The Future of Water: design solutions for the water crisis

Beren is the Co-Founder and CTO of Deploy Tech, a company that manufactures rapidly deployable, extremely low-carbon concrete tanks. She holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (Hons) and graduated with an MSc & MA Double Masters in Innovation Design Engineering from Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, where she received the Industrial Studentship Award from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition 1851.

In the past two years, Beren has been recognized as a Young Innovator and a Woman in Innovation by Innovate UK. She was also hand-picked by the Royal Academy of Engineering for their prestigious Enterprise Fellowship Award and named an Innovation30 by UNICEF in 2023. Beren is Forbes' 30 Under 30 and was selected as Woman of the Year in the Vodafone Business Innovation Award 2024 in the UK.

Jane Withers is a design curator, writer and consultant. Her London-based studio works with cultural institutions and global brands on exhibitions, programming and design-led strategies that address social, cultural and environmental challenges.  

The studio has long been concerned with sustainability issues and water in particular and recently curated Water Pressure: Designing for the Future at MK&G Hamburg, touring to Museum für Gestaltung Zürich and MAK Vienna in 2025.

Kate is one of the founding partners at Here. She has art directed design, identity and innovation projects for some of the world’s most revered brands including Campari, Fortnum & Mason and Hauser & Wirth.

Kate now works with a special focus on The Beautility Collective, an innovation programme which links together brand pioneers, leading edge thinkers and environmental revolutionaries who are committed to implementing change that is both beautiful and purposeful.

Karlijn uses her mixed background in Design, Science, and Engineering to develop natural materials from unexpected, widely available sources that address urgent environmental challenges like climate change and pollution. From transforming mining waste into batteries to crafting architectural materials from salt, Karlijn bridges disciplines to bring novel technologies to life. 

At Notpla, Karlijn works as Innovation Director, leading the Innovation activities at Notpla with a multidisciplinary team to develop the next generations of Notpla products and materials.