Digital innovation and technology across Worcestershire spotlighted by festival
The second annual running of TechFest in the county is also aiming to help educate people and businesses more on the likes of AI and how it can be used safely
The co-founder of a two-week festival designed to highlight innovation and digital skills in Worcestershire has said human interaction remains important in the use of technology and the future.
TechFest 2.0 started on Monday (16 February) at Worcester's Guildhall and has been running through this week and the next.
Its been organised by Worcestershire Growth Hub, Midlands Cyber, BetaDen and Worcestershire County Council after officially launching last year where it attracted more than 500 attendees.
Donston Powell is one of those who helped start it, he said he was driven to create something which could showcase some of the work going on in the county when it came to technology.
"We've really wanted to make this something that Worcestershire can grow itself and be proud of, rather than trying to compete necessarily with the London or Manchester of this world or whatever it might be," he said.
"We want to grow something ourselves because there is a lot of potential here and it’s just about helping it grow on."
Included in the festival are events across the county, one focusing on AI (artificial intelligence) and another on inspiring women into technology and innovation.
Ryan Protheroe is also a co-founder and said educating people around the use of artificial intelligence at the moment is crucial.
"I think if we look beyond the hype, AI is going to change fundamentally the world whether we like it or not," he said.
"The key thing for us is to kind of pick out how can we support everyone in their journey, from those that are just kind of day-to-day using it through their emails using copilot, all the way through to those that are creating the next LLM (Large Language Model) for their kind of new product or new system.
"Supporting whoever they are on their journey and kind of empowering them to kind of look for that information is key in my opinion."
Mr Powell added: "We're in this age now where things are more and more digital, whether it be AI, whether it be through teams and video calls or whatever it might be.
"Having people show up in person is still very important, having that connection and being able to look at someone face to face and say, we are in this together.
"That is a big part of not only the industry that we're in, but just being human as a whole, so we're trying to keep the humanity in this new tech world that we're trying to grow here."
The newly invented Worcestershire Innovation Champion award, recognising businesses and individuals making a positive impact through innovative thinking, is also set to be handed out at the festival.