A new weeklong event intended to celebrate St. Louis’ technology sector will debut in 2023.
The event, STL TechWeek, is being staged by St. Louis technology council TechSTL and is scheduled for April 24-28. Current plans call for more than 60 events focused on different technology topics at venues across the region, said TechSTL Executive Director Emily Hemingway.
TechSTL has described the upcoming STL TechWeek as its “capstone” event. TechSTL, which launched earlier this year through a federal grant, is membership-based organization looking to provide the metro with a forum to advance St. Louis’ technology and innovation sectors. Hemingway said the idea for STL TechWeek comes from other tech councils around the world that have hosted similar events to showcase their region’s technology innovation.
Hemingway said STL TechWeek will seek to attract innovators and investors from outside the St. Louis region and introduce them to the technology sector locally.
“It’s a really great destination-type of event in that it helps attract people to the city because it’s this magnetic pull,” she said.
TechSTL will stage other events in 2023.
Hemingway said about a quarter of those events will seek to engage outsiders, such as venture capital investors, with the region’s emerging technology and innovation clusters.
Hemingway said planning is underway for STL TechWeek, with TechSTL’s members helping to lead committees for the event. Additionally, TechSTL plans to pursue support from sponsors and solicit programming suggestions from the local community, Hemingway said.
Events for STL TechWeek are expected to be held at local universities and innovation hubs, as well as other St. Louis venues. Programming is slated to include a technology jobs fair and pitch competition, as well as St. Louis’ annual technology conference Gateway to Innovation scheduled for April 26, 2023.
The launch of STL TechWeek comes as St. Louis' innovation sector also annually hosts STL Startup Week, which is spearheaded by the TechArtista Foundation and held each fall to highlight the region’s entrepreneurial sector. While some of STL TechWeek’s programming will focus on technology entrepreneurship and small business innovation, Hemingway said the new event will have a broader focus on technology. She said she believes STL TechWeek can help complement STL Startup Week by being another event to celebrate innovation in St. Louis.
“We are celebrating all things high-tech,” she said. “We are branching out to more than just the entrepreneurship space. We are also looking at corporate innovation, academic and research innovation. It’s more than just the business and entrepreneurship lane. It’s looking more broadly at how technology and innovation is really driving the St. Louis economy.”
