On 28 June, Engine Shed launched the Bristol Technology Festival, with partners including TechSPARK, Hargreaves Landsdown and Rocketmakers.
The purpose of the project is to create an umbrella for existing and emerging events relating to the burgeoning tech sector in Bristol. The Festival will run from 2-10 November across multiple venues in Bristol, following the Bath Digital Festival (22-26 October), which Engine Shed is also supporting.
Events during the week will appeal to technologists, entrepreneurs, non-tech and tech business leaders, families and young people. Ten events are already confirmed, including Bristol Tech Fair, Bristech Conference 2019 and Bristol Technology Showcase, with at least ten more in the pipeline.
Nick Sturge, Chair of the Steering Group, described the Festival: “This is another Engine Shed experiment. We saw that there is so much going on in the city around tech, but not enough people know about this, both inside and outside the city. If we want young people, from all backgrounds, to see the opportunities on their doorsteps, we need to make the exciting activities more visible. There is more investment going into tech companies per head of population than any other city in the UK, which is fuelling jobs in Bristol. We want this festival to play a part in promoting those opportunities and encouraging everyone to play a part in the inclusive growth of the sector.
“We’ll see how it works this year. We would like to create a ‘whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts’, and, if we do, we’ll build on it for next year. We’ve had a lot of interest so far, including from potential sponsors which we’ve directed to supporting the constituent events, but to really make the most of the opportunity in subsequent years, some funding to enhance the promotion and accessibility will be a huge help.”
Event organisers have until the end of September to apply to list their event. Companies, or individuals, wanting to support specific events should contact each event organiser directly, or via projects@engine-shed.co.uk.