London Tech Week to go ahead through Zoom

London Tech Week will go ahead next week with organisers using a combination of Zoom and event management platform Grip to run the event over four days.

The virtual sessions will include speeches about women in business by US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and Cherie Blair QC.

Another Tech London Week event will be held in September which will be virtual first, but there are hopes some people will be able to attend some physical sessions by then. A decision will be made this month on its exact format.

Next week’s entirely virtual event, London Tech Week Connects, will run from 9 June to 12 June and will be made up of seven sessions.

“We were originally looking at September but then we all agreed to have a virtual event next week,” said Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates, one of the organising companies behind Tech London Week.

Most of the participants will be invited via Zoom calls for each of the events, but there will be production team behind this. “It will feel like going on a Zoom call, but there will be directors and production managers sitting behind to make sure this works seamlessly,” said Shaw. “People will be able to ask questions, there will be online polling and people will be able to have networking sessions in between.”

Organisers are using an event management platform from Grip support the virtual event.

Shaw expects a lot of attendants, with thousands expected to connect from across the world. He said organisers will this month make decisions on the format for September’s events. “There is a decision to made in June whether to have live events in September. It will be virtual first,” he said.

Sessions to be held next week will cover healthtech, cyber security, edtech, the current tech investment landscape, business resilience and women in business.

Shaw said the Covid-19 pandemic and the tech response to it will feature heavily throughout the event.

“I am sure it will hit every session. The impact of Covid-19 has highlighted the critical role that technology will play in future society – whether keeping us safe or boosting our economy,” he said.

“It has brought new innovations to the fore and accelerated the growth of key verticals such as fintech, AI [artificial intelligence], cyber, edtech and healthtech, showcasing the resilience of London’s world-leading tech companies.

“By virtually convening an array of high profile speakers, London Tech Week Connects gives us a glimpse of what can be achieved in a digital-first world and will spark the necessary debate to ensure that technology is harnessed positively and an inclusive manner.”

Register for the June sessions on londontechweek.online.