Hamilton - March 3rd 2020

An opportunity to come together to share knowledge and insights, to learn, connect and forge new relationships as well as have some fun!

TechFest—Waikato’s Festival of Technology and Innovation

Free entry!

On 3 March 2020, TechFest kicked off the technology and innovation calendar for the Waikato bringing together technology leaders, business, students and the wider community from around the Waikato and New Zealand to see, touch and experience innovative technology products and solutions.

TechFest celebrates the regions technology sector strength and supports the building of networks and opportunities to continue to build on this strength with upcoming talent, businesses that are confident and capable of undertaking their own digital journey, a thriving innovation ecosystem, access to capital for growth, and an overall approach that fosters inclusion in underpinning economic growth and community wellbeing.

View the programme

Website building competition

Does a local business, club or organisation, or anybody else you know need a new website?

Be in to win a 12 month Rocketspark subscription by designing a home page for your chosen organisation using Rocketspark's website builder.

There are also prizes for category winning schools!
Entries close 5pm 1 May.

Find out more

Key objectives of TechFest

Inspire

Enable attendees to access knowledge, experience and insights from leaders operating at the forefront of technology locally and globally.

Connect

Support the creation of networks between the local technology sector, business, education providers and the wider community.

Share knowledge

Support digital inclusion and for people to future-proof their businesses and their lives.

Build capacity

Create opportunities that will help stimulate greater growth and innovation in the technology sector and business community.

2020 numbers

35+

Speakers

45+

Exhibitors

1000+

Attendees

4/5

Attendee rating from survey

300,000+

Impressions on social media

Partner and Sponsor feedback

The event facilitated some critical dialogue between key stakeholders about a rare topic in the smart cities space - the UN SDGs. The day confirmed that we have the opportunity to direct our action to have more impact.

Smart Cities Council ANZ (Pre-Event Co-Host)

It was a great day that brought together some of Australia and New Zealand’s top smart city thinkers into one place, and showed the amazing work being done in both countries.

ALGIM (Pre-Event Co-Host)

Organisations across the Waikato have communicated their appreciation for the value they received and as a result TechFest 2020’s impact has rippled across the Waikato technology ecosystem and nationally.

CultivateIT

TechFest brought the region together to showcase why we are the fastest growing region for the past few years, highlighting the great work that has been done by tech sector companies.

Te Waka

The 2020 Techfest showcase was an awesome event that really brought together the tech industry both locally and nationally. The level of innovation on display and the caliber of speakers, exhibitors and sponsors really make this a great event!

Lead Social

LearningWorks thanks the organisers, speakers and sponsors of TechFest 2020 for bringing the wealth and generosity of knowledge to us all in the Waikato.

LearningWorks

The event was well organised and we made some great connections. It was great to see innovative Waikato technology on display.

Rocketspark

TechFest 2020 gave us a fantastic opportunity to showcase our new Silent Conference product in a space and environment that demonstrated its strengths.

Vidcom New Zealand

An excellent community event, bringing together our regions technology sector. What a great turn out of businesses and general public, connecting, sharing and experiencing such a range of innovative technology products and solutions.

UltraFast Fibre

It was great to see the strong attendance through our venue, with so many people jumping at the chance to hear from the high calibre speakers and enjoy the wide range of exhibitors and workshops on offer.

H3 Group

TechFest provided an opportunity to tangibly show how we’re pushing boundaries with tech and offered an opportunity to challenge our existing thinking.

Hamilton City Council

Attendee feedback

Good avenue to find out what's happening in the Waikato ICT industry

I found the information very informative and even some of the keynotes I attended without planning prior I found very helpful

Keynotes / speakers were best. It would be great to have their presentations or video of those sessions to share with my wider team.

There is far greater opportunity for the Waikato to be a key Tech region for NZ

STEM Schools Experience

It was great to connect with like-minded leaders doing amazing stuff in their communities. Overall a great event with lots of positive energy and amazing tech for people to explore and play with.

The Lab - Hamilton City Libraries

A fantastic event to be a part of sharing new technology with growing minds and inspiring for the jobs of tomorrow.

VR Studios

Students and teachers were engaged and we received positive feedback on our hands-on sessions

OMGTech!

We had a great time and enjoyed working with the kids. It was an incredible event. Grateful to be apart of it, and I hope that Code Avengers has opportunity to support similar events in the future.

Code Avengers

There was a great mix of science and technology that the students seemed to enjoy.

House of Science, Hamilton/Central Waikato

Thank you for inviting us to be part of TechFest this year. Everyone had a lot of fun!

Science Box

The STEM Schools Education Experience and the TechFest event offered an excellent opportunity for our region's young people to get hands-on with a huge range of Science and Technology ideas and activities.

The Technology Hub, Taupo

2021 and beyond

If you would be interested in supporting us to deliver TechFest in the future please get in touch.

EXHIBITORS

PROGRAMME

Contact us

Event location

Claudelands Event Centre,
Hamilton

Over 1000 people attended