The second edition of the Algarve Tech Hub Summit, which took place between the 21st and 23rd of June, at the Penha Campus of the University of Algarve (Faro), ended on a very positive note, reinforcing the region's position as an innovation hub at an international level.
The event reached around 700 registrations, which represented, according to Paulo Santos, vice-president of the Algarve STP, «a consolidation of the first summit».
«We managed not only to bring together the Algarve sector in the area of technology, reflecting on the challenges for the future, but also to bring here a group of people outside the ecosystem, who were surprised by the positive, dynamic and strategic way in which the Algarve is work in this area», he says.
André Botelheiro, coordinator of the Communication and Protocol Office at the University of Algarve, also makes a “very positive assessment both in terms of the number of participants and in terms of the quality of the panels. The Algarve Tech Hub Summit fulfilled the objectives it set itself, which basically involve bringing to the Algarve a public interested in these matters, eventually interested in settling in the Algarve to undertake, innovate, create jobs and create wealth, in the bottom".
For the University of Algarve, this event «is the validation of the work that has been done for several years and that, more and more, materializes, investing in the support of entrepreneurship, technological innovation and research».
All of this translates, «today, into an ecosystem that is real and that is obviously very important for the diversification of the economic and social fabric of our region», he highlights.
Miguel Fernandes, president of the Algarve Evolution association, which brings together companies in the technology sector, praises, for his part, that the Algarve Tech Hub Summit «is already the biggest innovation event in the region and the second edition was a huge success, leaving an impact notable in the progress and affirmation of the Algarve as an innovation hub.
With a global audience and speakers, the event attracted participants from around the world, including investors, venture capitalists, and technology enthusiasts».
In all, more than 40 nationalities were represented, including investors, entrepreneurs, students, researchers and much more.
Miguel Fernandes also highlights the «international level speakers from technological centers such as Silicon Valley, in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, among others, who gave engaging presentations». The president of Algarve Evolution thanks the «incredible organizing team, sponsors, municipalities, local government and dedicated volunteers who made all this possible».
«If the Algarve Tech Hub, until recently, was a dream and was seen as a project with very ambitious goals, today we see that the Algarve is already considered by many to be one of the best lifestyle hubs, at an international level, and we have more and more remote worker, digital nomads and “new Algarveans” settling in our region and undertaking and willing to collaborate with the regional ecosystem to develop and elevate the Algarve», he adds.
«Now come the “Zebras”, “Unicorns” and many others, because, at the end of the day, we want more and better entrepreneurs and companies!», concludes Miguel Fernandes.
The Algarve Tech Hub Summit is scheduled to return in 2024, on the 30th and 31st of May.
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