Here’s what you need to know about the first-ever Delaware Innovation Week

In just a few short months, from Nov. 13-21, Technical.ly Delaware will host the first-ever Delaware Innovation Week.
Modeled after Philly Tech Week and Baltimore Innovation Week, #DIW15 is a week-long celebration of technology and innovation all across Delaware.
So how exactly does Delaware Innovation Week work and how can you get involved? Here’s everything you need to know:
What is the purpose of Delaware Innovation Week?
To bring together the local tech community to celebrate and show off what’s happening all across Delaware through a weeklong series of events.
Who organizes Delaware Innovation Week?
Technical.ly Delaware organizes Delaware Innovation Week as a whole. For our first year, we’re supported and sponsored by 1313 Innovation. Technical.ly Delaware organizes a handful of events across the week including a Future of Digital Marketing Conference, Dev Day (Intro Workshops, Dev Talks, etc.), Business Conference Day (Entrepreneur Boot Camp, #Failfest, etc.) and our big closing party which will feature local tech and happen at the Hercules Building on Friday, Nov. 20.
However, the week is also made up of a variety of community-organized events and programming. Anyone is welcome to organize an event as a part of the week and be included in our online community calendar and in the printed #DIW15 magazine and program. We’ll help you find a good date/time during the week and can also assist with finding a venue, speakers, promotion and more.
Who should come to Delaware Innovation Week?
Everyone! It’s for startups, entrepreneurs, IT professionals, makerspaces, game developers, tech enthusiasts, tech users, community advocates, developers, coworking groups, art initiatives, civic engagement groups and more! We value inclusivity — the more the merrier; the more diverse the merrier. We’re here to celebrate Delaware and everyone that’s a part of its growing tech community.
Where is it taking place?
Across the state. While some of our core events will be located in Northern Delaware, we’re hoping to get a wide variety of events happening all across the state and feature all the different areas where tech innovation is happening.
What kinds of events will there be?
We organize events into six different tracks, similar to how we do our reporting. An event must fall into at least one of these tracks:

• Media — The strategy around technology coverage and promotion. Think: content marketing, digital marketing strategy, social networks.
• Creative — Where art and technology collide. Think: video games, digital art, community initiatives.
• Access — Discussing diversity and education issues that affect everyday citizens. Think: digital divide, digital education, broadband access.
• Civic — The impact of technology on government and civil society. Think: local government, civic hacking, open data.
• Dev — Where programmers, designers, developers and project managers come together. Think: coding, front- and back-end development, and more.
• Business — The startup and business community conversation. Think: venture capital, startups, bootstrapping, entrepreneur stories.

How can I get involved?
There are a variety of ways to get involved in Delaware Innovation Week! Check out your options below:

• Organize an event! Delaware Innovation Week wouldn’t exist without the participation from our community organizers. Check out our Event Organizer Guide for more information on hosting an event during the week.
• Want your company to have serious visibility? We have sponsorship opportunities available throughout the week. Check out our Media Kit for more information. Additionally, you can provide in-kind services like hosting an event or providing food or beverages for a program.
• Interested in speaking? Fill out our Speaker Interest Form.
• Want to show off your app/product/company? Tell us about yourself and apply to demo at our closing party on Nov. 20.
• Just looking to help out? We always need volunteers at our events. Fill out this brief form and we’ll contact you with opportunities as the week gets closer.
• Attend! Don’t forget to mark your calendars, we’re less than four months away! It’s Nov. 13-21, 2015.

Make sure to keep the conversation going!
Create an account on DelawareInnovationWeek.com and keep up with the different events that are added to the calendar. Follow us on Twitter and join our public Slack group.
On Monday, Aug. 10 during lunch (from 12-1 p.m.) we’ll be hosting a public conversation about #DIW15 in our Delaware Slack channel. This is your opportunity to ask further questions, pitch your idea, find partners and generally get excited for Delaware Innovation Week!
Join the Technical.ly Slack
Can’t wait? Email catherine@technical.ly to get the process started and get your event listed on the community calendar.