The 7th annual Baltimore Innovation Week is approaching and as we previously announced, ETC will be the lead organizer for this year.
Based on community feedback over the years, they’re taking steps to have a more cohesive approach to the week to avoid event competition and attendee burnout. Rather than having a variety of content spread out across the week, they’re organizing each day into a specific theme or track.
The past few months have been spent recruiting supporters and organizers to help lead the content of each track day, and they’re ready to share an overview of the schedule and what attendees can expect of Baltimore Innovation Week 2018 presented by the Maryland Department of Commerce.
This year’s week will be seven days in length. Each day will have a different focus and is organized by local leaders in a specific industry. In addition to the focus of each day, ETC will be organizing Coffee and Coworking so participants can also check out various coworking spaces and enjoy free coffee as well as a ‘Coffee Talk’ and Lunch & Learn topics to enhance that day’s programming. (You do have to reserve your spot for these offerings.)
Check out the overview of the events and each day’s offerings below, and make sure to register and share where you’ll be with the hashtag #BIW18!

Register Here

Saturday, October 6: Civic

Presented by Baltimore Tree Trust & Break A Difference
The focus of this day will be the impact of technology on government and civil society (digital media, civic hacking, open data).
The kickoff day will feature a day of volunteerism followed by a nonprofit resource fair and kickoff festival which will help bring volunteers and nonprofits together to showcase opportunities and resources.

Sunday, October 7: Explore

Presented by Open Doors Baltimore
City experts lead the way as you discover the hidden secrets and rich history of your very own city (guided tours, scavenger hunts, and more).
Join the Baltimore Architecture Foundation and AIA Baltimore for the 5th annual Doors Open Baltimore, a free citywide celebration of architecture opening the doors to over 60 buildings across the city and 30 guided tours.

Monday, October 8: Science & Education

Presented by F3 Tech, WFTech Series and MAFC
Where leaders in healthcare, the sciences, economic development, public health and academia come together (think: commercialized technology, creating connectivity, influencing policy).
The goal of the Aqua Tech Ideation Challenge is to highlight advances made in AquaTech/Aquaculture that directly benefit the industry locally, regionally and beyond. At the event, 3-5 groups who have an idea around AquaTech/Aquaculture will be chosen to work with mentors who help the teams with various aspects of their ideas (financial, marketing, risk management, science, etc.). The groups will then present on 10/8/18 at IMET at 3 p.m. The winners will be awarded cash prizes and be admitted into the F3Tech Pre-Accelerator program.

Tuesday, October 9: Creative & Media

Presented by MICA/BCAN
Where art, technology, and promotion strategies collide (think: video games, digital art, social networks, and content marketing).
Exact programming TBA!

Wednesday, October 10: Dev

Presented by Technical.ly
Where programmers, designers, developers and project and hiring managers come together (think: coding, front and back-end development, workforce development and more).
Technical.ly is focused this year on its annual Dev Conference while ETC takes the lead on the overall Week coordination. Join Technical.ly at the Creative Alliance for a multi-session day. The morning will be focused on local development of job skills, where those pain points are and how to capitalize and put action behind keeping and growing valuable talent in the region. In the afternoon, expect to listen to a fireside chat from a local expert, a panel to take on the human side of being a dev (we know we are all humans) to the next level and a variety of case studies on topics to the likes of machine learning, data science, cybersecurity and cloud computing. As always, we’ll end the day with a networking Happy Hour (location TBA). Learn more here.

Thursday, October 11: Business

Presented by ETC and US Commercial Services.
The focus of this day will be the startup and business community conversation (think: venture capital, startups, bootstrapping, and entrepreneur stories).
There will be Coffee & Coworking provided by Vagrant Coffee, a sales seminar provided by Sandler Group and Startup Grind will host a Lunch & Learn conversation. To cap the day, U.S. Commercial Services presents Google, PayPal, Facebook and Amazon to talk on global economy, ecommerce, global payments, finding customers, and international market potential.

Friday, October 12: Access

Presented by Innovation Works.
Discussing diversity and social impact issues that affect everyday citizens (think: digital divide and digital education).
There will be Coffee & Coworking at OpenWorks with coffee provided by Thread Coffee, a social enterprises walking tour and a panel conversation on the topic at hand.
 

Plus, don’t forget to join all of the organizing partners at the Innovation Celebration.

Baltimore Innovation Week’s closing party will take place Oct. 12 at both Monument Brewing and Urban Axes. Tickets are only $10, which gets you 2 drink tickets. Plus, with an extra $10, you’ll get a 30 minute ax throwing training session.