Street Talk: Research, Ideas & Innovation

What is Street Talk?

Street Talk is a new series of informal talks focused on research, ideas and innovation.

Taking place on the Matrix ‘street’, the central shared space within the building, these relaxed sessions are for staff, students, industry and the wider community to share interesting work, spark discussion and explore new thinking.

Each session features a series of short, punchy talks followed by open conversation.

Who is it for?

Researchers

Students and graduates

Lecturers

Creative and innovation communities

Businesses and industry partners

Anyone interested in new ideas

Session Format

This first session features three 15-minute talks:

Brett Aggersberg Senior Lecturer – Design & Performing Industries, UWTSD

Brett will share insights into a recent documentary film event at the Lyric Theatre, developed in collaboration with Carmarthen Film Club, Screen Alliance Wales and the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival.

The talk will explore how partnerships like these come together in practice, and how they create meaningful opportunities for students to engage with the screen sector and develop pathways into the industry.

Dr Andrew Killen - Senior Research Fellow, UWTSD

C-Mat – Waste In. Value Out.

Andrew will introduce C-Mat (Circular Materials & Advanced Technologies), a new UWTSD initiative supporting businesses to turn waste materials into high-value opportunities.

The session will explore how advanced materials analysis and engineering can help organisations test, validate and reuse materials with confidence, reducing reliance on primary resources and enabling circular innovation across industries.

Lee Woodman - Leading eCommerce Adviser, Mentor, and NED, Visit Digital

On February 10, 2026, Google launched a preview of Web MCP marking the beginning of what will likely be a major shift in how people interact with businesses. Instead of navigating websites and apps, users will increasingly rely on a single prompt-style interface where tooling, pages, and experiences are generated on the fly. In this model, systems don’t just present information they understand intent and take action on the user’s behalf.

This talk explores what that transition means: from browsing and clicking to simply asking and receiving outcomes. We’ll unpack how technologies like Model Context Protocol (MCP) are reshaping the digital experience, and why businesses need to start thinking of themselves not just as websites or brands, but as structured data objects that can be discovered, interpreted, and acted upon. As traditional interfaces begin to fade into the background, this session will highlight what’s changing, why it matters, and how organisations can stay visible and relevant in this next phase of the web.

Join the conversation

Street Talk is designed to be open, informal and collaborative, a space to share ideas, meet new people and explore innovation across disciplines.

IMPORTANT PARKING NOTE

If you are arriving by car, please register your vehicle at reception in the IQ Building (right next to the Innovation Matrix) when you arrive.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher MADE + (UWTSD)