FST JOURNAL

The Foundation Future Leaders 2025 Conference was held on November 19th at Liverpool Hope University, with a welcome from the Vice-Chancellor. The conference programme made the most of the location and participants heard from representatives from across the North of England, aswell as speakers from the Welsh Government, Research England, Wellcome Trust, UK Space Agency, Gaba Labs, Prospect, and the universities of Cambridge and Kings College London.

Sessions throughout the day reflected the breadth of experience of the 2025 cohort. The panel-based plenaries allowed attendees to gain expert perspectives on the importance of place-based R&D, and to discuss the future challenges and opportunities in energy, responsible AI, and AI in healthcare.

While the topics were diverse, the discussions emphasised the common themes of the importance of collaboration, community involvement, and maxi- mizing diverse funding sources to sustain long-term research and ensure a successful and inclusive sci- ence, technology and innovation landscape in the UK. The following sections are written by a selection of Future Leaders 2025 who helped organise and par- took in the conference. They explore each session in more detail and put forward recommendations for a wide range of stakeholders.                         ☐