Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.
Press Release

Summerfest Tech Releases Programming for Two-Day Event

 

By - May 5th, 2022 09:01 am

MILWAUKEE, WI (May 5, 2022) – Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. (MWF) is excited to release the programming and agenda for the fifth annual Summerfest Tech.  It will take place in-person on Wednesday, June 29 and Thursday, June 30, 2022.  All programming will be accessible virtually and FREE of charge.

Summerfest Tech events will take place across the city of Milwaukee, including at the Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel, the new BMO Tower, Milwaukee Artist Resource Network’s (MARN) new location in the Third Ward, and at Henry Maier Festival Park during Summerfest. To register, visit www.summerfest.com/tech.

The event kicks off on June 28 with a welcome happy hour, presented by Northwestern Mutual. Summerfest Tech registrants are invited to attend and meet fellow industry experts. Northwestern Mutual will also host a breakout session during Summerfest Tech, focusing on the evolution of its innovation journey and discuss the importance of supporting innovation, diversity, and tech in the local community.

Wednesday June 29 will begin with Chuck Swoboda, national author of “The Innovator’s Spirit: Discover the Mindset to Pursue the Impossible,” exploring how companies and individuals should approach innovation as a mindset, not a process. He will describe the six principles that make up the Circle of Innovation and how to apply these principles in daily life to uncover your Innovator’s Spirit. Swoboda is currently the Innovator-in-residence at Marquette University, Executive Chairman of Vast Therapeutics, and the retired Chairman and CEO Of Cree, Inc.

Summerfest Tech will continue with keynotes, breakout sessions, and panel discussions around innovation, collaborations, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence/machine learning, and cryptocurrency/non-fungible tokens. Key highlights include:

–          Amanda Knutson, Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI, who will keynote the cybersecurity track by highlighting cybersecurity attack trends for companies and consumers.

–          Led by Art Hopkins of Russell Reynolds Associates, Susanne Tedrick with Microsoft, and Bertina Ceccarelli with NPower – will lead a discussion on how DEI initiatives can use innovation principles to move past compliance and make meaningful change in tech.

–          American Family Insurance and strategic community collaborators will lead a critical discussion on the importance of developing partnerships to highlight the ongoing impact of investing in the STEM/STEAM ecosystem in Milwaukee and beyond.

–          Cole Crews and James Rose with UScellular will provide insight into protecting your company’s critical assets from anywhere, including remote areas, in this hyper-connected world.

The Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition, produced by Young Enterprising Society and in partnership with Molson Coors Beverage Company, has selected the finalists who will pitch for the opportunity to win a portion of the $50,000 cash prize.  The competition will take place on June 30, 2022, beginning at 8:00 a.m., at the MARN Art + Culture Hub.  Finalists include:

  • Cirkled-in – a portfolio company for students and colleges that tells a holistic story beyond numbers and academics.
  • Fly Parrots – an AI-enhanced assistive parrot, giving those with neurological conditions a 360-degree field of vision, enhancing their ability to communicate, and uplifting their sense of independence.
  • Huupe – The world’s first smart basketball hoop, with a high-definition screen for a backboard, which allows you to train like a pro, track your performance and play basketball against other huupe users right from your driveway.
  • eCourt Reporters – platform that hosts videographers across the country who have experience filming depositions for use of their services in courtrooms, conference rooms, hospitals, and law firms.
  • Kwema – A device that works inside and outside your workplace by anonymously connecting and sharing real-time information via Bluetooth beacons placed inside a building or with a smartphone GPS.
  • Light Pong – The world’s first 1-dimensional (1D) gaming platform. Players can play different games, all on a single beam of light. Light Pong is portable, screenless, and extremely social.
  • Rex Academy – an educational company that Offers Schools Coding and Engineering Curriculum, which does not require Computer Science background for faculty to teach.

The Pitch Competition judging panel consists of Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Institute, Dan Gawronski, Venture Best of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Dawn Nguyen, Hyde Park Ventures, Keaton Nankivil, Alumni Ventures, Darrin Vohs, Molson Coors Beverage Company, and Bob Wynn, CLIMB USA, Inc. The winners will be announced at 2:00 p.m. on June 30, 2022, at a Summerfest Tech attendee VIP networking event, sponsored by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Information Studies.

Summerfest Tech is supported by Generac Power Systems, Data Holdings, Molson Coors Beverage Company, American Family Insurance, Johnson Controls, Northwestern Mutual, Proofpoint, Rite-Hite, Rockwell Automation, Wipfli LLP, UScellular Business, UW-Madison E-Business Consortium, Broan-NuTone, Check Point Software, Collabera, Concurrency, Expedient, Intel, Marquette University, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Milwaukee Area Technical College, MKE Tech Hub Coalition, Netskope, NVNG, OFFSITE, UiPath, Veeam, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Information Studies, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Alverno College, Godfrey & Kahn, New Resources Consulting, SafeNet Consulting, SentinelOne, and Snowflake. Media support provided by Experience Milwaukee and Foureva Media.

Visit www.summerfest.com/tech for the agenda and to register.

About Summerfest Tech
Summerfest Tech began in 2018 with the goal of leveraging the Summerfest brand to showcase technology and provide a forum for attendees from the tech and business community to network, educate, and celebrate the evolution of technology. Summerfest Tech continues to champion the regional business community, while shining the spotlight on Wisconsin’s growing reputation as a tech hub, highlighting the growth and opportunity in the region. Programming from local, regional, and national speakers, as well as a cash-prize pitch competition, connects the tech community around relevant topics. Summerfest Tech will take place as an in-person event, with programming accessible virtually, on June 29 and June 30, 2022.  For more details, visit Summerfest.com/Tech.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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