Technology based careers is the fastest growing industry today. That means that the youth of today such as myself should be prepared for the future. Well the BC tech summit did just that! Last Wednesday in downtown Vancouver at the convention center over 2000 students came to learn about the tech industry. Here is a short video introducing what the BC tech Summit Youth Innovation day is:

While we attended the tech summit we didn’t simply get to listen and enjoy, we also had tasks to do. First off we had to research two people who were speaking that day so that we had a background on what they did and the type of people we would be listening to. I chose to research Paulina Cameron as well as Brent Bushnell.

Here is the previous research I had done on these two interesting people before we attended:

Paulina Cameron:

Paulina Cameron is the author of the best selling book Canada 150 Women. She is the Director of the BC and Yukon division of Futurpreneur Canada. She strongly believes in gender equality in the workspace and in the tech industries. She also won an alliance for the top 100 international women’s awards.

Brent Bushnell:

Brent Bushnell is the CEO of Two Bit Circus. Two Bit Curcus us an indoor tech amusement park, meaning there will be VR, augmented reality and much more. This is excel ted to open in Los Angels in the next few months. Brent Bushnell has worked on multiple different projects such as the Ok Go video that went viral. He also supports the stem and steam learning system.

 

Heading into the day of BC tech summit I felt I was prepared and ready. The day started off with us being the first school to arrive, we were just so eager! We wander around looking at some robots and even a 3D printer. It was then time for the conference to begin, the first speaker was Premier of British Columbia John Hogan. He talked about how tech is not simply one sector but rather many that are driven by innovation. And how he is creating a stem curriculum for BC. Stem or Steam and even Steamed stands for Science, Tech, Engineer, Art, Mathematician.

Next up on stage was Brent Bushnell, and as he was someone I was interested in learning more about I was sure to pay attention. Through listening to him I found out how he got into the tech industry. How he created one game that was very simple however everyone enjoyed if he brought it to a party. After he saw this he then began to challenge himself to make something new every month. He was also a camera man for an ABC home design TV show. However he wanted to do more so he helped and became a production company. Some of his most known work currently was the cloud of tequila, a car commercial and a music video or rather Rub Goldberg machine he did with Ok Go.

He then went on to talk about how technology is changing the world in ways that we could have never imagined but how important it is to think outside the box as that is what got us here. How in the 20th century it was “learn to read so you can read to learn” where as in the 21st century it is “ learn to make so you can make to learn”. This plays into do things that interest you and do things that make yourself think outside the box. And how in today’s tech industry we have so many tools and opportunities to learn. It truly is the best time to be a nerd. At this point I was truly interested in what he had to say and it made me realize that I really am a nerd as all of this interests me. He finished by saying something that I connected to it was “What does the world need? You. Be creative and an inventor.”

After Brent Bushnell we had two other tech speakers talk to us and then it was time to start to actually talk to people who work in the tech industry. I got the opportunity to talk to Tej a software engineer who works for Microsoft. I was able to recording him while he answered a few of my questions and I made a podcast out of the information he spoke about. Listen down below as he explains a vital part to tech and education.

I found what he was talking about very interesting and I can’t wait until it becomes a reality. It was then time to start looking at post secondary schools and the programs whether tech or not that they offer.

I first talked to Kwantlen University, who has a very cool medical program. Plus they gave me a pair of sunglasses, an ice pack and a charging station!

I also looked at the University of Victoria campus and got to try out a machine that shows your brain nerve activity!

As you can tell I am interested in gong into a medical related post secondary school. Seeing all of these options showed that I can take it where every I want to.

After looking around it was lunch time and then time to head back in and listen to some more speakers. The first idea was being bold and was Paulina Cameron interviewing to other women entrepreneurs and talking about what its like. She talked to Valerie Song the CEO of an organic company and Nicole a girl who does aboriginal subscription box’s. Overall they talked about what its like being an entrepreneur, and how to become one as well as what it’s like being a women in the tech industry. I was very motivated by this interview.

Overall I truly did enjoy the tech conference, it made me realize how big of a nerd I truly am! It  also showed the opportunities that come with getting into the tech industry which is the fastest growing industry and that 85% of all industries will involve technology. Plus you get paid better then others which is alsways a plus. This made me realize that I have to start considering actually going into a tech industry and that it would truly be an interesting job.