Thanks to everyone who participated in the 7th Annual Vermont Tech Jam on Friday and Saturday, October 18 and 19, at Memorial Auditorium in downtown Burlington.

The 82 companies and organizations that exhibited included Jam sponsors such as Dealer.com, MyWebGrocer, C2, Logic Supply, Champlain College and BioTek Instruments, as well as Middlebury Interactive Languages, Liquid Measurement Systems, Chroma Technology, Union Street Media, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Renewable NRG Systems and Girl Develop It, a nonprofit offering coding classes to adults.

More than 1500 job seekers, students and tech professionals from Vermont and beyond attended the event.

“Tech Jam’s exciting and eclectic mix of tech companies, job seekers, entrepreneurs, educators and students offered proof that Vermont has a strong and dynamic tech business sector,” said Jeff Couture, executive director of the Vermont Technology Alliance. “From established companies expanding their staffs to startups exploding on the scene, the Tech Jam showed that tech companies and the good jobs they create represent an economic growth opportunity for the state.”

“Dealer.com was thrilled to sponsor the Vermont Tech Jam for the fourth year in a row,” said Dealer.com’s Chief Talent Officer Kristin Halpin. “This event allows us a unique opportunity to showcase our business, our people and our culture to the Vermont community, while providing an invaluable venue to connect with prospective talent from all over New England. We’re excited to be contributing to a rising technology hub in Burlington, and Tech Jam does a fantastic job exhibiting this progress.“

The 2013 Tech Jam Award Winners with Merchants Bank president Mike Tuttle.

The 2013 Tech Jam Award Winners with Merchants Bank president Mike Tuttle.

Many exhibitors said they met potential employees. “Each year, we are inspired by the smart, innovative people we’ve met at the Jam, and we’ve already started some great conversations which we hope will lead to more interns and staff joining our team,” said Jennifer Graham, C2 Marketing and Communications Manager.

Other highlights of the 7th Vermont Tech Jam included:

  • The presentation of the second Tech Jam awards, sponsored by Merchants Bank. Cyber security company Pwnie Express of Berlin and venture capital firm FreshTracks Capital of Shelburne were the recipients of the 2013 Vermont Tech Jam Innovation and Ambassador Awards, presented on Friday, October 18, at a reception at Nectar’s in Burlington. The Vermont Technology Alliance organized the competition. Judges included IBM Fellow John Cohn, Vermont Secretary of Commerce Lawrence Miller, Google Public Affairs Director Matt Dunne and Seven Days Publisher Paula Routly.
  • A panel discussion moderated by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger about the city’s new partnership with US Ignite. It featured panelists from Burlington, as well as representatives from other US Ignite cities.
  • The launch of the first-ever StoryhackVT, a 24-hour storytelling competition in which 15 teams created multimedia stories across three digital platforms.
  • A student STEM education showcase sponsored by the Agency of Education, during which three dozen middle and high school students from across Vermont demonstrated science, technology, engineering and math projects.
  • A maker’s showcase that included information about Burlington’s new makerspace, The Generator, opening in January 2014 in the Memorial Auditorium Annex.
  • A series of five sold-out tinkerer workshops, led by the staff of Logic Supply, which taught dozens of attendees how to build BeagleBone Black computers.
The view from above at the 2013 Vermont Tech Jam

The view from above at the 2013 Vermont Tech Jam

Sponsors of the 2013 Vermont Tech Jam include: Dealer.com, MyWebGrocer, BioTek Instruments, C2, Champlain College, Logic Supply, FairPoint Communications, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Merchants Bank, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, the Vermont Agency of Education, the Vermont Technology Council, the Vermont Technology Alliance and the city of Burlington.

The Vermont Tech Jam was started in 2008 by Seven Days, the Vermont Technology Alliance (formerly the Vermont Software Developers’ Alliance) and a coalition of public and private sector partners who sought to increase the visibility of the state’s vibrant, and growing, technology sector. There were two Tech Jams that year — one in January, and one in October. The Tech Jam became an annual event in 2009.

See news coverage of the Jam here:

WCAX-TV

VTDigger

Burlington Free Press

Boston Innovation

My Turn: Miro Weinberger

Seven Days’ Oct. 16, 2013 Tech Issue

Photos by Matthew Thorsen