A festival of tech and business will return to Birmingham next month. Birmingham Tech Week, which runs from October 10 to 14, will again host a series of events and workshops at venues across the city.
The festival will offer investment opportunities, access to support, networking and digital skills for anyone interested in the digital ecosystem or working in technology.
It will give startups, scaleups, established firms, developers, entrepreneurs and training providers the chance to network and engage with business leaders from the tech industry.
Among the planned sessions are a scale-up summit, a digital skills symposium and an awards ceremony to celebrate the region's tech successes. Artificial intelligence, robotics and big data are all tabled for discussion among other topics.
Confirmed speakers include West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, property group Bruntwood SciTech's chief executive Kate Lawler and Melissa Snover, founder of vitamin firm Melissa Snover.
Around 5,000 attendees are expected to attend Birmingham Tech Week. It is estimated the West Midlands has nearly 6,000 tech companies employing a workforce of more than 38,000 people.
Yiannis Maos, founder of Birmingham Tech, the organisation responsible for delivering the festival, said: "The week was founded on encouraging collaboration, celebrating regional success and inspiring people from all walks of life to get into technology. We are really excited about this year's festival as the region's tech sector has seen a real transformation and the week will act as a catalyst for future growth."
Mr Street added: "Birmingham Tech Week has become a real highlight in the city's business calendar which is apt given the West Midlands' status as the UK's fastest-growing tech sector. After millions tuned in to enjoy the spectacular Commonwealth Games, this is a great time to be pitching all that our region has to offer, including our impressive tech credentials, while also building strong relationships with fellow tech hubs overseas.
"It was fantastic to play host to the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships this summer which underscored how we are in many ways a natural fit for the fast-growing esports industry given the tech sector is one of our strong suits thanks to our talent base and innovation capabilities.
"I look forward to productive discussion around how we can take the tech sector to the next level and make the most of the genuine opportunities ahead of us in the coming months and years."
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