Here’s where to find Baltimore at Philly Tech Week 2020

It’s a big week at Technical.ly.

The 10th annual Philly Tech Week presented by Comcast is happening now and runs through Friday, Sept. 25. As with so many things, 2020 has brought a lot of plans changed, from the move to an all-virtual format to a calendar shift from May to September.

For us in Baltimore, however, there’s at least one silver lining: It’s the shortest trip ever to connect with the broader community. So if you’ve never hopped on an Amtrak up to the Technical.ly-organized event series, now is as good a time as ever to see what it’s all about.

And there are plenty of chances to connect with Baltimoreans as well. Growing over a decade, Technical.ly’s PTW conferences have grown are designed for technologists and company builders from across the mid-Atlantic. That means more local folks showing up among the speakers.

Here are your best chances to show some local love, and get some hard-won local insight:

Wednesday, Sept. 23 — Technical.ly Developers Conference

• Lessons on Building from the Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made — To kick off a day that includes a full roster of 30-minute dev talks, Technical.ly Baltimore reporter Donte Kirby will interview Jason Schreier, Bloomberg News video game reporter and  author of “Blood, Sweat and Pixels,” on how some of the top video game titles are made. There will be plenty of insight on building teams and products.

Friday, Sept. 25 — Introduced by Technical.ly

• How are universities economic drivers? What more can they do? — As a region that boasts a high concentration of advanced degrees, it’s no surprise that Baltimore and Maryland figure heavily into the discussion. This panel features Kerrie Carden, Johns Hopkins University director of student ventures; Jane Shaab, the executive director of the University of Maryland Biopark in Baltimore; and Mark Lawrence, managing partner of Glenarden-based Inncuvate Consulting. This reporter will be moderating the discussion.
• What responsibility does the tech economy have for a “just recovery”? — Fearless CEO Delali Dzirasa is featured in a panel that considers the private sector and civic good through the lens of pandemic-caused recession. The panel also features, Bill Golderer, CEO of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey; Jack Markell, former governor of Delaware; and Elizabeth Lindsey, executive director of Byte Back.
• When does local government drive innovation economic growth? — Maryland Delegate Nick Mosby, who is the Democratic nominee for Baltimore City Council president, discusses policy, culture and regional brand policy in a panel that also includes Philadelphia Acting Director of Commerce Sylvie Gallier Howard. This reporter will moderate.
• Hyper Automation: Are the robots actually gonna replace all our jobs? — Kirby moderates a panel with Alan Hester of Nividous, Joel Reed of Pittsburgh Robotics Network and Suzy Teele of Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute.
• Plus, the day closes out with a keynote from Guy Raz, host of NPR’s “How I Built This” and TED Radio Hour, talking entrepreneurship and growth.