The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 17: Autumn 2020 | Page 5

BUSINESS NEWS FESTIVAL TO GO AHEAD ONLINE Bath Digital Festival is delighted to announce that its 2020 event will be taking place as usual between 20th and 24th October. Like everything else in this Covid era, this year the festival will be exclusively online. Bath Digital Festival (BDF) will be bringing you the same great content as in previous years but from the comfort of your own home. With a line up of tech entrepreneurs, expert panels and discussions covering a wide range of topics across the industry, this year’s digital festival is not to be missed. Becky Rock Evans, Event Organiser, said, “Given the current economic climate, it is more important than ever that BDF takes place this year. The IT job market in Bath is more active than it has ever been, with as many professionals currently searching for jobs as companies are looking for talent. One of the key aims of the festival is to bring businesses and jobseeking professionals together, providing event sponsorship and advertising for the former, and a showcase covering the Bath tech scene for the latter. For job hunters the festival provides the perfect opportunity to see which companies in Bath they could see themselves working for.” BDF 2020 also opens up the Bath tech scene to non-tech businesses who may benefit from the services the city has to offer, especially in a world where being online has never been so imperative. A key innovation this year is the launch of the Digital Skills Exchange, which aims to tackle the city’s digital talent and skills shortage by improving the flow of talent into businesses. By opening the doors of Bath businesses, showcasing the work they do and the digital roles available, the Digital Skills Exchange will help match individual skills and talents to the various digital and tech roles that exist. Bath Digital Festival still has some available slots for guest speakers and the team is open to ideas as to the type of events you might like to run online. This year’s festival is going ahead in large part due to the generous funding of its key sponsors, Altran, Ashfords, Boost & Co, Brevio, Curo, DataSharp, Dialect, Evident Agency, Invest in Bath, iSTART, MoreSoda, MUD, OneSub, Realworld, Rocketmakers and Storm. And there’s still time for your business to be amongst them. Bath Digital Festival’s programme of events are free to attend this year, however the team are politely asking for donations to support the programme and these can be made online. To see the full schedule and obtain your virtual event wristband visit the website: www.bathdigitalfestival.co.uk To find out more about how you can get involved email: [email protected] or call: 01225 582 482 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2020 5