NWSmart5.0: Safe AI for Manufacturing SMEs

Build secure, reliable and trustworthy AI — adopt with confidence, not anxiety
About this Event

AI is already running on your shop floor — in quality inspection, scheduling, predictive maintenance and more. But as adoption speeds up, so does exposure.

Manufacturers now name cybersecurity as their single biggest barrier to AI adoption, and most admit they aren't yet testing whether their own AI tools can be tricked, tampered with, or exploited.

This isn't a coding workshop, and you don't need a technical background. It's a fast-paced, practical workshop built for people who run manufacturing and engineering businesses covering what can actually go wrong with AI, what to do about it, and where to get free help doing it.

You'll see, in real time, how easy it is to fool an AI system and what that means for a factory floor.

What you'll take away:

• A plain-English grip on AI risk. No jargon, just a clear picture of the specific ways AI systems can be attacked or fail, and why that matters for your operations.
• A tested case for safe AI. The real cost of getting AI security wrong, and the genuine business case for getting it right.
• A practical adoption framework. The Scan → Pilot → Scale → Sustain approach: four stages you can apply to your very next AI project, however small.
• A live look at real attacks. Watch, in real time, an AI system get fooled into misreading a street sign and a quality-inspection-style model get corrupted by bad data. We'll use free tools you can try yourself afterwards.
• A clear next step. Free tools, regional funding and hands-on support available right now through NWSmart5.0 North West.

Who should attend

Manufacturing SMEs across the North West who are adopting or considering digital technologies and want to protect their operations, maintain productivity, and avoid costly disruption.

Why attend

In order to adapt to the growing use of AI in business, you need to understand it. By the end of this session, you'll be able to:

• Understand what makes an AI system different from ordinary software from a risk perspective.
• Recognise the three attack types most relevant to manufacturing: data poisoning, evasion, and model inversion/extraction
• Apply a structured, four-stage approach (Scan, Pilot, Scale, Sustain) to any AI project you're considering.
• Ask sharper, more informed questions of AI suppliers and vendors.
• Identify at least one free tool or regional support scheme to help you get started safely.

Free to attend. Places are limited.

About our speaker - Dr Tarek Gaber

Dr Tarek Gaber is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security at the University of Salford. He has over two decades of academic and research experience across cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), secure systems, and Safe AI. His work focuses on developing resilient AI models, secure digital infrastructures, and innovative applications for industry and public sector transformation.

Dr. Gaber has authored over 100 scholarly publications, including journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, and edited volumes — with more than 40 published in Q1 journals. He has led or co-led research projects exceeding £1 million in funding, supported by Innovate UK, GCHQ, Research England, and UKAEA. His research excellence has earned him recognition among Stanford University’s top 2% of scientists globally, and the #1 ranking in Computer Science at the University of Salford by the AD Scientific Index (2024).

He has served as Programme Leader for the MSc Cyber Security programme at Salford, contributed to several Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), and engaged in interdisciplinary projects with SMEs to deploy secure and explainable AI solutions.

Dr. Gaber is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA), a member of IEEE, and frequently serves as a keynote speaker, journal reviewer, and editorial board member in his field.

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Agenda

🕑: 08:30 AM - 09:00 AM
Welcome and networking
🕑: 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Safe AI adoption in manufacturing
Host: Dr Tarek Gaber, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security

Info: Discover how to understand AI security risks and build secure, resilient and trustworthy AI systems for industry.

🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Networking