What I Took Away From the 2019 #BCTECH Summit

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Signage inside the #BCTECH Summit. The image reads What I took away from the 2019 #BCTECH Summiy
  1. A sense of belonging in the BCTECH CommunityAs someone in a role that is not “technical”, I sometimes face imposter syndrome when I say that “I work in tech”; I don’t work for an app development company and I have no idea how to code. While those things didn’t change over the weekend, there was something about being at the summit that made me feel like I do work in Tech!
  2. A slight understanding of cutting edge technologyThe keynote speakers for the BCTECH Summit were incredible! The hot topics were AI, cybersecurity, and quantum computers. I walked into these sessions, especially the one on quantum computers, expecting everything to go right over my head, but I was actually able to follow! The speakers were engaging and managed to make the sessions accessible to everyone in the room. They used metaphors and funny examples to help us all grasp these high tech concepts.

    That said, please don’t ask me to explain quantum computing to you; I’m not sure if I could.

  3. Inspiration and tools from an ex-Disney executiveMy favourite speaker of the summit was Duncan Wardle, the former Vice President of Innovation and Creativity at Walt Disney. In his keynote presentation, Duncan had us all thinking outside the box and challenging our “river of thinking” in order to unlock our creative potential and truly be innovative.

    Immediately after his presentation, I was lucky enough to grab a spot in his workshop, which gave participants the tools to facilitate inclusive and innovative brainstorming sessions, unlocking creativity and keeping teams engaged and invested in the process. I have already been able to take those strategies and bring them to groups here in Kelowna!

  4. New connections with regions from across the provinceThroughout the weekend, there were regional “houses” set up across the conference centre. These included Thompson Okanagan, Indigenous / Stélmexw (all of B.C.), Vancouver Island & Sunshine Coast, Kootenays, Northeast – Cariboo, and North Coast – Nechako. It was amazing to see how technology has been leveraged for innovation across the province and to connect with folks representing each of those regions.
  5. A deeper connections with folks from the OkanaganThe most unexpected outcome of the summit was that I walked away feeling closer to my colleagues and community partners from here in the Okanagan. Seeing people in a different environment for three days in a row while discussing things other than our day to day roles was very refreshing and I found that we were able to learn a lot from one another.
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