World-leading tech entrepreneur Dr Rana el Kaliouby has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at the Kent and Medway Business Summit.

The event, annually hosted by the University of Kent at its Canterbury campus, will take place next month entirely online.

Organised by the university's Kent Business School along with the Federation of Small Business, Institute of Directors and Locate in Kent, the summit takes place on Friday, January 15.

A pioneer in artificial emotional intelligence (Emotion AI), Rana is co-founder and CEO of Affectiva, an MIT Media Lab spin-off and author of Girl Decoded.

Forbes recently included her in their list of America’s Top 50 Women in Tech, Fortune Magazine included her in their 2018 '40 Under 40' and she was named one of the three Global Business pioneers by Bloomberg in 2017.

As one of few women leading a disruptive global AI company, she speaks about innovation, women in technology, ethics in AI and leadership.

Affectiva’s award-winning Emotion AI technology is deployed in over 90 countries and sectors including automotive, education and healthcare to measure emotion responses to digital content.

Professor Marian Garcia, Dean of Kent Business School, said: “We are delighted Rana is joining the virtual summit in 2021. As a school we champion sustainable innovation which is an excellent fit with Rana’s work in Emotion AI.

"Her keynote will offer a global perspective, but with local relevance for businesses in Kent and Medway looking to innovate and capitalise on technology trends.”

Other speakers to feature during the event include:

Phil Eckersley from the Bank of England delivering the latest insights on the UK economy and looking at trends into 2021 and beyond;

Prof Anand Menon, director of UK in a Changing Europe, talking about the impact of the UK’s new political relationship with the EU for business; and

Dr Roger Barker, head of policy at the Institute of Directors bringing the latest from government on Covid-19.

There will also be updates from Kent and Medway councils and briefing on the latest business opportunities from major regional projects and development by Gavin Cleary, CEO, Locate in Kent.

There will also be interactive workshops, with the event hosted on the Remo platform.

Headline sponsor of the event is accountants and advisory firm Kreston Reeves. Supporting sponsors are the British Business Bank, Southeastern, Kayo Digital and Canterbury AI.

Places are limited to 400 and tickets - which can be booked by clicking here - cost £10.

Head to our business page for all of the latest news about businesses in Kent