshire Innovation Festival, and while general access is free, the complimentary pass is limited and doesn’t include all sessions such as workshops, round tables, or the pitch/investment event. As this is the first time the event is being held in Leeds, the organisers are keen to engage our business community and the SMEs we support. As a strategic partner, WYCA has also secured free VIP delegate access for our network (normally £175, rising to £250 after January), so please share this directly with clients, colleagues, and teams such as E&S, Inward Investment, and Employer‑facing groups—but do not share publicly online, as the offer is exclusive to our network.
Employment Rights Act Webinar – Fair Work Charter Members Only
We are pleased to invite you to an exclusive West Yorkshire Fair Work Charter webinar delivered by ACAS on the Employment Rights Act, taking place online on:
Tuesday 17 March
12:00pm – 12:45pm
This session will provide members with a clear, practical overview of key elements of the Employment Rights Act.
Help us tailor the webinar to your needs
To ensure the webinar meets the needs of our Charter members, we would be grateful if you could take a couple of minutes to complete this short survey by Wednesday, 4 March: Employment Rights Act webinar
Registration details coming soon
We will send a separate Eventbrite registration link in the coming days. Please keep an eye on your inbox – you’ll need to register via Eventbrite to secure your place.
Available AD:VENTURE Worksops
March
5th March – Introduction to Cashflow Forecasting (online)
5th March – AI Bootcamp – Create Your Complete 2026 Campaign In One Day
10th March – AI-Agent-a-thon: Building Practical AI Agents for Real Business Impact
11th March – Developing your Business plan (online)
11th March – Practical AI for Marketing
11th March – Practical Introduction to ChatGPT
11th March – AI SEO: Supercharge Your 2026 Visibility Strategy
12th March – Storyselling: Using Stories to Make Your Business More Memorable
12th March – AI Hackathon: Challenges That Change How You Partner With AI
19th March – Learn to Love Your Numbers (online)
April
8th April – AI Foundations for Small Businesses (online)
15th April – Practical AI Workflows for Small Businesses
29th April – Email Marketing Mastery: From Cold Contacts to Loyal Customers
May
14th May – Embedding AI into Business Operations
20th May – Planning and Launching a Website You’re Proud Of
21st May – Using KPI’s to Manage Your Business
Not yet a Fair Work Charter member?
This webinar is exclusively for FWC members. If you haven’t signed up yet but would like to be part of future events and support the movement for fair work across West Yorkshire, you can join here: West Yorkshire Fair Work Charter
International Women’s Day #GiveToGain, 18th March
Join us for a special International Women’s Day edition of our Research in Conversation series.
This uplifting panel event brings together women researchers from across the University, alongside professional services colleagues in leadership roles and inspiring external industry leaders, to explore this year’s theme: #GiveToGain.
Through an open, conversational format, our panellists will share diverse perspectives on giving, gaining and growing within research, leadership and professional practice. Expect thoughtful discussion, real experiences and an energising celebration of women’s contributions across sectors. The session will conclude with an interactive Q&A, giving the audience the chance to join the conversation.
Be part of a positive, empowering discussion that champions women’s voices and insights across research and beyond.
Event Highlights:
- Panel Conversation – Secure front row seats for a thought-provoking conversation featuring women from across the University and beyond, offering fresh perspectives on #GiveToGain.
- Interactive Q&A session – your chance to ask questions and share perspectives.
- Refreshments provided – because good conversation deserves good coffee and sweet treats.
To view all Research in Conversation 2026 events, please use the following link – https://www.hud.ac.uk/events/events/research-in-conversation
Living Lab: Business Support Masterclass – Making Innovation Stick, 5th March
Join us for an in-person session at the Knowledge Exchange in Leeds on 5th March, where we’ll explore innovation and change within business
Are you ready to innovate?
Join us for an in-person session at the Knowledge Exchange in Leeds on 5th March, where we’ll explore innovation and change within business – and how to build the right foundations for sustainable growth.
Does any of this sound familiar?
“I’m so busy running my business I don’t have time to change or innovate”, “I want to innovate but I’m too busy to think about it”, “I don’t know how to innovate”, “I’ve tried to change things, but it just hasn’t worked”, “I’m worried that change will be too disruptive”, “Innovation isn’t for me – my business is doing fine”, “I don’t know where to get help”.
If you’re struggling with any of these challenges, this session is for you.
As business owners and senior leaders, it’s easy to become consumed by working in the business, leaving little time to work on the business. Innovation can feel intimidating, overwhelming, or simply irrelevant to your day-to-day reality.
But innovation and change apply to all businesses. Doing things differently and making meaningful change has never been more important for building resilience and long-term success. By embedding the right foundations, your business becomes more robust and better positioned for sustainable growth.
In a world of rapidly evolving technologies, data, and business models, the opportunities are endless – but without strong foundations, attempts at transformation can quickly unravel.
Do you have the right foundations for innovation?
In this session, we’ll explore what’s needed to support innovation in your business, how to make change achievable and meaningful, and how to do it without throwing the rest of the business into chaos.
We’ll also signpost you to organisations and support that can help you take the next step.
At this event, we will hear from several speakers, including:
- Paul Snape – Business owner, Appeal PR and Great British Marketing
- Fiona Conor – Managing director, Trust Electric Heating
- Paul Kenny – Managing director, Aquatrust
- Anne-Marie Gallagher & Julian Farrell – BDM’s, Leeds Beckett University
- Leeds Beckett University Academic speaker TBC
Department of Work & Health Funded Occupational Health Training for SME Managers
Small and medium‑sized employers across England can now benefit from free, Government‑funded occupational health training designed to help line managers spot early signs of health-related issues and better support their staff. The programme will train up to 5,000 SME line managers up to the 31st March, giving them the practical skills to recognise issues such as fatigue, behaviour changes, or rising absence, and to take early, supportive action. By helping employees stay healthy and in work, the course aims to reduce costly sickness absence, boost productivity, and retain skilled staff. This free training offers SMEs an invaluable opportunity to build confidence, improve wellbeing, and create healthier, more resilient workplaces.
This is the link to the GOV.UK press notice@ Drive to tackle workplace sickness with small business occupational health training – GOV.UK
The landing page for SMEs to book onto the funded courses is here: keepbritainworking.internationalworkplace.com
Competitions Launched to Expand Robotics Use Across the UK
Innovate UK and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are inviting applications to two competitions supporting the development of robotics adoption hubs and a central body coordinating their activity. The funding is designed to address the need for wider use of robotics identified in the UK’s Smart Machines Strategy 2035 and aligns with commitments set out in the Modern Industrial Strategy and the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.
The first competition will support the creation of regional robotics adoption hubs. These hubs are intended to help end users assess and integrate robotics and autonomous systems, improve productivity and safety, and build on existing capabilities within local ecosystems. Projects must focus on adoption-led activity and may showcase technologies, advise on integration requirements and link users with suppliers. Eligible projects can request between £2 million and £7.5 million.
The second competition will support the development of a central convening body to coordinate the national network of hubs. This organisation will share knowledge, maintain a central website, develop resources, coordinate communications and act as a point of contact for users. Applications for this strand can request between £1 million and £2 million.
Both competitions are open to UK registered businesses, research organisations, academic institutions, charities, not for profit organisations and public sector bodies. Projects may be led by a single organisation or by a collaboration.
The deadline for applications is 15 April 2026 https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2408/overview/ad7d7d36-af60-48be-91b0-f3208cf7c1d4
Ad:Venture Workshops – Open to all businesses
Storyselling: Using Stories to Make Your Business More Memorable – March 12 Civic Hall Leeds In Person
Learn to Love Your Numbers – March 19 Online
AI Foundations for Small Businesses – April 8 Online
Practical AI Workflows for Small Businesses – April 15 Civic Hall Leeds In Person
Strategic Website Content for Improved Visibility – April 16 Elsie Whitely Calderdale In Person
Public Relations & Storytelling for Business Success – May 7 Online
Embedding AI into Business Operations – May 14 Civic Hall Leeds In Person
Planning and Launching a Website You’re Proud Of – May 20 Glass Box Kirklees In Person
Using KPIs to Manage Your Business – May 21 Wakefield One Wakefield
West Yorkshire Innovation Festival – We have some great AI events open to anyone (You are also welcome to attend any!) and we’ve just added more tickets for the Calderdale AI SEO event due to demand. There are waitlists for the events, which are managed by WYCA.
5th March Calderdale – AI Bootcamp – Create Your Complete 2026 Campaign In One Day
10th March Leeds – AI-Agent-a-thon: Building Practical AI Agents for Real Business Impact
11th March Wakefield – Practical AI for Marketing
11th March Wakefield – Practical Introduction to ChatGPT
11th March Wakefield – AI SEO: Supercharge Your 2026 Visibility Strategy
12th March Leeds – AI Hackathon: Challenges That Change How You Partner With AI
Other events that may be of interest!
4 March – WILD Pioneers — Beyond Leadership, Industry Defining Women Leeds
5 March – Living Lab: Business Support Masterclass – Making Innovation Stick Tickets, Thursday, Mar 5 from 9 am to 11 am | Eventbrite Leeds
12 March – Green Tech Gathering – Bradford
10 March – Wakefield Expo Wakefield
26 March – Business Exchange Fair: Connect. Learn. Grow. Leeds Dock Leeds
Yorkshire & Humber Tender Opportunities
https://yortender.eu-supply.com/ctm/supplier/publictenders?B=YORTENDER
Many thanks
Chris Mitchell – Business Manager – AD:VENTURE – Business Support
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