Connecting Cambridge’s innovation ecosystem
As part of the Cambridge Tech Week 2026 Fringe programme, the Manufacturing, Defence and Security Summit will bring together industry leaders, innovators, policymakers and businesses to explore how technology and collaboration can strengthen some of the UK’s most strategically important sectors.Taking place on Friday 18 September at TWI, Granta Park, the summit will examine the challenges and opportunities shaping manufacturing, defence and security, from resilient supply chains and international trade to research commercialisation, skills and secure emerging technologies.
Deep tech with real-world impact
Cambridge Tech Week 2026 is centred on the theme “How Deep Tech Changes the World”, bringing together the people developing, funding and deploying technologies capable of solving complex global challenges.
Few areas demonstrate that real-world impact more clearly than defence, security and advanced manufacturing.
Innovation in these sectors increasingly depends on the convergence of multiple technologies and disciplines. Artificial intelligence, secure communications, advanced engineering, new materials, cyber security and other deep technologies are creating new capabilities, while geopolitical uncertainty is placing greater emphasis on resilience, sovereign capability and secure supply chains.
The Manufacturing, Defence and Security Summit will create a forum for those conversations, connecting Cambridge’s technology and research ecosystem with businesses, government and the wider industrial community.
From global challenges to local opportunity
The programme will open with keynote contributions from Sir Laurie Bristow, President of Hughes Hall and former UK Ambassador to Afghanistan and Russia, and Alexandra Rehak, Consulting Director at Cambridge Consultants.
Sir Laurie brings more than three decades of diplomatic experience and expertise in international security, while Alexandra works at the intersection of technology and business strategy, including AI security and assurance, post-quantum cryptography, critical national infrastructure and deep-tech innovation.
A series of panel discussions will then examine three areas with particular relevance to businesses across the Cambridge technology ecosystem.
Global Britain will look at what successful international trade means in today’s changing geopolitical and economic environment. Speakers will consider issues including tariffs, export regulation, trade agreements, overseas markets and international supply chains, and what UK businesses need to navigate them successfully.
Exploring Cambridgeshire’s Defence Cluster will turn the focus closer to home, examining the partnerships, investment and opportunities developing across the region’s defence ecosystem focusing on RAF Wyton and what this growing cluster could mean for businesses looking to enter or expand within the sector.
Finally, Turning Research into Development will tackle a question at the heart of Cambridge’s innovation economy: how do we turn world-class research into commercially successful products and businesses?
The panel will bring together perspectives from academia and industry, including Professor Tim Minshall of the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, Tony Pearce, COO of Paragraf, and Alexandra Rehak of Cambridge Consultants. Discussion will explore funding, commercialisation and scale-up, and how research breakthroughs can translate into economic growth.
Connecting Cambridge’s innovation ecosystem
The summit also reflects one of the central ideas behind Cambridge Tech Week: transformative innovation does not happen in isolation.
Researchers need routes into industry. Technology businesses need customers, partners and capital. Established manufacturers need access to emerging technologies and skills. And policymakers need a strong understanding of what businesses require if new ideas are to move from laboratories into practical deployment.
Bringing these communities together creates the opportunity not only to discuss the future of manufacturing, defence and security, but to build the relationships needed to shape it.
For founders and technology companies, the summit provides an opportunity to understand the requirements and commercial possibilities within defence and security markets. For manufacturers and established industry, it offers exposure to emerging technologies and new approaches. And for policymakers, researchers and investors, it provides a valuable meeting point with the organisations turning innovation into practical capability.
Join the Manufacturing, Defence and Security Summit
The Manufacturing, Defence and Security Summit takes place on:
Friday 18 September 2026
8:00am–1:30pm
TWI, Granta Park, Cambridge, CB21 6AL
The morning includes a light breakfast, keynote presentations, panel discussions and networking, followed by a networking lunch.
Attendance is complimentary for eligible representatives from manufacturing, defence, security and cyber security businesses. Chamber members outside those categories can attend for £30 plus VAT, with non-member tickets priced at £75 plus VAT. Advance booking is essential because the event takes place on a secured site.
Find out more and book your place through the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce.
The Manufacturing, Defence and Security Summit forms part of the wider Cambridge Tech Week Fringe programme, extending the conversations taking place throughout Cambridge Tech Week into the sectors where emerging technologies are already helping to reshape industry, resilience and security.
The views expressed in this Sponsor article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent those of Cambridge Tech Week