February 2022, I decided to take the plunge and switch career into tech - something I had thought about for several years - and I have not looked back since. The tech industry is so vibrant, accepting everyone with open arms. There is so much going on, so much to be a part of, and so many communities just waiting to welcome you.
Throughout my studies and career change, Tech meetups and events have played a huge part in not only growing my network in a brand-new industry but also growing my confidence, training and industry knowledge.
This year I decided to attend the London Tech Week to continue my journey. It was a great event for learning about the current hot topics within the industry (Artificial Intelligence dominated this area as expected), expanding my knowledge on current trends and the future of the tech industry. Walking around I discovered new technologies, along with companies I had not heard of before and even experienced a demo of a soon-to-be released AI platform produced by IBM.
Event’s like these have hundreds, if not thousands of attendees, all from different, exciting backgrounds, and it is always important to network among attendees as well as the exhibitors - I was given advice on how to make the most of the event from the person next to me just before the opening speech! Opportunities can come from anywhere.
Along with the main London Tech Week conference, I attended two evening events - Codebar, supporting minorities entering the tech industry, and the fantastic AI and Deep Learning for Enterprise, building on the topics discussed during London Tech Week’s main event.
Listening to a discussion between Daphne Koller and Gordon Sanghera, I was amazed by how AI is being used to help predict and model current virus trends, helping to predict and prevent future pandemics. While Ed Shee discussed the difficulty of using AI to summarise presentation videos due to the intricate unpredictability of human behaviours. The biggest takeaway was that there are lots of calls for regulations around the use of AI to be fast-tracked to ensure it is being used for good in a safe and responsible way.
Tech events are so important, and with many free or low-cost ticket options, getting involved is easy. The importance was only enhanced by my experience - by expanding my network on LinkedIn, I learned about new events, where I further grew my network. This snowballed into attending the event where I discovered Daemon and landed my dream role.