The Jersey Tech Fair is back, bigger and better than last year and this free community event promises to have something for everyone. The fair takes place over two days at Fort Regent celebrating all that’s digital, with exhibitions, speakers, workshops and hands-on demonstrations.
The aim of the event is to inspire, connect and showcase the benefits that technology has in all our lives. Attendees can try out 3D printing, virtual reality, fly a drone or operate an underwater robot, and there will be a Minecraft Sharing Hub so bring along your laptop and share your tips, tricks and skins. There will also be free workshops on coding, internet radio, getting started with your Raspberry Pi and stop motion animation.
Talks on the Friday are particularly aimed at local businesses, school children and parents. You can hear why the computer curriculum is so important, as well as learn how to set up parental controls and security on your Wifi router. Or perhaps internet privacy is interesting to you, or artificial intelligence – is it a dream or reality?
Businesses are being catered for with a start-up stage for information and advice for new businesses, plus talks on WiFi marketing, virtual currencies, renewable technologies and the very topical issue of cyber security. There will be an expert panel discussion at 12 on Friday, “Where is my data? Data jurisdiction threats and opportunities for Jersey”, which will look at how the question of the legal location of your data impacts on your business. Plus a series of talks, including international speakers such as Jos Creese who has over 25 years IT leadership experience, and will be talking about the Digital Shift imperative and public services. The Chief Operating Officer of Greenlight, Phil Ruelle will also share his views on why the Chief Digital Officer is now an essential for any company board.
The fair will be opened by Assistant Chief Minister with responsibility for digital, Senator Philip Ozouf, and he will be joined by Education Minister, Rod Bryans.
Ronnie Isherwood, Chairman, the Chartered Institute for IT, Jersey and a Founder of Jersey Tech Fair said, ‘We have pulled together the biggest celebration of tech Jersey has ever seen. We have high caliber speakers from off island as well as the best in Jersey, with a huge range of exhibitors and workshops taking place throughout the two days. Whether you are a gadget geek, serious coding enthusiast or just enjoy using technology, there will be plenty to do and see. ’
There will be 50+ show and tell exhibitors and more than 20 free workshops. Business exhibitors range from business software specialists, C5 Alliance and Prosperity 24-7 to new games start-up Mugla Kitty, Jersey Raspberry Pi Jam and Vizuality, the virtual reality studio. Dragon Hall, an educational tech charity from the UK are coming to Jersey with the support of KPMG, and will be running free workshops to introduce coding. Also there will be the local teenage coding club, Jersey Coders, which will have drop-in sessions on Saturday to help raise the profile of coding in the island.
There is to be a large pool built on site which will house an underwater robot, the OpenROV, which local secondary schools are competing for, and can be test-driven by the public.
Carla Harris, Director, Digital Jersey, said, ‘This fair will be showcasing the innovation that’s already taking place in Jersey as well as the benefits it can bring to our community. We know that the biggest barrier to innovation is skills, the Government’s Review of Innovation in the island showed this, and that’s why the Tech Fair will be connecting young and existing technologists with employers and providing a catalyst for further innovation in our digital sector.’
The event is being organised and co-sponsored by the British Computer Society in Jersey, Digital Jersey and Fort Regent. It is completely free to enter and you can now book for the free workshops and talks.
