Bath Digital Festival (BDF) is returning to the historic city this summer to bring you a stellar selection of engaging workshops, keynotes and panels.
From 10 – 14 July 2023, the techSPARK team is thrilled to be bringing top tier events on all things digital to your doorstep, delivered for and by the fantastic community here in Bath.
You can now browse the current teaser schedule for the week here. Stay tuned for an even bigger selection to come soon.
“The festival will appeal to anyone working in, or interested in the digital and tech space”
It’s already shaping up to be a week full of exploration, innovation and inspiration. The festival will be showcasing the groundbreaking tech and digital innovation that is fostered in the city, hosted across iconic locations in Bath. This is all made possible thanks to all of our amazing sponsors, BANES, Agilebase, Storm Consultancy, Vysiion, TEKTowr, RealWorld, iO Academy, Rocketmakers, Burges Salmon, MyWorld, SETsqaured Bath, Zubr, and Firehaus.
A key belief behind Bath Digital Festival is that tech conferences should be fun, engaging, and open to all, regardless of experience. From exploring ways in which innovation can save our planet, to storytelling in tech, we’ll be encouraging everyone to participate through interactive seminars, workshops and activities.
This year, BDF will be covering five essential themes: Curiosity, Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking & Celebration and Climate. Each topic will define a different day, meaning attendees can fully immerse themselves. Across the week, the themes will highlight the diversity and vibrancy of Bath’s tech community.
We can’t wait to see what will emerge from BDF 2023, as Bath Community Manager at techSPARK, Lucy Paine, summarises: “We are really excited to be curating the Bath Digital Festival in 2023. Our key ask to the community is: What conversation are you going to start?
“There are keynote sessions, workshops, showcases and celebrations all in planning to ensure there is something for everyone. The festival will appeal to anyone working in, or interested in the digital and tech space including those looking to work in the industry. It’s going to be an amazing week.”
What conversation are you going to start?
We’re particularly excited to see how individuals and organisations across the city will interpret our five themes. Here are some more details about what they each entail:
- Curiosity – Let’s investigate the future and explore new worlds. This could be science fiction or what’s in action already, using old tech in new ways, forming an idea vs the reality of executing it. Monday could be crystal ball gazing, or demonstrating practical applications for exciting new solutions. Let’s get excited about the future, starting now.
- Creativity – Technology is nothing without the story. We are a city of creatives. Tuesday we’ll be unpacking how the story has changed, our relationship with audiences, and how we will engage in the future, online and in person. Let’s use this day to share our visions, showcase solutions and get creative.
- Collaboration – We can change the world if we work together. We are a tech community built around collaboration, bringing ideas and passion together. On Wednesday, let’s look at the world differently, help and listen to each other to build strong conversations.
- Critical Thinking & Celebration – What do we need in place for our technology revolution? The vision needs a strategy, it needs to be secure, well considered and ready for whatever the future brings. On Thursday we’ll be getting into the details and debating the challenges.
- Climate – Building a better world. Our climate ranges from our mind to our planet, from micro-changes at a personal level to global conversations. What can we do today for a better tomorrow? On Friday we bring the week together into the how. What are the next steps for us all?
This year, things are set to look a little different. Sharing his thoughts on techSPARK curating the festival for 2023, Managing Director, Ben Shorrock, says, “Bath is techSPARK’s home, the place it all started for us, and we’re so pleased to be curating Bath Digital Festival this year.
“Bath is techSPARK’s home, the place it all started for us, and we’re so pleased to be curating Bath Digital Festival this year”
“Expect the usual techSPARK flavour for the week. We’ll be bringing the brightest minds in South West tech together, facilitating valuable connections and building core relationships, all against the backdrop of an exciting festival. Thanks to the solid foundations of BDF, we know it’s set to be an awesome week full of sharing knowledge and we’re looking forward to putting a techSPARK spin on the festival.”
After the success of curating the Bristol Technology Festival (BTF) in October 2022, the whole techSPARK team are delighted to be taking on BDF. BTF oversaw huge growth impact for Bristol, welcomed 4.75K event attendees and got 1.79M people engaged. With the likes of BT and Google Garage scheduled to deliver events, it’s already shaping up to be a fantastic week.
The focus for BDF is to deliver quality events that provide real value for the techies based in Bath. If you’ve got an innovative idea for an event to host, please do submit it here and the team will get in touch.
The SPARKies returns to Bath
And of course, July marks that time of year… Yes, you guessed it, The SPARKies will be happening on 13 July 2023 for a celebrative evening.
The annual event will once again bring people, businesses and innovators together at the region’s biggest tech awards. We will be celebrating innovation, startups, scaling businesses, communities, and those that play a pivotal role in making this the most exciting tech cluster in the world.
Get your nominations in now whilst you still have the chance – entries close on 18 May 2023!
Commenting on this announcement, Ben tells us, “It’s been 11 years since we held our first ever SPARKies in the centre of Bath, and we can’t wait to be returning the party to its roots this year. “
