Welcome: Fiona Charnley - Transformation Pathways July 2026
As part of the DICE N+ Transformation Pathways event held at the Science Museum, London on 1 July 2026, Professor Fiona Charnley, DICE Network+ Lead and Professor of Circular Innovation at the University of Exeter, welcomed delegates and reflected on the network’s achievements during its first 18 months
Introducing the vision and purpose of DICE Network+, Fiona outlined how the network is bringing together expertise from digital innovation, circular economy and materials science to address one of the defining challenges of the digital age: how to embed sustainability into the design of new technologies and enable digital innovation to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
The welcome highlighted the network’s growing community, its role in connecting research, industry and policy, and the impact of its activities to date, including stakeholder engagement, policy development and collaborative innovation projects. Fiona also shared insights from DICE’s first deep dive into circularity in data centres and introduced the network’s next area of focus: advancing circular economy opportunities across the telecommunications and space sectors.
This opening address provides an engaging overview of the DICE Network+ mission, achievements and future direction, setting the scene for a day of collaboration, knowledge exchange and transformative thinking.