Merged Futures 2020 in review

Our second annual tech innovation showcase, Merged Futures 2020, was held as a virtual event due to social distancing restrictions surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. This changed the outlook of the event entirely, bringing in more than 500 bookings from all over the world.

Yet despite the global nature of Merged Futures this year, it still highlighted the great work done by Northamptonshire’s digital and tech companies and provided a platform for local conversations to take place. Indeed, connections made have already proven a catalyst for a series of smaller events to be planned over the coming months.

Local speakers included Heather Cowley from the Northamptonshire Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Mark Parrish from e-learning agency Cortexa and the team from the University of Northampton working on the Digital Learning Across Boundaries project.

From further afield, there was a user research workshop by Leeds and Coventry-based agency Hippo Digital, and a session on Augmented Reality by developer Nicolo Carpignoli from Bologna in Italy.

The Chronicle and Echo and Northants Telegraph covered the global reach of Merged Futures in articles reviewing the event:

Yann Klein, a software engineer from Le Wagon in Japan: said:

“Being based in Tokyo, It’s usually hard to meet and hear about cutting edge technologies from Europe and the US.

“In the event I e-met Nicolo Carpignoli, one of the lead developers in Web AR (augmented reality), the field I’m passionate about. It was a unique opportunity made possible by Digital Northampton.”

Merged Futures 2020 was a great first exploration for us into the world of virtual events and we’re looking forward to bringing you more virtual sessions in the coming months.