Digital City Festival Expo 2022 – The Candidate Round-up!

On the 9^th and 10^th of March, Manchester’s tech and digital community descended upon Manchester central convention complex for the Digital City Festival Expo - full of insightful talks, engaging displays, and plenty of networking! Find out our key highlights of the event below!

Our Director and Analytics Pro Leif ready to go at our expo stand!

Top Talks

The first talk we attended was Wednesday’s keynote speech by Chris Philp MP, Minister for Technology and the Digital Economy. He emphasised the important for cyber security in today’s volatile global landscape and stated how technology and digital advancements were key to the UK’s future. This speech really hammered home just how impressive the UK is when it comes to tech and digital on the world stage – we are one of the top authorities in areas such as AI and are a hub for unicorn tech companies (a new one pops up every 13 days!). The main takeaway from this talk was that the Minister believed the ingredients for success in this sector were: talent, investment, and ideas.

Thursday’s opening discussion featured some of the biggest names in digital – Ash Jones (Great Influence), Dominic McGregor (Fearless Adventures), Luke Cope (Rise at Seven), Claudia Cardinali (Great Influence), and host Anna Gledson (The Manc Group). It focussed on personal branding and online reputation, something becoming increasingly important as social media becomes an increasingly important element of both our businesses and personal lives. Dominic described a personal brand as being the control you have over your reputation, and Claudia said it helps you keep at the forefront of people’s mind – which can be especially useful when it comes to job hunting! They all agreed that leading with genuine, and authentic content which draws from your passions and talents is the most important thing, and then from that content your personal brand will grow and develop. Finding what makes you unique is vital! The final takeaway from Ash notes the importance of reputation when it comes to your career: opportunity is driven by your network and your reputation.

Finally, the talk about neurodiversity in tech was brilliant! Panellists Kate Jones (NeuroClastitc), Ellie Middleton (Great Influence) and Rachel Morgan- Trimmer (Sparkle Class) gave us all a great insight into how to improve diversity in the sector, and the benefits of employing neurodiverse candidates can have for businesses. Read our full blog about this discussion here.

Excellent Exhibitors

Our fellow exhibitors were brilliant, and in true expo fashion we came away with tote bags bursting with freebies! Big shout out to Klayvio for the Chilly’s water bottles, Ayko for the reusable coffee cups, ShipSation for the socks and notebooks, and NorthCoders for having a great chat with us about what makes a leading digital city!

There were also some great interactive stands – Wunderkind let your pour a pint with your mind! (Our Managing Partner Brian got 6th on the leaderboard!), Spotler had a cool wind tunnel game where you could grab vouchers for prizes, and Don’t Panic Events had a cool angel wing photo op – which our consultants Vic and Sara took full advantage of!)

Sara and Vic striking a pose!

Noteworthy Networking

Finally, there were some great opportunities to network with other exhibitors over (free!) drinks and listen to some great music from a live DJ! The events ceremony at the Etihad stadium rounded of the expo with a night of glamour – celebrating tech that improves our lives.

A big thanks to Prolific North who facilitated the expo, Fast and Klaviyo for sponsoring, and Martyn Collins (Festival Director) for organising such a great event!

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