By Hannah Ruben
Chicago has rapidly grown into one of the top 10 tech hubs in the world. This comes as no surprise as the Windy City is flourishing with an abundance of resources for the startup community. Our city is home to a rich, innovative culture and plethora of opportunities for techies. Between coding schools, top industry influencers, comprehensive university programs and thriving incubators, this city is constantly attracting and developing tech talent left and right. The increasingly popular fad of coworking spaces has proven to be another important asset as creative minds can network, collaborate and expand their business in a productive environment. Let’s not forget about the ever-growing list of Chicago tech social organizations, investors and podcasts.
Many organizations are using tech to positively impact our social landscape. Black Tech Mecca is a Chicago-born think tank dedicated to addressing critical issues impacting how tech ecosystems serve black tech communities. BTM’s goal is to make technology accessible to every black child, entrepreneur, and professional to empower black tech practitioners across the globe. They released a detailed report providing data assessing the current state of Black tech ecosystems in the United States and identifying resources that will expand their growth.
Nonprofits are utilizing technology now more than ever to make a difference. Bunker Labs is a national not-for-profit incubator for veteran-led tech startups headquartered in Chicago and built by military veteran entrepreneurs. Their mission is to empower other military veterans to start and grow businesses through educational programming, mentors, events, and thriving local networks to help military veterans succeed and thrive as entrepreneurs and innovators.
Check out the Chicago tech spring lineup…
R&D Innovation Summit (March 15-16):
“Building a Sustainable Future For R&D – Learn from & share insights with product innovation executives who understand the changing environment for R&D. Presentation led, the summit also features stimulating panel discussions, engaging workshops & breakout activities over the two days.” Learn More…
Midwest Women in Tech Conference (March 23):
“The MWiT Conference is the region’s women in tech event of the year. The conference features presentations from an elite group of successful female founders, investors and leaders. These role models will present their views and ideas in presentations that advance women in technology and leadership.” Request an invite.
Chicago Tech Security Conference (April 13):
“The Chicago Tech-Security Conference features 40-60 vendor exhibits and 8-12 educational speaker sessions discussing current tech-security issues such as cloud security, email and social media security, VoIP, LAN security, wireless security, USB drives security & more. You’ll come away with advice and knowledge so you can start proactively protecting your environment from the latest security breaches.” Buy tickets now.
GOTO Chicago (Conference: May 1-2 /Workshops: May 3-4)
“Developer Conference – GOTO Chicago is about learning, networking and meeting the best in our communities – across all different disciplines of software development! Get inspired by software innovators and thought leaders from startups and enterprises. Our speakers are experts in their field. They share knowledge, they inspire and give us the desire to learn.” View the schedule!
