ECS supports major European student tech conference

ECS was a lead sponsor of the first pan-European student conference, held in London on Saturday 27 September.

EF Unhacked, organized by Entrepreneur First, brought together over 200 students and recent graduates from across Europe, to hear from founders and technologists about the practical and commercial applications of tech startups, and to connect with like-minded enthusiasts for the new business opportunities that technology is creating. The event was held at Level 39, One Canada Square in Canary Wharf.

Speakers included Ben Medlock, Co-Founder and CTO of Swiftkey, Avid Larizadeh, Co-Founder of Boticca, and Dan Crow, CTO of Songkick. There were also panel discussions from graduates of the Entrepreneur First programme, as well as student talks and networking sessions. Over 450 applications were received for the 200 places at the event, with participants travelling from over 23 countries to be there.

ECS was well represented with 13 students in attendance. “EF UnHacked was the first conference I've ever attended, and I'm so glad I went!”, said Millie Pearce, final-year student in Information Technology in Organisations. “I had a fantastic time, met some inspiring like-minded people and was privileged to listen to such great speakers - definitely an experience I'd love to repeat!”

"All the keynote speeches really inspired me to get going with my startup and do great things," said third-year Computer Science student Roberto Gregoratti. "Especially Dan Crow's, which showed us how important it is to be passionate about the future of tech!"

Altay Adademir, first-year student in Software Engineering, commented: “It was a really good event for people thinking of making start-ups, especially to be able to hear from programmers who have been so successful with their own business start-ups.”

EF (Entrepreneur First) is the only seed investment programme that selects purely on the basis of technical talent. Students are able to join the programme before they have a team or an idea for a business, and receive funding support over an intensive seven-month programme that enables the founding of a startup. Four ECS graduates have been part of the programme, which began in 2012.