Distinguished Speaker Series: Dr Hayaatun Sillem
Date
07 Oct 2026
Time
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Price
FREE
Location
Chancellor's Hall, Senate House
By
CampusLife
Learn from a leading voice in engineering and innovation
We are delighted to invite you to a University of London Distinguished Speaker Series event featuring Dr Hayaatun Sillem, a leading voice in engineering and innovation.
Drawing on Dr Sillem’s experience across innovation, government and industry, she will share her perspective on leading through complexity and change. The conversation will touch on how science and technology can help tackle global challenges, why inclusive leadership matters, and what it takes to build organisations that genuinely support innovation. She will also reflect on her work in shaping policy, backing deeptech founders, and improving diversity in fields such as engineering and motorsport.
Dr Sillem will be in conversation with Professor Polina Bayvel, Professor of Optical Communications & Networks, University College London.
Interested? Book your free spot below!
Hayaatun is the founder and CEO of Argentic Associates, focussed on transforming major philanthropy, and co-host of What We Don’t Know, a podcast on better leadership for a chaotic world. Until the end of 2025, she was CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, which promotes engineering and technology excellence for public benefit, and Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation, which awards the world’s most prestigious engineering prize. She is a member of the UK government’s Women in Tech Taskforce, trustee of various charities and NXD at construction company Laing O’Rourke.
She previously cofounded the Academy’s Enterprise Hub, a leading deeptech accelerator, chaired the government’s Business Innovation Forum and co-chaired with Sir Lewis Hamilton his Commission on improving Black representation in motorsport. She was made a CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019.
🗓️ Wednesday 7 October, 6:00pm to 7:30pm
📍Chanceller's Hall, Senate House, Malet Street, WC1E 7HU
Events schedule
18:00 – Doors open & drinks reception
18:30 – Presentation commences, including time for audience Q&A
19:30 – Event concludes
The event is free but booking is essential. Please register for a free ticket below:
This is a free event, which means we overbook to allow for no-shows and to avoid empty seats. While we generally do not have to turn people away, this does mean we cannot guarantee all ticket holders a place. Admission is on a first come, first served basis. Those without tickets will not be admitted.
