Northern Tech Summit Fringe
Sheffield Innovation Spine is the official fringe partner for TECH SY’s Northern Tech Summit, bringing a dynamic three-day event series to the city from 20–22 October 2026.
Book your tickets for TECH SY’s Northern Tech Summit HERE
Three days of Northern Tech Summit fringe by Sheffield Innovation Spine
The fringe event series will complement the two-day-long summit hosted from Sheffield’s iconic Crucible Theatre this October.
Spanning 190 acres across five mixed-use neighbourhoods in the city centre, Sheffield Innovation Spine is home to university spinouts, scaling tech firms, and specialist workspaces. The Northern Tech Summit fringe event series is designed to connect local residents, students, and summit delegates directly with the region's vibrant innovation ecosystem and showcase Sheffield’s energised urban innovation district.
An event series designed to appeal to both local communities and national summit attendees, the fringe activity highlights Sheffield Innovation Spine’s unique role convening economic development partners across the region, inspiring innovation, and championing inclusive opportunities for local people to stay near and go far.
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A day-long festival for the local community, this free, open-to-all event invites visitors, and anyone who lives, works, or studies in Sheffield, to explore the city centre’s urban innovation district and meet the people solving real-world problems.
Between 9.30am and 4.30pm, public visitors can navigate the district using the dedicated ‘Open Doors’ route, hosted by the Spine Guide app. Learn more and register your interest in the free app (coming soon) here.
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Coinciding with day one of the Northern Tech Summit, Sheffield Innovation Spine will host one-hour-long guided walking tours during the summit’s afternoon break from 3:00pm to 4:30pm. Exclusive invitations will be sent to summit delegates, offering civic leaders, tech ecosystem partners, and regional businesses a curated experience of Sheffield’s urban innovations district. Delegates will Meet Tour Guides at 3pm at their designated meeting point at Crucible Theatre. Tours will begin shortly after.
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Thursday, 22 October – Run the Spine
The fringe series concludes on day two of the summit. Sheffield Innovation Spine has teamed up with local entrepreneur Hannah Duraid, founder of Sheffield Business Runners, to deliver an all-running-ability 5km group run along the Spine route in Sheffield city centre, meeting at 7am and finishing no later than 8am.
The social-paced morning run is open to summit delegates and the local innovation community, and offers an active networking opportunity before the main Northern Tech Summit day two programme re-opens at the Crucible Theatre at 9am. Register your interest in the Spine Run here to be sent details of the route.
