Digital Shoreditch

Digital Shoreditch is a one-week long festival dedicated to celebrating creativity and to promoting the talent of new entrepreneurs in the technology and creative industries. The event is held every year in the East London district of Shoreditch, mostly around the Brick Lane and Clerkenwell areas.

About Digital Shoreditch

Digital Shoreditch is run with the aim of encouraging the exchange of business ideas, showcasing ongoing projects, and promoting collaboration and networking between digital firms that are already based in the area. According to the organisers, one of the main problems faced by tech companies in Shoreditch is the so-called "silo effect", which results in very limited communication and support between neighbouring companies. Digital Shoreditch aims to bring local tech firms closer to each other so that companies can help each other grow and develop their potential together. The event is also a good opportunity for jobseekers and investors to get to know better the opportunities available in the area.

The Digital Shoreditch 2013 festival (held during the last week of May) featured more than five hundred sessions, dozens of interactive rooms, as well as talks, workshops, dinners, and parties. The last edition of the event was supported by more than 800 companies and had over 40 sponsors and partners. Attendance figures for 2012 were in the region of 6,000 delegates.

Location

Over the past few years, the Shoreditch district has become a prime location for companies involved in the digital, creative, and technological industries. The so-called Silicon roundabout is located at the heart of the district, and over the years the area has become the British equivalent of California's Silicon Valley, due to the large amount of tech industries based in it. Currently, there are more than six hundred companies headquartered in and around Shoreditch, including leading firms like Google, Cisco, and Intel. Therefore, choosing to hold the Digital Shoreditch festival in this area is the perfect strategy when it comes to promoting the development of tech and digital industries, as participants have the opportunity to interact and explore the local digital and tech scene.

The Digital Shoreditch festival was first held in May 2011, when more than 200 local companies took part in the event, whose main objective was to showcase the wide range of skills, projects, and potential of the firms involved.

Organisers

Digital Shoreditch is organised by PlayGen, a British company specialising in providing gaming and simulation solutions to institutions like the BBC, Aviva, the Ministry of Defence, Birmingham City Council, the Eden Project, the Technology Strategy Board, the University of London, and the West Midlands Police.

Major Speakers

Past keynote speakers include Nick Appleyard, (one of the key figures in the development of the Digital Britain agenda), David Bott (one of the directors at the Technology Strategy Board), Scott Seaborn (co-chairman at the British Mobile Marketing Association), Matthew Hawn (a top executive at Last.fm radio), Jon Kingsbury (who is responsible for the creative economy programmes at NESTA), and Kam Star, an award-winning game developer and entrepreneur, who is also the founder of PlayGen and of the Digital Shoreditch event itself.

The 2013 line-up includes speakers like Alex Shebar (senior manager at Yelp.com), Ben Claxton (CEO at Nativeye), Clinton Bell (manager at Growth Accelerator), Graeme Evans (chair at Brunel University), James Allsopp (developer at PlayGen), Jeremy Waite (head of social consulting at Adobe), and Kevin Farrar (an IBM global entrepreneurship executive).

Major Sponsors of the Event

This event is supported by sponsors like The City of London Corporation, Queen Mary University, Hackney Council, the London Stock Exchange, Amazon Web Services, Pearson Education, and Tech City Investment, among many others. Digital Shoreditch is also made possible thanks to the collaboration of media partners such as the BBC, the Tech City Insider, The Guardian Media Network, the UK's Internet Advertising Bureau, Tech City News, and Strategy Eye Digital Media.

Past sponsors have included Qualcomm, IC Tomorrow, Intel AppUp, the UK Trade and Investment Board, Sapient Nitro, and Unruly Media.

Travel and Transportation Information

The event's official address is 380 Old Street, EC1V 9LT, London. The nearest underground station is Old Street (which is also a National Rail station with services to North London, Drayton Park, and Moorgate). Overground services are available at Shoreditch High Street station. Road access is convenient too, as the event is held right next to the A10 road, which links the City of London with Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk.

Other Relevant Information

You may visit https://tickets.digitalshoreditch.com/booking/ to find out more about Digital Shoreditch and to buy a festival pass. It is also possible to take part in the event as a volunteer by registering your interest with http://digitalshoreditch.com/studenttickets/

The organisers can be contacted by e-mail via the Digital Shoreditch website or by visiting the festival headquarters at 42-46 Princelet Street.

Transport to the event: We recommend that you check the Transport for London site journey planner. If travelling by car check and/or pay the congestion charge here. If you would like to travel by car but do not yet have a license visit this site for a list of London driving schools.