Search Solutions is the premier UK forum for the presentation of the latest innovations in search and information retrieval.
Agenda
9:30am - Registration and coffee
9:50am - Welcome
Session 1: Evaluation
10:00am - Alessandro Benedetti (Sease) “Search Quality Evaluation in the Era of Large Language Models: RRE-Dataset Generator”
10:20am - Gianna Cipponeri “Evaluating Citation Quality and Context Faithfulness in Retrieval-Augmented Generation: A Product-Specific Framework”
10:40am - Panel questions and answers
10:55pm - Break
Session 2: Focus on the User
11:15am - Orland Hoeber (University of Regina) “Support Human Intelligence – An Alternative to Retrieval Augmented Generation in Academic Digital Library Search”
11:35am - Mark Harwood (Ex Elastic Developer) “Plasticine Not Porcelain: Shaping Embeddings Through Interactive Clustering”
11:55am - 5 Stephann Makri and Andrew MacFarlane (City St. George’s, University of London) ““The Internet is Hard. Is Words”: Investigating Information Difficulties Experienced by People with Aphasia and Strategies for Combatting them”
12:15pm - Panel questions and answers
12:30pm - Lunch
Session 3: Search Effectiveness
1:30pm - Sean MacAvaney (University of Glasgow) “Re-Thinking Re-Ranking”
1:50pm - Cedric Ulmer (France Labs) “Adding GenAI to Datafari Community Edition - what and why”
2:10pm - Panel questions and answers
2:25pm - Break
Session 4: Professional Search
2:45pm - Adam Roegiest (Zuva) “Information Retrieval Evaluation in the Real-World: A Legal Tech Perspective”
3:05pm - Jon Brassey (Trip Database) “Harnessing AI for Faster, Smarter Clinical Decision Support: The Evolution of Trip Database”
3:25pm - Marianne Lykke (Aalborg University) “Role of metadata and taxonomies in professional contexts”
3:45pm - Panel questions and answers
4:00pm - Break
4:30pm - Panel session
5:15pm - BCS Search Industry Awards
5:25pm - Closing words
5:30pm - Evening Reception
6:00pm - AGM (free to attend)
9:00pm - Event close
Synopsis
Innovations in Search and Information Retrieval
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 (25 November) and a Conference Day (26 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
Please note: Attendance at the AGM is free and must be booked via the AGM ticket.
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, 19 November 2025; 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
Please note: if you have any accessibility needs, please let us know via 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 specialist group
