🚀 Space: The Next Frontier — Headlining Day One at SXSW London 2025

I’m beyond thrilled to share that I’ll be moderating a Conference Headline Session at SXSW London 2025, taking place on Monday 2 June, as part of the Technology & Innovation category, under the Frontier Technologies track.

Our session, titled “Space: The Next Frontier,” brings together three founders building bold futures across the space sector:

• Bianca Cefalo, Founder & CEO, Space DOTS®
• Katie King, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO, BioOrbit
• And myself — Anushka Sharma, sharing insights from across my work with Naaut, the Space Academic Network (SPAN), and the London Space Network

Together, we’ll explore how biotech, advanced materials, and community-driven innovation are shaping the next phase of space activity — not just in orbit, but here on Earth, too.

It’s a conversation about possibility, leadership, and what it takes to build at the frontier. And to be featured on Stage 1, Day One of SXSW London — selected from thousands of submissions — makes this moment feel even more meaningful.

From Austin to London: A Full-Circle Moment

On a more personal note, my journey with SXSW began almost a decade ago.

Back in 2016, I won a competition that sent me to SXSW in Austin, Texas — my first experience of what happens when creativity, technology, and a global community collide. It was electric. It introduced me to NASA astronauts from the Artemis generation and to teams pushing boundaries through initiatives like the Google Lunar XPRIZE.

That experience left a mark. And without realising it, it helped shape the direction of my work in space innovation, community building, and policy engagement over the years that followed.

When I submitted this panel idea during the open call, I mentioned that story. I didn’t know then that it would be chosen — not just as part of the programme, but to open Day One of SXSW in my hometown, London.

It’s one of those quiet, full-circle moments and it’s one I’m sitting in, with gratitude.

Looking Ahead

A lot has changed since 2016 — within the space sector and within myself. I’ve had the privilege of building Naaut, co-founding the London Space Network, and working closely with the Space Academic Network to represent academic voices in shaping the UK’s space future.

But I still believe in the power of shared ideas. Of open platforms. Of moments like SXSW that ignite sparks across disciplines, sectors, and generations.

If you’re attending SXSW London, I hope you’ll join us on Monday 2 June at 11:45am at the Truman Brewery.

And I hope the conversations we start together leave a lasting imprint, just like one did for me, nearly a decade ago.

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