MKE TECH News
Issue 16 - February 10, 2020     
SPOTLIGHT
Inaugural Women in Technology Social/Meet & Greet
Don’t miss the exciting first event for Women in Technology on February 19! It’s the perfect opportunity to rub elbows with people who share a passion for supporting area  women and girls working or interested in the tech field. Register  here .

Women in Technology, Wisconsin, Inc., a non-profit organization aiming to attract, grow and retain women of all ages in technology-related careers, is expanding to a new region in Milwaukee this February! The organization, founded in 2014, focuses on collaborating with Wisconsin communities to help women in technology of all ages and stages -- from the classroom to the boardroom— by providing a variety of leadership development, technology education, networking and mentoring opportunities for women and girls. Check out the website for more information and upcoming events scheduled in the Milwaukee area. 
GET INVOLVED
Your feedback from the January 28 th Community Meetup helped identify immediate action steps to accelerate a strong and sustained tech talent pipeline for the area. Based on your input, we’re looking for volunteers to help with:

  • Conducting a complete scan of all talent development programs in southeastern Wisconsin, including focus areas, targeted populations, etc. The results will be used to identify specific gaps to target with future programming and content. 
  • Creating job descriptions that attract tech talent. Designing jobs and/or job descriptions in a way that attracts tech workers bubbled up as a potential cause of the local talent gap. If you’re interested in developing recommendations for our area employers and have an HR background, we'd appreciate your help. 

Please email contact@mketech.org for more information or to volunteer for these opportunities. 
MKE TECH CENSUS RESULTS
The MKE Tech Census has officially closed and processing results is underway. To receive a copy of the inaugural report on the state of the MKE tech ecosystem, please email matt@skillspipeline.com .
STARTUPS
Godfrey & Kahn Offers Free Seminar . Milwaukee’s startup community is often characterized as nascent and lacking investor activity. Is that true? Join us at the next Project Innovate session to hear the perspectives of two active local investors and the co-founder of a local startup.

When: March 11, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Where: Godfrey & Kahn, 833 East Michigan Street, Suite 1800, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Cost: Free (A light breakfast will be provided)

The discussion will be moderated by Godfrey & Kahn attorney John McDonald. Panel members include: Chris Rebholz, Co-Founder and President of Follicle, Inc. and creator of the AER Dryer; Matt Stamborski, Principal of Outlook Development Group; Jeff Beischel, Managing Director of Wing Capital Group.

Interested in attending or have questions? Contact Susan Steberl at ssteberl@gklaw.com or 414-287-9556. 
EDUCATION
Code for Milwaukee is launching a 10-week tech internship program for students to learn how to code and build out a tech solution that serves the greater community. If you’re a teacher, student or looking to mentor the next generation of tech innovators please connect with us! More details can be found here .
TALENT
Tech Recruiting Opportunity . The Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium (MICS) is looking for companies or organizations promoting internships, full time positions or graduate programs. Don’t miss your chance to join the career fair and get in front of top computer science talent from across the midwest. Sign up now and take advantage of this great opportunity or contact mics2020@micsymposium.org for more information.

Tech Survey . HERA is conducting an employer survey to understand the talent needs of our employers and the best means for developing those skills. If you are an employer, please complete the survey
EVENTS
5 LAKES Front  
Good news! The front end developer conference in the Great Lakes region is coming to Milwaukee. The day will feature over 22 technical talks on topics such as Javascript Frameworks, Web Accessibility, UX/UI design, Web Styling and more! Interested in speaking? Submit a talk   by February 18th!

CODE + BREWS
Code + Brews is bringing the greater Milwaukee developer community together through open coding sessions over coffee and breakfast on February 15 and March 7 . These inclusive, informal, co-working sessions are for people of all skill levels. The concept is simple. We provide coffee and a light breakfast. You bring a laptop, your ideas and prepare to learn a new technical skill, work on a side project, homework or work.

Global Maxima Series
The greater Milwaukee area tech community is invited to explore how deep neural networks can be trained to “see” and solve a variety of problems in computer vision. Join us at MSOE for the presentation on March 11. Networking reception to follow. Free registration required .

Milwaukee Blockchain Conference
Be sure to attend this premier event on March 13 designed to catalyze investment into the tech space and create jobs for Wisconsin residents. Entrepreneurs and established companies come to learn about the opportunities with blockchain technology and connect with like-minded people. The conference will bring together 500+ business leaders, entrepreneurs and students. With two interest-specific tracks, roundtable discussions and networking sessions, you’ll walk away with actionable knowledge of how to use blockchain to drive results, efficiency and transparency. Check here for details and registration.

Wisconsin Tech Summit
The annual event brings together major companies and emerging firms in a setting designed to meet and explore likely business relationships around technology needs and innovation. You’ll find more details about the March 16 session on the website .

Wisconsin IT Symposium
Register today to participate in the region’s single-day event on April 15 designed for the IT executive community. The symposium provides an opportunity to gather for a day of networking, collaboration and knowledge-transfer through peer-led keynotes, breakouts, panels and networking sessions.

TECH NEWS
Be sure to share these stories and successes in your social networks, including #MKEtech, and please email contact@mketech.org with any ideas for feature stories you’d like to see highlighted in the future.

Ranking linked to affordable cost of living, risk tolerance, senior research analyst says.

The new leader of a Milwaukee organization aiming to double the number of Milwaukee technology workers by 2025 says the goal is doable. But she says it will take getting more diversity into the tech sector.

In 2019, Wisconsin made strides to position itself as a place for tech and startup growth. Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee launched a $150 million fund to invest into startups. Madison was named No. 7 on a list of the best startup cities in the Midwest. And Titletown Tech, the venture hub and fund operated by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft, officially opened.

We Energies and several new community partners have joined the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, Kathy Henrich, MKE Tech Hub Coalition chief executive officer announced at the coalition’s community event today. 

In 2019, the profile of the average potential homebuyer in Milwaukee was a 30-year-old with a credit score of 652.

The $30 million conversion of a historic Walker's Point industrial building into offices, including space for two nonprofit job training groups, has started. Eagleknit Innovation Hub, 507 S. Second St., also will seek tech-based businesses and other tenants, according to developer Wangard Partners Inc.

CONNECTING THE TECH COMMUNITY
If you have opportunities to get involved in tech, tech resources, news articles or story ideas you’d like to share with the tech community on MKEtech.org , please reach out to: contact@mketech.org .

Be sure to let us know if there’s anyone you think should be added to our newsletter distribution list . Simply drop an email with the name(s)/email address(es) to contact@mketech.org .