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  • 15 Jun 2018 by DigiBC

    DigiBC, in conjunction with the BC Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology, was delighted to welcome a delegation of Korean VR/AR developers, investors, and other stakeholders led by the Gyeonggi Content Agency to British Columbia last month. The delegation was one of the first outcomes of the three-year collaboration agreement between DigiBC and the Gyeonggi Content Agency signed in January 2018 when James Hursthouse accompanied Premier John Horgan to Korea as part of his mission to Asia. Advancing collaboration in digital media and technology is a key focus of the overall action plan between the two sister provinces.

     

     

    Gyeonggi Province, which can be thought of as the 'Greater Seoul Region', is home to many leading Korean games and mixed reality companies and this delegation is an exciting next step in our longer-term plans to encourage cooperation and investment between our regions. The aims of the delegation were to meet with local VR/AR companies looking for co-development, investment, and partnership opportunities, learn more about how British Columbia is emerging as a key MR development hub and an ideal location to be the gateway to the North American market for Korean companies, and promote other avenues of cooperation that exist between Gyeonggi and British Columbia, including international incubation opportunities in the heart of the Korean Games and MR industries for BC companies.
     
     
    The delegation spent three days in British Columbia, beginning with a reception at Canada Place hosted by the BC Ministry of Jobs, Technology and Trade, attended by the Korean Consul General, Mr. Gunn Kim, Assistant Deputy Minister of JTT, Brian Krieger, and Executive Director of DigiBC, Brenda Bailey. Edo De Martin, Director of Microsoft Vancouver, gave a short presentation on why Microsoft has chosen BC to be one its main investment targets for its MRy business. Business in Vancouver covered the event and the resulting article can be viewed here - https://biv.com/article/2018/05/vancouvers-growing-vrar-tech-reputation-draws-interest-south-korea
     
    The GCA and DigiBC hosted a showcase and reception event at the BC Tech Hub Cube on May 30 with around 100 VR/AR local developers and other stakeholders in attendance to meet the Korean companies. On Thursday, the delegation was able to visit three leading BC-based mixed reality studios; Finger Food Studios, Stambol Studios, and Eyexpo and were able to enjoy product demos, as well as presentations from sector leaders on their thoughts on the current and future environment for MR development, both at home and globally. 
     
    The delegation is the first in a series of events that are planned as part of the collaboration agreement, and demonstrates DigiBC's commitment to helping our member companies and the broader interactive community here in BC to benefit from relationships with companies in international markets, as well as helping grow BC's digital media sector by attracting overseas investment and partnerships to our region.
     
     
  • 15 Jun 2018 by DigiBC

    Last month, DigiBC celebrated the May 'Two-Four' with a networking mixer event at our new office in Mount Pleasant. We wanted to create a fun night in a casual atmosphere for our members to socialize with their industry peers. Watching the night unfold, it proved to be a success! Dipping into various interesting conversations and witnessing many new connections being made showed how valuable these events can be. Brenda Bailey, DigiBC's Executive Director, spoke to the attendees highlighting our mission to promote, support and accelerate the growth of BC's interactive and digital media (IDM) industry to the benefit of current and future generations and to prioritize government relations, education, networking and community building.

     

     

    This event would not have been possible without the generous support of our wonderful sponsors. We would like to give a huge shout out to EA Vancouver (beer sponsor), Demonware & Fasken Martineau (gold), McCrea Immigration Law & Relic Entertainment (silver) and Liberty Wine Merchants (wine sponsor). We can't thank them enough! Be sure to join our mailing list and stay up-to-date on all our future events here.

     

     

     

  • 12 Jun 2018 by DigiBC

    Skybox Labs is a game development studio based in Burnaby and was founded in 2011 by a group of former EA Vancouver employees - Steve Silvester, Shayang Kong, and Derek MacNeil. Their work spans across all of the major gaming platforms (console, mobile, and desktop) and they specialize in creating new game concepts from scratch, with design being one of their major strengths. Originally starting out with a team of eight, the studio has seen itself grow over the last seven years and is now sitting at around 115 employees. They pride themselves on being bootstrapped and fully independent, with no external financing. 

    Skybox has developed alongside some of the industry's best publishers on world-class franchises such as Halo 5, Halo Forge PC, Minecraft for Nintendo Switch, and Age of Empires, in addition to doing work in the VR/AR space. Their current roster of work includes products in the Halo and Minecraft universes, a few unannounced AR/VR projects, and their own internal IP. This diverse portfolio provides the opportunity to work with high-profile names in the industry and the ability to be creative on IP projects.
     

    Skybox has an awesome culture of passionate gamers where tons of activities happen in the office before and after work. Everything from console and PC games to board games, miniatures, and collectible card games. This, in turn, has helped to build a real sense of comradery in the studio, as well as mutual respect and trust between founders and staff. There is little employee turnover and the teams run very independently with a low level of bureaucracy. Over the past seven years, the studio worked hard to preserve their core values around transparency and openness which has resulted in having the best of both worlds - a maintained flat structure of a small company while being large enough to work on a variety of projects. 
     

    Skybox is currently hiring for a number of positions and further information on these roles can be found on their website - www.skyboxlabs.com/jobs/
     

     

     

  • 11 Jun 2018 by DigiBC

    BC Tech hosted the annual Technology Innovation Awards (TIAs) on June 2 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Current and past DigiBC members were featured prominently at the event, including nominations in the following categories:

    Finger Food Studios - Excellence in Technology Adoption
    East Side Games
    - Tech Culture of the Year
    Cloudhead Games
    & LlamaZoo Interactive - Startup of the Year
     

    Congratulations to the nominees! Your companies were well represented and the exposure you received was significant. We were delighted to be there to celebrate when Ayogo won the Spirit of BC Tech award, and send out congratulations to Michael Ferguson and his team. More than just a party and celebration of talent, the awards are an opportunity to highlight the creative tech sector to the many politicians who attend the event. Working to increase the IDMTC never ceases, and the TIAs presented an informal venue for networking with important decision makers. A win for us all.

     

     

     

    DigiBC’s Executive Director, Brenda Bailey, and board member, James Hursthouse, both had a strong presence at the #BCTECH Summit facilitating and moderating multiple panels. The summit was well attended with over 9,000 participants, 3,300 delegates, and 2,000 high school students. We saw many of our member studios on the expo floor highlighting the excellent work of our sector while engaging potential customers, partners, and employees.  
     

    Having 2,000 high school students in attendance created an opportunity to highlight the Play to Learn” program to them, as well as the 200 teachers who were chaperoning. Created by EA, this Steam based platform is currently in more than 50 classrooms across the province. DigiBC is working with Everfi and the Ministry of Education to expand creative tech outreach using this platform and other educational tools from member companies in the upcoming school year. For a two minute summary of the event, click here.

     

     

  • 08 Jun 2018 by DigiBC

    Minerva is working with Refinery Leadership, to develop a five-day program focused on inclusive leadership skills. This is part of their Face of Leadership BC Tech initiative. They are piloting the program and are looking for participants who:
     

    • are interested in becoming more inclusive leaders
    • work in tech or have a tech-focused job
    • can attend all the sessions in Vancouver
    • will give honest, constructive feedback

     

    Program Overview

    A recent report by the HR Tech Group noted that 94% of surveyed employees in the BC tech sector believe that diverse teams produce better outcomes and business results – yet only 33% offer diversity and inclusion training to leaders. It is increasingly important to build inclusive work cultures as, despite a projected shortfall of talent, there are low levels of diverse representation from key groups in the tech sector. In what ways are you and your organization already leading inclusively? In what ways could you be better, and where is your edge? In partnership with The Refinery Leadership Partners, Minerva is offering a transformative program on Inclusive Leadership for all leaders and all genders in the tech sector. Participants should have a readiness to explore ways to:
     

    1. Observe our personal biases and the impact these biases have on others
    2. Build more empathy, compassion, and curiosity towards others who are different than us
    3. Have challenging conversations by leaning into the discomfort
    4. Lead more inclusively to unlock potential and performance
    5. Influence other leaders to co-create a culture of belonging

     

    This program is based on the belief that to truly create an inclusive culture and yield its advantages, we need have real conversations that expands 1) how we think about each other, and 2) what we are willing to do to help everyone in our organizations show up as their best selves. We believe this takes courage, collective generosity, an expectation that we won’t always get it right. AND we value the importance of having fun along the way!

     

    Program Dates & Format:

    • Workshops (all participants must attend all workshops)
      • Workshop 1: June 26-27
      • Workshop 2: September 11-12
      • Workshop 3: October 16
      • Light pre-work and intercession work in between workshops
    • Lunches provided
    • Location: Vancouver BC, venue TBD

     

    Enrolment:

    All leaders in the BC tech sector are invited to participate. As spaces are limited, we are only receiving 12 leaders for this program. There is no cost to participate.

    To enroll, please contact Tina Strehlke (tinas@minervabc.ca) by Friday, June 15.

     


     

     

     

  • 06 Jun 2018 by DigiBC

    Come meet, interact and network with more than 500 VCs, corporate VCs, angel investors, investment bankers and CEOs of early stage and emerging growth companies at the prestigious New York Venture Summit being held on July 10 & 11 at the Convene, New York City.

    This exclusive event put on by youngStartup Ventures will feature more than 50 VCs on interactive panels, presentations from more than 50 top innovators and high-level networking opportunities. The summit is a highly productive venture conference that is dedicated to showcasing VCs, corporate VCs and angel investors committed to funding early stage and emerging companies. Whether you are an investor seeking access to new early stage deals, or a CEO or founder of a new venture looking for funding, visibility and growth, #NYVS18 is one event you won’t want to miss.
     

    Use the code (DIGIBCVIP) to get an extra 10% off the early bird rates. http://bit.ly/2IIUmOo


    Call for TOP INNOVATORS! Get Noticed > Get Funded > Grow Faster
    A select group of more than 50 top innovators from the technology, clean tech, ed tech, life sciences/healthcare sectors will be chosen to present their breakthrough investment opportunities to an exclusive audience of venture capitalists, corporate investors, private investors, investment bankers, and strategic partners.

    Apply to present or nominate a company - for more information or to be considered for one of the top innovator slots click here.