TechWeek 2017 - Two Initial Thoughts
I was asked two questions about the Access Granted road-trip we did for TechWeek 2017 - here's my responses (let me know if you spot them in the wild as well :)
BUT, there was no community more passionate about learning about the coming age of tech and it's benefits to their community than that we met at the Silicon Mahia event (convened by the Poutama Trust).
They brought together attributes of all of the places we visited - local people along to learn, involved kids, how they are solving the here and now using tech, national institutions looking to collaborate with start-ups, success stories, presentations that challenged the status quo AND each and everyone had their brains stretched with the what's rapidly approaching - it was the archetypal TechWeek event covering a bit of everything.
And they have an actual, real-to-goodness space rocket launch pad just up the road - OMG!
Our Mahia podcast: https://www.accessgranted.nz/shows/2017/5/8/ep-188-techweek-mana-at-mahia
Everyone seemed to be living in their own bubble, doing amazing stuff but not connected to those doing similar or could assist. Of course that is the point of TechWeek and I am excited about how the bubbles can be popped over the years - with all the enthusiasm generated during one week let's hope it's not "start again" in 2018.
I would also say that many are living in a "start-up bubble" thinking that mere iteration is (prepare for THAT word), disruptive. No more was this highlighted by the difference in the "food tech" presentation given by Dr Rosie Bosworth at Silicon Mahia and the opening talk of "on-farm innovation" at Farming2020. Rosie explained how farms are going to be gone in 2 years time with the global availability of lab grown meat and at Farming2020 we heard how nothing major is going to happen for the next 5 years - someone is living in a bubble.
As Raj and I drove around the North Island we saw a LOT of cows and, after Monday, kept asking ourselves, "What's going to be there in a few years time when we don't farm cows anymore?", do you have any ideas because it can't all be golf courses!
I will be expanding and sharing my thinking over the coming week, expect more :)
All our Road-trip podcasts: https://www.accessgranted.nz/shows/?category=roadtrip
Our public photos: https://goo.gl/photos/zD9fHqiJryWUJqt18
1) What was one of the highlights of your road trip, in terms of the tech communities you met?All of the tech communities had their differences, their quirks and they all were passionate about the city or area they were based within.
BUT, there was no community more passionate about learning about the coming age of tech and it's benefits to their community than that we met at the Silicon Mahia event (convened by the Poutama Trust).
They brought together attributes of all of the places we visited - local people along to learn, involved kids, how they are solving the here and now using tech, national institutions looking to collaborate with start-ups, success stories, presentations that challenged the status quo AND each and everyone had their brains stretched with the what's rapidly approaching - it was the archetypal TechWeek event covering a bit of everything.
And they have an actual, real-to-goodness space rocket launch pad just up the road - OMG!
Our Mahia podcast: https://www.accessgranted.nz/shows/2017/5/8/ep-188-techweek-mana-at-mahia
2) After doing the trip, what are your impressions of NZ's tech scene (or the North Island part of it at least)?I finished the road-trip with one word in my mind, "bubbles".
Everyone seemed to be living in their own bubble, doing amazing stuff but not connected to those doing similar or could assist. Of course that is the point of TechWeek and I am excited about how the bubbles can be popped over the years - with all the enthusiasm generated during one week let's hope it's not "start again" in 2018.
I would also say that many are living in a "start-up bubble" thinking that mere iteration is (prepare for THAT word), disruptive. No more was this highlighted by the difference in the "food tech" presentation given by Dr Rosie Bosworth at Silicon Mahia and the opening talk of "on-farm innovation" at Farming2020. Rosie explained how farms are going to be gone in 2 years time with the global availability of lab grown meat and at Farming2020 we heard how nothing major is going to happen for the next 5 years - someone is living in a bubble.
As Raj and I drove around the North Island we saw a LOT of cows and, after Monday, kept asking ourselves, "What's going to be there in a few years time when we don't farm cows anymore?", do you have any ideas because it can't all be golf courses!
I will be expanding and sharing my thinking over the coming week, expect more :)
All our Road-trip podcasts: https://www.accessgranted.nz/shows/?category=roadtrip
Our public photos: https://goo.gl/photos/zD9fHqiJryWUJqt18
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