Techweek, a week-long series of workshops, speaker presentations, and technology and innovation tours, returns to Detroit in April.
“Techweek’s mission broadly is to make the world better through entrepreneurship,” says Allison Konkel, chief strategy officer for Techweek. “How we do that is through highlighting, supporting, and showcasing the most innovative and exciting things that are going on in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship across the cities where we work.”
Techweek events in Detroit will include office tours, a film screening, a startup competition, and a fashion tech runway. The events are designed to provide a broad spectrum of technology-related ideas and innovations. This year’s event, to be held April 13-19 and presented by Quicken Loans, will be hosted at Ford Field.
The Techweek series includes annual stops in Detroit, Kansas City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City. Konkel says it can be difficult to shine a national spotlight on many cities’ technology industries.
“If you look at cities like Detroit and Kansas City, it’s hard for people to see what’s going on from other parts of the country,” she says. “Our goal is really to put everything in within one week.”
Detroit-based speakers for Techweek include Luis Perez, executive vice president and CFO of the Detroit Lions; Marlin Page, founder of Sisters Code, a group dedicated to helping women learn to code; Chris Thomas, co-founder and partner of Fontinalis Partners, a venture capital firm focused on next-generation mobility; and Jon Rimanelli, CEO of Detroit Aircraft Corp., a contract manufacturer and distributor of unmanned aerial vehicles for Lockheed Martin.
One of Techweek’s “summits” will focus on mobility on April 16, and will include Rimanelli and Thomas, along with speakers from Zipcar, Mobile Comply, Zagster, and Techstars Mobility.
Konkel says all of the summits will feature a diverse group of speakers.
“One of the things we’ve heard (in Detroit is) that the tech community is quite different than the maker community, for example. Our goal is to bring those communities together for one common goal,” she says.
Ticket prices range from $40 to $2,500, and will increase closer to the event.
For more information about Techweek, visit techweek.com/detroit/.
