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Moving forward together: Newcastle Helix presents Lights, Camera, Brunch!
- Newcastle Helix
- Apr 17
- 7 min read
Updated: Apr 24
The region’s most innovative individuals and organisations were out in full force for the Lights, Camera, Brunch! event at Newcastle Helix.
Attendees enjoyed a day of networking, nibbles, and news of Helix’s recent projects and exciting upcoming developments at this thriving hub of innovation here in Newcastle city centre.
“Newcastle Helix is a unique partnership between Newcastle City Council, Newcastle University and Legal and General,” explained Newcastle Helix Estates Director John Seager.
“Newcastle Helix is a world-leading example of public and private sectors working together to create a built environment that raises aspirations, increases investment appetite and inspires organisations and individuals to collaborate and ultimately change the world for the better.”
Hosted by Newcastle Helix Community Engagement Manager and passionate North East advocate Charlie Charlton, the event was a unique opportunity for Helix occupiers, supporters and other organisations to come together and see first-hand how the site is transforming communities, businesses and economies - both in the region and beyond.
Nurturing networks
On Thursday 10th April 2025, sunlight glinted off the stunning gold façade of the Catalyst as visitors were welcomed to Newcastle Helix for a day of connection and celebration.
Leaders, key figures and brilliant minds from multiple sectors and locations gathered in the atrium of the showstopping building to network, reflect and look forward to the site’s future, all while enjoying brunch, ahead of the main event.
As well as making new connections and enjoying brunch, attendees shared their inspirational thoughts on the Newcastle Helix site and how it integrates with the rest of the city.
“I don't think people know what is on offer here,” said artist, podcaster and communication coach Alfie Joey, who has hosted several events onsite, “I love the Helix so much - I feel like I've been here more than I've been home! - and the facilities here are second to none.”
For the founder of 'Connection Heroes' Di Gates, the site has real potential for strong collaborative work.
“I think what's unique about Newcastle Helix as a physical space is its ability to bring together a really diverse crowd. When you get that level of connection, you can just make loads of things happen.”
Celebrations underway
The Catalyst’s state-of-the-art theatre, abuzz with the energy with attendees from across the region, was ignited by Charlie Charlton’s inimitable and infectious enthusiasm for the North East, its businesses and its people.
As well as being a hub for industries like biosciences, renewable energy, law and tech, Charlie described how Newcastle Helix is also home to National Innovation Centres for Data, for Ageing and for Rural Enterprise. As well as the NIHR Innovation Observatory and the newly launched National Edge AI Hub.
With so much innovation happening onsite, it is clear that Newcastle Helix has a significant part to play in changing the broader narrative of the region. Charlie shared some of the fantastic work taking place on the site, and how this is being shared with the wider region and beyond.
Showcasing stories that matter
“‘Stories’, like ‘community’, is a term that gets bandied around,” Charlie explained, “But we know the value of stories to change the way people think, to change the way we can be inspired by stories”
“The North East of 2025 is extraordinarily different to the North East of the 70s and 80s - and yet, especially politicians and a lot of other people, they still think that’s who we are. Look around us. This is what the North East is. We need to tell these stories.”
The event featured exclusive screenings of The Future Series, a collection of documentary films recently developed by Chris Taylor, the Content Manager at Newcastle Helix, to shine a light on the incredible innovations and growth taking place both onsite and beyond.
Firstly, The Future of Collaboration explored the benefits of working collaboratively to find solutions to everyday challenges, and the valuable opportunities for collaboration presented by being around other experts of different disciplines.
One story that featured was former NASA research fellow and Newcastle University alumnus Sola Idowu and his special partnership with Professor Bernard Golding of NewChem Technologies.
Sola, who developed hair care specifically for 4C hair in a market that was overwhelmingly dominated by Euro-centric products, partnered with Bernard to create a product that would help his competitive swimmer daughter from losing her hair from the chlorinated water. So despite working separately in cancer research, Sola and Bernard have now created an award-winning beauty product that stands for global social justice.
The Future of Finance documentary looked at the various routes to investment, so SMEs can grow and further develop their products or services. It gave the raw truth from Founders and CEOs who’d been there and done it with great success.
One such business, NunaBio, began as a Newcastle University spinout, before going on to become a key player in the advancement of synthetic DNA.
NunaBio co-founder and CEO Joe Hedley, who shared his experience of securing funding whilst caring for a child with a serious medical condition, expanded on his ethos with attendees.
“You make a commitment to everybody around you. I think when you believe in your idea - you really, really, truly believe it - it becomes quite an easy decision.”
Lastly, The Future of Data & AI took a closer look at how Newcastle Helix is leading the way in understanding and harnessing data to create technological solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems.
The film featured a wide range of contributors including the National Innovation Centre for Data, the National Edge AI Hub, the NIHR Innovation Observatory and experts from across the region.
Kevin Telford, Strategic Advisor at Finpact and one of the film’s contributors, gave more insights for attendees: “We act as a catalyst to create data collaboration for good, where we can share multiple vertical sector data… in one safe data haven under trust, ethics, governance, regulation and compliance.”
Investing in people now and in the future
There is no shortage of examples of how amazing advancements and innovations are coming out of Newcastle Helix. However, there is also a great deal of investment into people.
Newcastle Helix offers a wealth of learning and career opportunities across a wide range of sectors, and has been designed as a place where connection and collaboration is at the forefront.
For Charlie, Newcastle Helix’s recent video podcast miniseries Both Sides Of The Desk is “all about the value of human connection at work - something that we really, really need to focus on to sustain our businesses for the future and keep our economy growing.”
“The idea was to explore what good work culture meant in practice - the best conversations have a bit of rub in them - so Both Sides Of The Desk was born.”
Screened highlights from the miniseries featured senior leaders and more junior members of staff speaking candidly with Charlie about the realities of their positions, their dynamic and how they work together to foster a positive work culture.
As well as those already on the career ladder, Newcastle Helix is changing lives for those yet to enter the world of work.
“There are future generations who we really do have a duty to inspire, a duty to help realise their expectations or their ambitions. And how do you do that? Well, you open the doors to buildings like this and welcome one of our favourite initiatives, which is Building Blocks.”
Following earlier reflections on Newcastle Helix’s Building Blocks 2024 programme, which saw 240 primary school children welcomed onto the site for a day of STEM workshops, Charlie unveiled plans for this year’s event: Building Blocks Insights
“We'll be back this year… but bigger. We're going to do it across two days and the Year 5 students will enjoy more in-depth sessions, exploring coding and robotics for longer. Still with the unique experience of being on a site like Helix during a typical working day. Soaking up that more intangible benefit.”
As well as supporting local children, Charlie shared Newcastle Helix’s ambition to have a wider and more far reaching impact: “Finding and providing work experience that’s meaningful is a historical problem. But at Helix we have a single-occupancy site that could become a test bed of solutions for employers and educators. We’re developing an action research project around Work Experience, to benefit everyone.”
“Supporting young people is great for businesses, because it helps the future talent pipelines, it’s great for schools and educators as it provides that social capital and world of opportunities.’
Reflections on the day
For those who attended the event, there was a distinct feeling that Newcastle Helix is set to continue playing a pivotal role in supporting regional innovation, growth and connection.
“It's so important that this is here, and it's really, really valuable to bring together the public sector,” said Phil Witcherley, Director of Economic Growth and Innovation at the North East Combined Authority, “We are based in this campus - the universities, the small businesses, large businesses, that whole ecosystem is pretty unique here.
“It's a real asset, both for Newcastle and North East England, and especially as we try and grow high value jobs and use the expertise in the universities and in enterprise to grow the economy in the region.”
For Thinking Digital founder Herb Kim, the site represents a collective vision for the region and the future: “The Helix is amazing, because you've understood it's not just buildings.
“It's about people. It's about events and bringing humans together, building a platform where they can literally work and play together - and possibly live in the future.”
To check out The Future Series documentary films click on the links below:
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