“IT Day in Liepāja”, a technology inspiration conference for students in grades 8-12 to explore different technologies and career opportunities in the Information Technology (IT) sector, is coming up. The event will explore the creative expressions of IT, so the conference will focus on digital art and technology.
The fast pace of global development, times of change affect virtually every field of employment. This is especially true in the IT world. Demand for highly skilled occupations is growing rapidly, and it is essential that successful career choices are made while still at school. Liepaja city municipality wants to inspire young people to acquire scientific knowledge and to facilitate the entry of specialists into professions with high added value. At the conference, students will be able to make sure that the IT sector is so broad that almost everyone will be able to find their place!
The conference will take place on 19 October from 13:00 in the “Liepaja Olympic Centre” Hall of Roses and adjacent lobby.
Students will have the opportunity to get to know different forms of digital art, as well as to gain valuable experience and inspiration from professionals in the field, in order to possible take their own steps in this direction. The conference will offer an insight into the future if design – parametric and generative design, animation in augmented reality, understand what computer graphics are capable of and how electronic music and computer games are made. Visitors will be able to discover what the information technology sector has to offer. Speakers will be accompanied on stage by presentation stands of IT companies, which will be set up in the foyer outside the Hall of Roses. The most attentive visitors will also have the opportunity to receive prizes from the City of Liepaja.
The participants will be addressed by representative of the city, such as Chairman of the City Council Gunārs Ansiņš, Liepaja Municipal Education Administration Manager Kristīne Niedre-Lathere and Liepaja Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Chairman of the Board Uldis Sesks, as well as professionals of the field, who will share their experience:
- "Future Design With 3D Modelling" - Toms Balodis, “Blue Shock Race”;
- "Possibilities of Augmented Reality" - Agnese Damberga, Maija Demitere;
- “Future Digital Skills”, Kitija Kuduma, “ZIIC”;
- “Audio Art” - Māris Dejus, Multimedia art Producer, “Tribe Immersive”;
- “Possibilities of Computer Graphics” - Ginta Siksne, Agneta Buldere, “Giraffe360”;
- “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of IT - TechVision” Guntis Čoders, “Accenture”;
- “Game Development in Latvia” - Jāzeps Rutkis, “Latvian Game Developers Association”;
- “International Game Development in Sweden” - Anton Albiin, “Swedish Games Industry”
The conference will be highlighted by an insight into the games industry, created in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden in Latvia. Anton Albiin, a representative of game development organisation “Swedish Games Industry”, will talk about the game development industry and students will have the opportunity to take part in the “Game Challenge” competition to win valuable prizes. The most creative students will have to imagine themselves as a videogame character, and portray them, and add a short description, such as traits, personality or story line. The winners will be announced during the conference – the three best and most interesting entries will receive a prize of EUR 100.
Representative of Embassy of Sweden, First Secretary, Ylva Hammarsten said: “We see great potential in young people from Latvia (also in regions outside Riga) and want to encourage them to choose a rewarding career in technology and digital arts; Technology and STEM fields are already understaffed and there will be even more opportunities in these fields in the future. We invite young people to learn, work and create international business ideas in technology. Game development is an exciting field that we believe can inspire young people to get involved in technology. This is a collaboration between two countries to promote technology skills and expand cooperation in IT and game development for companies and professionals in Sweden and Latvia. Sweden has a significant and rapidly growing games industry. The rapid growth makes recruitment a challenge and Swedish games companies now often employ talent abroad.”
Possibly unknown to many, but Sweden is home to game development companies such as “Mojang Studios”, the most popular product of which is the well-known game among youth “Minecraft”, and “DICE” (formerly – “Digital Illusions”), the company that works on the popular game series “Battlefield”.
Alongside the conference, “Science and Education Centre” (ZIIC) will organise workshops where, upon signing up in advance, there will be an opportunity to get acquainted with digital design in electronics and textile processing. The workshops will take place at the “ZIIC” premises at Autoru iela 4/6 on 20 and 21 October from 15:00 to 17:00.
Pre-registration is required to attend the event, as the number of spots are limited. More information about the event, the programme and the chance to register can be found on the “Digital Innovation Park” website - www.digip.lv/itdiena2022.
The conference is organised by Liepaja city municipality in cooperation with “Digital Innovation Park”, Embassy of Sweden in Latvia and “Science and Education Centre” (ZIIC).