More than 50 free digital events have been announced as part of the first-ever Wales Tech Week, a virtual festival taking place between 13th – 17th July.
Today, Wales Tech Week has announced Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for the Economy and Transport as its keynote speaker. The Deputy Minister will join Avril Lewis MBE in the festival’s opening event, available to stream globally live on Monday 13th July at 9:15 GMT.
The inaugural event has been organised by non-profit organisation Technology Connected, the representative body of technology in Wales, to bring together the technology community and showcase the depth and strength of Welsh technology.
The ‘open to all’ virtual festival features a range of panels, roundtables and presentations from leading figures in technology on topics such as UX, Blockchain Cybersecurity, and across sectors ;Fintech, EdTech MedTech, manufacturing, digital and more.
Also available during the festival are a series of free workshops featuring industry experts covering topics such as securing investment, accelerating growth, contract law, HR and employment, as well as podcast creation, content marketing and PR.
Talks and workshops feature speakers from a range of Welsh and international brands including the BBC, Spotify, Thales, GoCompare, Confused.com, Global Welsh, IQE PLC, Method 4, Sony, General Dynamics, Cardiff University, Swansea University, the University of South Wales and more.
The current event schedule can be found on the Wales Tech Week website, with new events being added daily.
The free virtual festival is supported by founding partners Creo Medical, The Development Bank of Wales, Innovate UK, Thales UK and Wynne Jones-IP, media partners Orchard Media and Events Group, associate partner nChain, and supporting partners CSA Catapult, Illustrate Digital and Third Space.
Avril Lewis MBE, managing director of Technology Connected commented:
“With a diverse range of people and organisations getting involved, the first-ever Wales Tech Week is shaping up to be a smorgasbord of exciting events and workshops, available to stream anywhere in the world, in real time.
“With Wales Tech Week, our goal is to showcase the incredible talent and innovation that exists within the Welsh technology industry, and it's fantastic to see the whole community come together to create a truly unique festival.
“We’re pleased to announce Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for the Economy and Transport as the keynote speaker for this year’s inaugural event. The Deputy Minister is a perfect representative to kick-off the first-ever Wales Tech Week in our opening event on the 13th July.”
This week, Wales Tech Week also welcomes new partners InnovateUK, Dev Bank of Wales, NGchain and Risc IT to the event.
Jon Wood from new founding partner Innovate UK commented:
“The Welsh tech industry forms a crucial part of the economy and drives innovation across all businesses. Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses with the potential and ambition to grow and scale through innovation. By supporting Wales Tech Week as a founding partner, we’re looking to continue our commitment to supporting the technology industry and help showcase the innovative businesses working in the sector.”
Dr Elliot Davies from founding partner Wynne-Jones IP said;
“We are excited to be a founding partner of the first-ever Wales Tech Week and show our commitment to helping to support and grow Wales’ thriving technology industry.
“Working first-hand with technology organisations, we see the creativity and innovation that occurs in the Welsh technology industry and are thrilled to play a part in showcasing these to the world.”
To view the current Wales Tech Week event schedule and to register for a free online event, please visit the Wales Tech Week website.
To keep up-to-date with the latest news and announcements, including speaker and event announcements, follow Wales Tech Week on Twitter @WalesTechWeek.
