Lots of amazing things happen when you pack 5,000 people in a conference hall to talk about technology innovation and entrepreneurship.
This week the #BCTech Summit took over Vancouver to celebrate the province’s exploding tech sector and the timing couldn’t have been better. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report named Vancouver Canada’s leading tech startup ecosystem — surpassing Toronto and Waterloo.
Here are some of the top trends and our favourite moments from innovators we spoke to:
Advice from a 13-year-old developer:
Baby steps, perseverance and play: tips for future #coders from honourary @IBMCloud adviser @TajyMany cc: @IBMCloudCA #BCTECH #BCTECHSummit pic.twitter.com/Boo0zbjxUg
— TechPORTFOLIO (@TechPORTFOLIO) March 16, 2017
How one of the largest mobile handset makers in the world is driving Canadian tech R&D:
Much of @Huawei_Canada‘s $100M R&D budget is focused on pure research —@ScottBradley_OC cc: @bcic #BCTECH #BCTECHSummit pic.twitter.com/gSWf0cCJiu
— TechPORTFOLIO (@TechPORTFOLIO) March 16, 2017
BC’s opportunity to become the #cleantech capital of the world:
DYK ★ #BC is a leading #cleantech ecosystem. @amrikvirkbc says this is a huge opportunity for #BCTECH #BCTECHSummit pic.twitter.com/BvXO28ujfQ
— TechPORTFOLIO (@TechPORTFOLIO) March 16, 2017
How blockchain is transforming banks:
Distributed ledger #technology could eliminate risk of error-prone manual processes —@RBC‘s @gabrielwoo cc: @bcic #BCTECH #BCTECHSummit pic.twitter.com/FPjtJ2PfYS
— TechPORTFOLIO (@TechPORTFOLIO) March 16, 2017
But for the blockchain ecosystem to be truly disruptive, it needs more developers:
.@wmougayar says there are not enough #blockchain developers…and that’s a big problem for the industry #BCTECH #BCTECHSummit pic.twitter.com/g9TUCEBYLL
— TechPORTFOLIO (@TechPORTFOLIO) March 16, 2017
And one of the most amazing stories we heard centered around IBM Watson’s role in cancer treatment:
.@IBMWatson helped oncologists diagnose cancer in 10 mins. @IBMCanada‘s Caroline Ong on the power of cognitive #BCTECH #BCTechSummit pic.twitter.com/nFYie9I4to
— TechPORTFOLIO (@TechPORTFOLIO) March 16, 2017