Birmingham tech week returns for 2023
The UK’s largest regional tech festival, Birmingham Tech Week, is returning for what is set to be the biggest yet.
Taking place from 16 to 20 October 2023, the event will bring over 25 sessions and 150 speakers together, including tech founders, government officials and industry experts.
Birmingham Tech Week 2023, a dynamic and collaborative event that brings together a network of partners dedicated to shaping the future of technology.
As a collaborative initiative, Birmingham Tech Week works closely with numerous esteemed organisations, including the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, to create a dynamic platform for sharing insights, fostering connections, and shaping the future of technology.
Over the five days, around 7,500 attendees are set to congregate in venues across the West Midlands, including HSBC's HQ, The Bond Digbeth, The Exchange, and the ICC – to enjoy tech expos, skills symposiums, summits, and panel discussions aplenty.
Highlights of this year’s event will include a leadership summit, digital skills symposium, global tech expo, and a black-tie dinner and awards ceremony.
Birmingham is the youngest city in Europe, yet it produces the most inventions per year, with nearly 65 per cent registered from across the region.
Moreover, the West Midlands has nearly 6,000 tech companies employing a diverse workforce of over 38,000 people – all of which contribute to an ecosystem that is now worth over £15 billion to the economy.
Demonstrating this innovation, Birmingham Tech Week will cover a number of topics across its main programme and associated fringe events.
Subjects including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and augmented reality will give businesses access to expert content designed to help their growth ambitions. Showcasing the region’s rich tech ecosystem, events will include advice on access to funding, global exporting, digital skills, and more.
Since the first Birmingham Tech Week in 2019, the festival has grown 20 per cent year-on-year and has featured talks and input from some of the West Midlands’ best innovators and entrepreneurs.
This year will welcome speakers from Microsoft, Amazon, Gymshark, IBM, and Cisco, to name a few.
Sharing his thoughts about the progress of the festival and his hopes for this year, Yiannis Maos (pictured), CEO of TechWM and Birmingham Tech Week, said: “I like to think I am a fairly optimistic person, but I am also a realist, and if I am being honest, I don’t know if I ever truly thought that Birmingham Tech Week would become as big as it has.
“At Tech WM we’re on a mission to connect, amplify, and transform the region’s tech sector, and Birmingham Tech Week works to do exactly that.
“Bringing together some of the best minds in the business, shouting about and celebrating the work we all do and, in turn, working towards making the West Midlands the global tech hub it has the power to be.
“This year’s event is set to be the biggest yet and I really can’t wait to see the finished product and to see how it is received by the audience.
“We still have a way to go but already, we’ve got some great speakers and events lined up that should be a real treat for anyone who pays us a visit.”
