We are blown away with the inaugural HVTechFest’s high vibe. Your attendance at the inaugural HVTechFest was a great confirmation of the growing tech ecosystem in the Hudson Valley and beyond. It was great to see so many new and invigoration of existing connections throughout the region and across New York State. We are happy and honored that we were able to provide the space for people to learn and witness new opportunities for growth using technology.

The Conference . . .

Thank you for joining us Friday, October 11 for the conference portion of the Festival to explore and rethink our tech education, tech workforce development and trends in hiring the lean startup way. Thank you for your hunger and curiosity to learn from each other through the tracks and sessions. The programming committee spent these enormous hours engaging and curating speakers one by one to reflect the industry trends — global and local. We are so proud of the 40+ speakers and 150+ attendees who participated in the conference.

The Hackathon . . .

Thank you for joining our first ever Hudson Valley Youth Hackathon on Saturday, October 12. Exciting to see 100+ professionals working side to side with youth, and competing equally. We appreciate our partner AT&T who was pushing us hard to have kids involved more than we envisioned — it was amazing inspirational and a learning experience for all! We learned that our high schoolers are way more tech prepared than the previous generations. They think alike, are responsible and capable. The startup bug bit them at the Hackathon — we can expect more tech entrepreneurs coming! Let’s cultivate this spirit.

We were excited to see the youth driven to solve the employability & professional sustainability challenges. We are all aligned in our dream making the Hudson Valley a better place to live and work. Technology can be and will be a practical tool for this rising tide!

The Festival as a whole . . .

This was the first of many Festivals we plan to have in the future. This was the largest ever gathering of the HVTechies ecosystem with over 250 participants and 120+ Hackathoners attending. It was great to see all of us connecting and collaborating throughout these two days. Based on real-time feedback throughout the event, I think it is fair to say we achieved our three stated objectives below:

collaboration between youth and tech professionals

Bring the entire HV Tech ecosystem together to connect and collaborate, hire and find jobs, create new partnerships and engagements. We trust you all have a long list to follow up!
Increase energy and excitement about the HV Tech ecosystem
Establish HVTechFest as a signature annual event for the ecosystem

We want to hear from you!

Please fill a short diversity and inclusiveness survey. Day 1 — Conference , Day 2 — Hackathon

Please help us make HVTechFest 2020 even better by completing a short survey for each of the sessions you attended during the Festival. The list of sessions and their associated survey links are below. Thank you in advance for your contribution in helping to build an annual premier technology festival for the Hudson Valley.