SMPTE UK will once again be holding its Young Innovators events for students, early-career “techies” and media engineering professionals in early 2026.
The events are set to take place in London on February 5th, followed by the “north” at a date to be announced.
Both aim to bring together the next generation of broadcast talent and industry professionals, with engaging tech talks and fireside chats.
Floriane Magera, innovation engineer at EVS, is a previous speaker at Young Innovators. She tells TVBEurope she wanted to participate to help grow her confidence. “I remember how challenging it can feel to speak publicly, especially early on when you’re still learning and don’t feel like an ‘expert’,” she adds.
“In a field as technical as broadcasting, it’s easy to second-guess yourself and think someone else would be more qualified. But that’s exactly why I wanted to do it: to get comfortable taking up space, to learn through the experience, and to hopefully encourage other early-career people to do the same.”
Magera adds that the Innovation team at EVS have given her lots of support as she juggles her full-time role with studying for a PhD. “Being part of a nurturing environment has encouraged me to take on challenges that initially felt beyond my expertise—and each time, I’ve been able to stretch, deliver, and learn, knowing I had a team backing me up, and they did, more than once! That combination of trust, feedback, and growth opportunities is what brought me to where I am today.”
That includes public speaking, such as at the SMPTE UK Young Innovators events, with each presentation helping with both her own communication and making her research more accessible to a broader audience. “Because my path into this work has been a bit different from the usual trajectory, as I’m no broadcast engineer, sharing it felt valuable for the event too: it can broaden what a career in broadcast can look like and potentially inspire others to take their own route.
“Events like this are important because they help students and early-career professionals visualise what their future career could look like,” she continues. “They get exposure to real projects, real roles, and real career paths—often in a compact, inspiring format. It’s also a rare chance to meet and learn from industry experts in one place, ask questions directly, and start building a network early.”
Key to both Young Innovators events is the opportunity to learn from others going through the same career journey, as well as learn about different areas of the industry. “The presentations were excellent, and it was energising to see what people are building and exploring. It also made me appreciate live production on a deeper level—the amount of tech and teamwork involved is honestly daunting. We’re so used to content being instantly available that we forget what it takes. Each production is ‘a little miracle’ was my big takeaway.”
Asked her advice for anyone considering attending in 2026, Magera says not to “overthink it”.
“The presentations are worth it on their own, and networking happens naturally if you’re open to it. You might walk away with real contacts, clear next steps, or even an unexpected opportunity!
“Meeting people who actively use our company’s products—and who even knew my colleagues—made the impact feel very real and motivating,” she adds. “It also led to concrete follow-ups: we continued conversations after the event and explored collaborations, including master’s thesis projects using our AI tools and some of the AI benchmarks we’ve contributed to.”
Register your interest in attending here to get first access to ticketing when bookings open up in the New Year
