Three tech communities officially launch Vancouver Tech Week

A trio of Vancouver’s tech communities have joined forces to launch a new initiative to help strengthen the city’s ecosystem.

Named Vancouver Tech Week (VTW), the summit will gather over 1,000 tech professionals to events hosted by over 20 community builders, each from diverse backgrounds and domains. According to VTW, attendees can expect affordable tickets, deep dives into technical topics to build their careers, and an open space to connect over their favourite tools, products, libraries, and processes. VTW will take place this year from September 12 to 18.

Led by Vancouver.Dev, PM Hive, and the Vancouver Design Community, the organizers hope to make the city known for more beyond its “surrounding nature, diverse population, vibrant film industry, tasty food, and varied economy.” Through VTW, they aim to foster collaboration, improve access to support, and spotlight talent across the city’s tech scene.

In a press release, the event leaders explained: “While the tech communities of Vancouver continue to appear and grow, many approach their events and platforms with different forms of execution and purpose, resulting in variable outcomes that lack unity. Since there are so many challenges our team could tackle [...] our team decided to focus on tightening the various tech communities with stronger unity.

“Whether [attendees] are looking for investments, resources to better their products, or to simply learn and expand their technical repertoire, we want to solve for the gaps.”

VTW’s long-term vision is that the initiative will bolster Vancouver’s potential as a leading tech hub in the world, where the city is mentioned in the same sentences as San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, and Toronto, and that more tech companies and VCs will consider moving to the city for its growing talent.

“We also hope that existing talent hidden within our neighborhoods come[s] out more often to share their interests and knowledge with others and kickstart a domino effect that will invite more students and experienced professionals alike to participate in community events, workshops, and startup incubators across the city,” said Kasey Fu, co-founder of PM Hive.

“Our message to everyone is: help be part of a new era [...] of better builders, growth-minded learners, accessible community events, easier access to capital, and a stronger talent pool that will put Vancouver on the pedestal around the world,” he added. 

Anyone looking to get involved with VTW through hosting a fireside chat, workshop, panel, or conference can check out the website for event guidelines and to register.

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