Some of Bristol’s leading tech innovators have been announced for Digital (18th-19th September 2017) in a schedule set to take in Internet of Things, investors, talent and smart cities- all served with a side of street food.
Over 2,000 delegates
The fifth annual event, headline sponsored by fintech pioneer and insurance comparison provider GoCompare, will welcome 2,000 delegates - a mix of innovators, investors, doers and makers - to a new home less than one hour from Bristol, at Tramshed Tech in Cardiff.
The free-to-attend festival will be filled with keynote speakers, panels, workshops and roundtables on the digital developments that will shape tomorrow’s world.
Speakers at Digital will include:
- Jo Morrison of Bristol-based leading mobile app design and development agency Calvium works with clients including the National Trust, Royal Shakespeare Company, Battersea Power Station and Rolls Royce. Jo has a wealth of experience of directing cutting-edge digital projects across a range of sectors. Her current focus is on digital placemaking and urban innovation; whether augmented reality, interactive installations or site-specific digital services, Jo is concerned with improving relationships between people and their environments.
- Named as one of the “Top 100 Digital Influencers” (Directors Centre) and “Top 100 UK Entrepreneurs” (City AM), John Courtney is the Regional Director for the West Country and Wales team at Bristol-based The Marketing Centre. Most recently John has excelled as a business mentor, helping expand businesses with Microsoft Ventures, HRH Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace, MassChallenge and Entrepreneurial Spark.
- Jonny Voon of Swindon-based Innovate UK is responsible for the vision, direction and strategy of its Internet of Things (IoT) and Distributed Ledger innovation programmes.Innovate UK is the UK Government’s innovation agency, for which Jonny has designed and developed multi-million pound funding programmes in the smart cities, health and social care and applied cyber security sectors.
Workshops & Expo
Start-ups will have the opportunity to tell their tale to investors looking for the next big thing from a stage set in a cinema, while workshops on AI, 5G, digital manufacturing, growth finance and an investor breakfast will take to the water on the GoCompare boat.
An Expo takes place in 13 shipping containers - just five minutes’ walk from Cardiff Central train station- while a selection of Street Food traders will be pitched up bringing tacos (and more) to the tech-heads.
‘Fuelling the fires of dreamers’
David Warrender, the Chief Executive at Innovation Point, said:
“Bringing these brilliant speakers from the West Country to share their stories is a smart way to fuel the fires of the dreamers that might want to innovate, get investment for their big idea and learn from what they’ve seen and done.”
Ashley Wheeler of Coup Media, based in Bristol’s collaborative hub the Engine Shed, played an instrumental role in attracting Bristol’s best businesspeople to this year’s Digital agenda.
He commented:
“Bristol has firmly established itself as a global hot spot for the tech sector thanks to its connections to some of the biggest names in technology and thriving start-up scene.
Recent announcements such as the Oracle Cloud Start-up Accelerator programme being based in Bristol will only strengthen its position as a leading tech city, and it’s exciting that we are able to showcase our region’s success to some of the biggest and most influential global names in the sector.”
The full agenda, taking in keynotes, workshops, panels, roundtables and more, is live with free registration at http://www.digital-festival.co.uk/