London Tech Week is back again from 20-24 September, bringing together some of the world’s most inspirational founders, global leaders, senior investors, and rising stars to collaborate and discuss the vital role of technology in society and how technology can support economic recovery in a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient way.
With technology playing an even more pivotal role than usual for society during the pandemic, London remains a key innovation hub for the sector, and the event will inspire and showcase key learnings from the pandemic, the innovations driving transformation, and what the future holds.
While hundreds of sessions will take place across the week, there are several core themes that we’re looking forward to hearing more about over the course of London Tech Week.
Pandemic innovations
Most companies have had to adapt their business and ways of working during the pandemic – whether by choice or necessity – and are now looking at what that means for their future, how they can maintain the same level of progress and change, how they can disrupt past processes, and more.
One majorly impacted sector has been healthcare, so we’re looking forward to seeing this being discussed by DigitalHealth.London and NHSx in their ‘Innovation as a response to the pandemic a year on’ conversation. The discussion will provide insights into how the pandemic has impacted the approach to innovation in such a large-scale organisation as the NHS, and how the last year stimulated further transformation to provide better care solutions.
Consumer habits have also majorly changed during the pandemic, and we will be tuning into the ‘CSR & Sustainability: Supply Chain Disruption into Meaningful Change’ discussion with the Institute of Customer Service, Tech Nation, OLIO and Costain that will explore how consumer behaviour can influence company strategy in a sustainable way with a particular focus on becoming more socially responsible and value focused, and how supply chains can be made more resilient.
The remote working revolution
With most workers working remotely during the pandemic, the future of the workplace looks mostly hybrid or remote, creating a new way of working for companies and new challenges alongside. We’re looking forward to hearing about the re-evaluation of the office’s purpose, the role tech plays in providing a safe return to the office, and how to re-integrate people too in the ‘New Remote & Hybrid Strategies’ sessions, run by leaders from Zoom, LABS, Worksome, KKS Savills, Capita, Ally.io, Experian and Aviva.
Alongside this, it is also well documented that many workers have struggled with their mental health and wellbeing during the pandemic too, with tech solutions now ramping up to help manage this. We’ll be attending the ‘Employee Productivity is Linked to Wellbeing’ session with Channel 4, Tech Nation, Fountain Partnership and Unmind to gain insight on proactive mental health, why it’s crucial to employee wellbeing, and how digital mental health platforms cater to the needs of your entire workforce.
A new way of learning
Education is another area changing rapidly with the shift to online academic learning, but also for those upskilling and changing career paths after lockdowns and job uncertainty. When it comes to workplace learning, we’re looking forward to the panel on ‘Skills – what do we need, how we will get them and where does this leave us?’ with 01 Founders, BCG, Tech Talent Charter and serial entrepreneur Sherry Coutu CBE, which will discuss talent shortages and how that impacts representation in tech sectors in turn.
School and university learning shifted online during the pandemic too, creating both challenges and opportunities. In the ‘Democratising access to better education’ discussion with the University of East Anglia, UpSkill Digital, Richard Cloudesley School and Tech Nation, we’re looking forward to hearing about how remote learning benefitted marginalised groups by making education more accessible, and how universities will maintain this access and promote diversity and inclusion going forward.
These are just a selection of hundreds of sessions on the virtual agenda that reflect the huge role of technology in all of our lives now, and we can’t wait for a week of learning and networking. If you’re speaking or attending the event and interested to discuss how you can raise awareness of your tech company and its impact on society, get in touch with us today.
