Lab Innovations - the UK's only dedicated showcase for laboratory, analytical and biotech equipment - returns to the NEC, Birmingham, for its sixth consecutive year on the 1st and 2nd of November 2017.

With the largest gathering of laboratory suppliers in the UK, this free-to-attend show has lots on offer for professionals across a wide range of sectors, from pharmaceuticals to food and drink.

Over the course of the two days, the exhibition will be complemented by more than 35 hours of seminars and conferences focused on current hot topics, including contributions from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), which has a long association with Lab Innovations. This year, the RSC theatre will put the spotlight on the analysis of illicit substances - including cannabis, so-called 'legal highs and counterfeit pharmaceuticals - as well as laboratory automation and in-process analysis. And, for the first time, it will also include sessions from the Royal Society of Chemistrys careers service.

Keynote presentations make an important contribution to the conference arena, and the RSC has drawn on its in-house knowledge and extensive network of contacts in the field to bring two exceptional speakers on board; science writer and broadcaster Adam Rutherford, and award-winning product design engineer Jude Pullen. Adam, the host of BBC Radio 4s flagship science programme, Inside Science, and a scientific adviser for films such as Björks Biophilia Live, World War Z, Kingsman: The Secret Service and Ex Machina, will be talking about Pipetting in Hollywood: my life as a scientific advisor in films. This will be complemented by an anecdotal look into Scratching the inventor's itch, drawing on Judes fascination with solving unconventional problems and his experiences as a member of the BBCs successful Big Life Fix team to foster different innovation strategies while maintaining commercial viability.

For more information, visit www.easyfairs.com/lab-innovations-2017