Nov
Intelligent Futures: AI, Innovation and Human Flourishing · Monday 2 November 2026 · Senate Building, Bolton
Some events talk about the future of AI. On Monday 2 November, the Centre of Intelligence of Things (CIoTh), in the School of Creative Technologies at the University of Greater Manchester, and the IEEE UK & Ireland Section, brought it into one room and opened the doors to everyone, free of charge.
November to Remember 2026 set out to answer a single question: what does the future of AI mean for humanity? By the time the day closed, the answer wasn’t in any one keynote. It was in the shape of the room itself where a sitting IEEE World President, professors of medicine and engineering, a Mayor, and students presenting their first research posters all shared the same stage and the same afternoon. Intelligent futures that leave no one behind, made real.
The voices on Intelligent Futures
The day was hosted by Prof. Celestine Iwendi, Head of CIoTh, who opened with AI, Innovation and Society: Building Intelligent Futures for All, and chief-hosted by Sam Johnson, Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academics). Our Guest of Honour, Dr Greg Walker, Acting Vice-Chancellor, set the tone with Universities and Intelligent Futures through Higher Education, and the Mayor of Bolton, Councillor Mohammed Iqbal, welcomed IEEE to the town.
From there, a programme that spanned the full breadth of the theme:
- Mary Ellen Randall, 2026 IEEE President & CEO — Engineering Intelligent Futures: IEEE, AI and Technology for Humanity
- Prof. Nagham Saeed — Building Sustainable and Intelligent Cities with Green Communication, AI and IoT
- Prof. Christian Harrison — Leading Intelligent Futures: Leadership, Enterprise and Human Flourishing in the Age of AI
- Dr Njide Okonjo-Udochi — AI for Global Health Equity: Building Intelligent Futures that Leave No One Behind
A cross-disciplinary panel discussion then brought medicine, engineering and AI into direct conversation, before the day’s awards presentation led by the IEEE UK & Ireland Chair and President Randall. Throughout the morning, 29 student poster presentations showcased the next generation of researchers, and the day was carried from the very first minute by live music from Glorie Edim during registration.
A vote of thanks
An event of this scale is never the work of one team. We are deeply grateful:
To our speakers; Mary Ellen Randall, Dr Njide Okonjo-Udochi, Prof. Nagham Saeed, Prof. Christian Harrison, Prof. Celestine Iwendi and Sam Johnson for the generosity of your time and the depth of your insight.
To our Guest of Honour, Dr Greg Walker, and to the Mayor of Bolton, Councillor Mohammed Iqbal, for lending the day their leadership and their welcome.
To Glorie Edim, whose music set the spirit of the morning.
To our volunteers and the registration team; the people who arrived first and left last, who checked in every guest, directed every question and kept the day running so seamlessly that most never saw the work behind it. There is no “November to Remember” without you.
To the University of Greater Manchester, the School of Creative Technologies, and our sponsors, and to our co-host, the IEEE UK & Ireland Section, for making a free, public, landmark event possible.
And above all, to everyone who came; the over 120 people who filled the Senate Building and the over 200 people who joined us live on YouTube from across the country and beyond. You turned a programme into an experience.
The future we discussed on Monday isn’t years away. For one day in Bolton, it was in the room with us. Thank you for being part of it.
Couldn’t make it, or want to relive it? Watch the full event on YouTube: link. Explore CIoTh’s work in AI, IoT and sustainable technologies at
Hosted by the Centre of Intelligence of Things, School of Creative Technologies, University of Greater Manchester. Co-hosted by the IEEE UK & Ireland Section. Event design, management and registration by RaveHQ.
