3rd & 5th October 2024

Great Malvern, UK

13th Edition

#InnovateMalvern

2018 Blockchains & Bitcoins

 Blockchain250pxw

Morning Symposium

 Friday 12th October 2018 (morning)

 Coach House Theatre, Malvern, WR14 3HA

The on-going speculation about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies hints at a much more disruptive technology under the surface; that of blockchain. Find out how blockchain could impact you and what this means for privacy, security and software applications.

The event was free for all to attend.

 

Programme


09:30

Arrival & Networking

@festivalofinnov #InnovateMalvern #blockchain #bitcoin #altcoin #ICOs #cryptocurrency


10:00

Welcome

Adrian Burden, Festival Founder and Managing Director of Innovate Malvern CIC

@apburden 


10:10

MRobinson


Blockchain – what is it good for?

Riding on the back of the media frenzy around cryptocurrencies, ‘blockchain’ is becoming a more widely known term by the day; but what really lies behind the buzzword?  What is a blockchain?  Where can it be used?  What benefits can it bring? This short presentation aims to turn some of the fantasy into fact and give a clearer picture of the potential reach for a technology which has already been touted as the ‘biggest thing since the Internet’.

Mark Robinson has worked in IT since 1995, specialising in IT architecture and strategy as an independent consultant since 2004. He has operated as the Lead Architect on numerous IT programmes across a variety of industries (including Manufacturing, Energy/Utilities and Finance). He holds certifications in both Blockchain and Ethereum and is an alumnus of the ‘Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme’ from Saïd Business School (Oxford University). Mark is director of Bloctagonal Ltd.

@BloctagonalUK


10:30

NPennington


A Personal Journey through Blockchain: Energy to Fintech and Back Again

A recount of the hand-on experience of developing use-cases in a large corporate, to leaving the corporate world and experiencing the highs and lows of the freelancer in the world of the start-up: from helping people on benefits make payments using Distributed Ledge Technology, through secure messaging using trusted execution, to the non-profit open-sourced decentralised energy future of the Energy Web Foundation.

Dr Neil Pennington, Leader in Innovation through Decentralised Technology

Following a career in the Energy Industry including BG, PwC, IBM, United Utilities, npower, Innogy, latterly as Smart Programme Director and UK Innovation Director, Neil has for the last 3 years been involved with early stage businesses in Blockchain and Digital Identity, including micropayments, messaging and decentralised energy with Rivetz, DISC, Grid Singularity and the Energy Web Foundation. He has also been an adviser to the Fintech and Innovation-Driven Financial Services Regulatory Committee of Mauritius and a member of the Virtual Currency Working Group for the Commonwealth Secretariat.

@TheNeilPenners


10:50

EMatthews


Demystifying blockchain for supply chain

Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies are much hyped and much misunderstood. For every person claiming that blockchain is as transformational as the internet there is a queue of detractors saying that it is a solution looking for a problem. Both are right. This talk will explore how blockchain is being used today and how it may expand tomorrow to disrupt traditional supply chains. What are the risks and what is the potential? What can we predict for the future?

Eleanor Matthews is MD and Co-founder of intelligent sourcing firm WorkFutures. She is a well-known industry innovator. A sourcing, RPA and automation expert with more than 20 years of experience, Eleanor previously held leadership positions with SIG, Alsbridge (now ISG), and Source. A recent graduate of Oxford University's Blockchain Strategy Programme, Eleanor's focus is on the future of work, and how developing technology is reshaping the digital sourcing and wider industry landscape.

@ejwinn, @WorkFuturesView


11:10

TAlcott


Certification and NFTs on the blockchain

Certificates of accreditation, membership and qualification are all subject to fraud and mismanagement. The blockchain can be used to anchor certificates and other non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to improve security for all the stakeholders, including the accreditation body, the certification body and the accredited entity. This talk will highlight the progress BlockMark Technologies has made towards creating a certification app using Ethereum and some other exciting work with NFTs in general.

Tom Alcott is co-founder and CEO of BlockMark Technologies. He is a seasoned entrepreneur who has previously created five start ups including The Social Network Company (social network analytics software analysing bank social capital risk), the international water charity FRANK Water funding 300+ villages in India, and spice specialist Peppermongers, involving global supply chains.

@BlockMarkTech


11:30

PCripps


Hyperledger Fabric – A Blockchain Platform for Business

Hyperledger Fabric is a blockchain framework implementation and one of the Hyperledger projects hosted by The Linux Foundation. Intended as a foundation for developing solutions with a modular architecture, Hyperledger Fabric allows components, such as consensus and membership services, to be plug-and-play. The framework leverages container technology to host smart contracts called “chaincode” that comprise the application logic of the system. This talk will provide a brief overview of Hyperledger Fabric, describe some of the industry projects that are using it and look at future directions of this technology.

Peter Cripps is a Software Architect working for IBM. He has worked in the IT industry for close on 40 years and during that time has been involved in projects across a range of industries and platforms. Peter currently works in IBM’s Blockchain Practice helping clients understand and implement blockchain solutions. He gets involved in projects at the early stages of development and helps set direction as well as defining their architecture.

@Pete_Cripps, @IBM, @IBMBlockchain


11:50

MTate


Blockchain applications in transportation

The way people travel is changing. Emerging technologies, new travel systems and the call for more sustainable, greener and efficient transportation is all very real. These developments require changes in consumer behaviour, and incentivisation is a powerful tool to achieve this. Using their crypto token (DOV), DOVU uses blockchain technology as a way for mobility companies to nudge customer behaviour and collect valuable travel data. Consumers can spend their earned tokens on other transport products and services, closing the loop on the mobility ecosystem.

Melissa Tate is Head of Commercial at DOVU. Educated at the University of Washington with an MBA from IE Business School, Melissa has worked in several marketing and product development / business consulting roles. She was until 2013 the Product Marketing Manger at Seattle-based Apex Learning before moving to the UK.

@dovuofficial

Melissa kindly stepped in to speak in place of Irfon Watkins, founder and CEO of DOVU, who had to travel overseas at the last minute.


12:15


Summary and wrap-up


12:30


Lunch & Networking


13:30

Close