Search Solutions is the premier UK forum for the presentation of the latest innovations in search and information retrieval.

Agenda

9:30am - Registration & coffee

10:00am - Programme with the following confirmed speakers (more details to follow):

* Radu Gheorghe (Vespa): “To Shard or Not to Shard: Scaling Trade-Offs for Retrieval”

* Alessandro Benedetti (Sease): “Open Source Agentic Search: the reality behind the buzzword”

* Orland Hoeber (University of Regina & Dilex Search): “Cross-Session Searching: Offloading Human Memory with Visual Summaries of Search Activities”

* Jelena Mitrovic (University of Passau): “Decentralised AI-supported Search and Semantic Web Indexing”

* Charlie Hull (TheSearchJuggler): “Old Dogs and New Tricks: Using Agents to Improve Search”

* Farhad Shokraneh (Systematic Review Consultants): “From Claims to Controls: Evaluating LLMs and Agentic Search for Systematic Reviews”

* Adam Roegiest (Zuva): “New Models, Same Old Mousetrap: Why Legal Work Needs Better Processes”

* Martin White (Independent): “British Search Pioneers”

* Marianne Lykke (Aalborg University): “Workplace user engagement with a semantic AI-based search tool”

* Mark Stevenson (University of Sheffield) "Needles in Haystacks: Identifying High Value Documents in Large Collections”

4:30pm - Panel session with the following confirmed panelists (more TBC):

* Taketomo Isazawa (Microsoft Research)

* Charlie Hull (The Search Juggler)

* Mark Harwood (Independent / Ex-Elastic)

5:15pm - BCS Search Industry Awards

5:30pm - Evening Reception

6:00pm - AGM (free to attend; however, please ensure you select AGM attendance ticket to book your place)

9:00pm - Event close

Synopsis

Search Solutions is the BCS Information Retrieval Specialist Group’s (BCS IRSG) annual event focused on practitioner issues in the arena of search and information retrieval (IR). We bring together practitioners, researchers, analysts and end users to discuss the latest developments in the IR community and to share insights between research and practice.

The event consists of a Tutorial Day (24 November) and a Conference Day (25 November), each with a separate registration.

The conference day includes presentations, panels and keynote talks by influential industry leaders on novel and emerging applications in search and information retrieval.

Ticket costs:

(Prices stated are inclusive of VAT and fees)

BCS/ISKO members: £92.00

Non-members: £110.00

Students: £80.00

Refunds/Cancellations:

A refund, excluding fees, will be issued if a cancellation request is received within 14 days of the booking date or by noon on Wednesday, 18 November 2026; otherwise, name substitutions will be allowed after this date.

Our events are for adults aged 16 years and over.

BCS is a membership organisation. If you enjoy this event, please consider joining BCS. You’ll be very welcome. You’ll receive access to many exclusive career development tools, an introduction to a thriving professional community and also help us Make IT Good For Society. Join BCS today (https://www.bcs.org/membership/events).

Please familiarise yourself with the Visitor Instructions (https://www.bcs.org/media/ww4jlkud/visitor-instructions.docx) for the BCS London Office.

Please note, if you have any accessibility needs, please let us know via groups@bcs.uk (mailto:groups@bcs.uk) and we’ll work with you to make suitable arrangements.

For overseas delegates who wish to attend the event, please note that BCS does not issue invitation letters.

This event is brought to you by: Information Retrieval SG (IRSG) (https://www.bcs.org/membership-and-registrations/member-communities/information-retrieval-specialist-group/)

Description supplied by the event organiser.