Top minds come to Tyneside as first batch of Thinking Digital speakers revealed

The first names for this year’s Thinking Digital Conference held at Sage Gateshead have been announced.

Among the roster of speakings are top technology journalists, open data experts and digital artists among others.

The UK’s “answer to TED” takes place on May 20-22 and brings some of the world’s top speakers to Tyneside.

Founder and Director of Thinking Digital 2014, Herb Kim, said: “Thinking Digital brings the world’s greatest thinkers and innovators together to inspire, entertain and discuss the latest technologies and ideas.

“You may expect this year’s superstar line-up to gather in San Francisco, New York or London. But it’s Tyneside where the newest generation of innovators gather for an experience that can’t be found anywhere else.”

The first list of this year’s speakers includes:

Steve Mould – a Science Presenter with a difference. Steve was most recently seen on your screens as the Science Expert on BBC1’s brand new Saturday night game show, Britain’s Brightest. Formerly the Blue Peter resident Science expert, he makes regular appearances on The One Show, Alan Titchmarsh and Absolute Radio.

Mariana Mazzucato – this Professor in Economics says Conservative bashing of the public sector has gone too far. Mariana is active in the media where she has argued that what Europe needs today is not austerity but strategic investments, which will create a dynamic ‘Innovation Union’.

Dan Lyons – the voice of “Fake Steve Jobs” (blog: The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs), a marketing fellow at HubSpot, as well as a blogger and recovering journalist. Dan is a Thinking Digital veteran and former tech editor who knows his tech stuff and speaks his mind.

Aral Balkan – this disruptive designer’s Thinking Digital 2013 speaker video has become the most watched and favourited Thinking Digital video in history. He returns this year to tell us about his boldest, most audacious project yet - Indie Phone.

Dr. Jennifer Gardy - a truly rare individual. In her job, you’ll find her hunting and researching bacteria and viruses as an epidemiologist. In her spare time she’s one of Canadian TV’s best known science communicators. In person, she is a critical mass of brains, brightness, creativity and comedy.

Peter Gregson - a cellist and composer returning to TDC 2014 to collaborate with Jennifer Gardy. Peter has performed in places ranging from SXSW to the Royal Festival Hall to the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. Peter was the Artistic Advisor to the Innovation Forum at theNew England Conservatory in Boston and is founder of the Google-funded Electric Creative Colab, an incubator developing collaborations between the arts and technology.

Mark Dearnley - Chief Digital and Information Officer at HMRC where he is leading the Department’s ambitious plans to digitalise its business (as well as being responsible for one of the largest and most complex IT estates in the UK). Previously CIO at Vodafone UK, he restructured Vodafone’s IT operating model, introducing Cloud-based technologies.

Jeni Tennison - Technical Director of the Open Data Institute addresses open data and why we need to care about it. After having originally trained as a psychologist and knowledge engineer, she went on to work as an independent consultant and practitioner, specialising in open data publishing and consumption - including XML, JSON and linked data APIs.

Kelly Richardson - a leading representative of a new generation of artists working with digital technologies to create hyper-real, highly charged landscapes. Her work draws you in and convincingly takes you into a different world that is at once beautiful but also slightly disturbing.

Hayley Parkes - having started playing piano at the tender age of 9, Hayley went on to gain entrance to Manchester’s prestigious Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music. Most recently she was shortlisted for the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2014. Hayley is an active performer and teacher, encouraging young pianists to experience performing on stage for the first time.

David Griffiths - an award winning game designer, creative coder and livecoding artist, and part of FoAM – an independent arts and research organisation. David worked in the games and film industries for 10 years and has credits on films including Troy and Kingdom of Heaven.

Tom Scott - a Thinking Digital staple, he talks about the internet, the accelerating pace of change, how to deal with social media, and occasionally tea cozies. He once got in trouble with the government for mocking one of its projects, and he was a part-time pirate for most of his adult life.

Image above shows technology journalist and creator of “Fake Steve Jobs“, Dan Lyons