Event category: External events

Discovery Park will be attending these upcoming events. Join us to build your network and discuss the latest industry developments.

Kent and Medway Business Summit 2026: Reset Kent and Medway

Kent and Medway stands at a turning point

It’s time for change.

Economic uncertainty, political upheaval, shifting identities, skills shortages, infrastructure pressures and changing public expectations are all colliding at once. Yet too often, we discuss these issues in isolation.

Join us on Thursday 17 September to stop talking about the challenges — and start reshaping what comes next.

This is not another day of passive panels and predictable speeches. Expect a dynamic, participant-led event built around discussion, movement, debate and collaboration — bringing together business leaders, policymakers, educators, innovators and entrepreneurs to ask the big questions about where Kent is heading next.

View the full programme

Book your ticket

Building an Investable Biotech: Risk, Readiness & Reality

📅 Wednesday 9th September 2026 📍The Oculus, EC4N 8AF

Discovery Park is partnering with One Nucleus to deliver an evening of engaging fireside chat featuring an accredited executive coach and a professional rugby player, highlighting the importance of leadership, teamwork, resilience and the value of coaching in developing high performing founders and teams.

Building a successful biotech company requires more than great science, it demands founders who demonstrate readiness, resilience and the ability to manage risk effectively. This London BioWednesday event will explore how life science entrepreneurs can position themselves as compelling investment opportunities, shifting investor perception from high risk ventures to credible, investment ready businesses.

Book your tickets

 

Join us at the Big STEM Showcase 2027!

The Big STEM Showcase is a free, hands-on STEM Fair that brings together schools, teachers, families, and businesses to celebrate the power of science, technology, engineering, and maths. Alongside interactive exhibits from leading STEM organisations, visitors will enjoy the exciting final of the Big STEM Challenge competition.

 

Event details:
📅 Date: Friday, 5th March 2027
🕘 Exhibitor setup: from 9:00 AM
🕙 Showcase open to visitors: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Venue: The Gateway, Discovery Park, Sandwich CT13 9FG
🎟️ Cost: Free to exhibit and attend

 

We believe STEM has the power to change the world — and we’re here to celebrate the young minds who are leading the way.

We’re inviting schools, teachers, support staff, and families to an inspiring morning of innovation at the Big STEM Showcase 2027, a free, hands-on STEM Fair hosted at the incredible Discovery Park.

Explore the brilliant work of our Big STEM Challenge finalists and enjoy interactive displays and activities from some of Kent’s leading science, technology, engineering, and maths businesses. Whether you’re a teacher looking to inspire your students or a parent keen to spark curiosity in your child, this event is not to be missed!

 

Booking deadline:  8.01.2027

Book here

Toasted Sandwich Toastmasters

⏰ 11:45-13:00 📍 Barclays Eagle Labs, Discovery Park

What If One Hour a Week Could Change Everything?

Have you ever wished you could express yourself more clearly in meetings? Speak with confidence in front of a group? Or simply feel more at ease sharing your ideas?

If so, you’re not alone — and you’re not without options.

Join us for an engaging session where we’ll explore the world of Toastmasters — a global community that’s helped millions of people become better communicators, stronger leaders, and more confident individuals.

In this session, you’ll discover:

  • What really happens in a Toastmasters meeting
  • How you can build skills that boost your career, enrich your relationships, and elevate your everyday conversations
  • Why Toastmasters is one of the most supportive, empowering environments for personal growth

Whether you’re a seasoned speaker or someone who avoids the spotlight, this talk is for you. Come curious — leave inspired.

Reserve your free spot here.

OBN BioSeed

Owned and organised by OBN​, BioSeed is a fast-paced, one-day pitching event where innovative early-stage life sciences companies seeking seed funding, showcase to and meet with an extensive audience of active life sciences investors.

BioSeed attendance is exclusively for:

  • Early stage R&D companies seeking seed stage funding – all therapy and technological areas are welcome
  • Technology Transfer teams from academic institutions seeking funding for their spin out companies
  • Life sciences Investors looking for new funding opportunities
  • A limited number of corporate and industry sponsors

Find out more

NIHR BioResource Drop-In

Drop-in sessions with Dr Heather Ramsay to find out more about the NIHR BioResource

The NIHR BioResource is a unique and powerful resource for studying disease mechanisms and investigating the links between genes, the environment, health and disease, and enabling scientific discoveries. We have over 330,000 consented volunteers, from the general population and patients with common and rare diseases, who have donated a blood sample, granted access to their health records and genomic data, and are willing to be recalled to participate in academic and industry-led experimental medicine and clinical research studies. Recruitment is on a national and local level, with 18 local BioResource centres across England, including Cambridge.

Find out more and book a slot here.

The Big STEM Challenge

The ultimate inter-schools competition

which is all about inspiring and engaging young minds in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM)! We’re on a mission to ignite your curiosity and creativity, and we want to see your amazing projects that showcase the best of STEM.

Whether you’ve built a robot, designed an app, conducted experiments or created something entirely unique, enter by 30th September 2025! The showcase STEM Fair will be hosted at the Discovery Park on Friday 17th October.

Find out more, book tickets, and enter your school here.

Investors + Innovators Meet Up (Biotech and MedTech)

📅 Wednesday 15th October 2025 ⏰ 18.00 – 20.00 📍 London EC4A 3AG

This event is hosted by Abel + Imray.

Our Abel + Imray Investors + Innovators Meet Up series bring people together to start creating those connections through networking over informal drinks. Each event has an innovation theme to provide a focus to attract relevant investors and innovating businesses to be ‘in the room’.

The meet up is free to attend though places are limited, and places are restricted to 2 per organisation.

🔗For more information and to get your tickets

Growing Kent & Medway Showcase Celebration

This event is hosted by Growing Kent & Medway.

Meet exciting plant-based food and drink businesses and hear from the innovators and researchers making our horticultural food systems more sustainable.

The event will include:

  • Talks from local policy makers and funders
  • Presentations on cutting-edge science and technology developments in food and farming
  • Taste new food and drink products developed with support from Growing Kent & Medway
  • Network with other Growing Kent & Medway members; businesses, technical research specialists, funders, and business support experts
  • Tours of Niab’s research facilities, including the glasshouses, Wine Innovation Centre, research vineyards and growth rooms
  • Plus, hear about the next phase of place-based innovation for our sector.

The morning will feature talks and presentations at the Orchards Event Centre, East Malling, before we move to the Mumford Building for networking, lunch and demonstration displays.

Lunch will be provided on the terrace overlooking the Niab vineyards.

Limited places are available for businesses to display their products during the networking session. Please email contact@growingkentandmedway.com if you would like to request a table.

We hope you can join us for this free event to celebrate the brilliant innovation taking place across our supply chains.

Find more information here.

Sign up for our newsletter