More than 60,000 tech enthusiasts saw over 1,700 hours of content at Expo Guadalajara’s second Talent Land from April 22 to 26.
The world’s largest talent convention intended to stimulate Mexican youth’s interests in technology-related careers with an impressive schedule of master workshops, lectures, and exhibits.
Much of the event’s emphasis revolved around job readiness and skill development to prepare participants for a “digital” global economy. Figures say that more than 9,800 work connections were made over the course of five days.
“We want to sow the seed of engineering, technology, and technological applications to solve problems that kids already identify with,” said Juan Carlos Flores Miramontes, Jalisco’s secretary of education.
Every year the Talent Network adds different thematic areas known as “lands” to the program to further achieve this mission. For the 2019 edition, people from 18 countries accessed eight landscapes.
These included Business Land, Blockchain Land, Creative Land, Developing Land, Gaming Land, Iron Land, as well as two additions, Agro Land and Recrea Land.
Throughout the week, around 5,365 guests also competed in hackathons with cumulative prizes exceeding two million pesos. Twenty-four was the average age of participants with over 62 percent male and 38 percent female.
Talent Land also attempted to break two Guinness World Records. Among so much activity, organizers achieved the largest artificial intelligence class with over 775 individuals learning IBM programming software.
However, the group’s attempt to pull off the biggest math class with YouTuber Julio Profe fell short. According to reports, the Guinness committee disqualified 887 of the 5,098 participants for not meeting certain criteria. Specifically, hundreds were disqualified for either using their cellphones, dozing off, not paying attention, talking, getting out of their seats or leaving early. All of these were rules laid out by the Guinness organization.
According to the Jalisco government’s website, the Talent Network has already announced dates for the next 2020 edition from April 13 to April 17. The public can look forward to Virgin Group’s Richard Branson being the keynote speaker.
Tourism Land will also premiere next year thanks to cooperation between the Talent Network and the Jalisco government. Together, they agree that tourism yields the potential to attract technological innovation and fresh expertise to the statewide industry.
“It will be a possibility to strengthen our tourism vision, our Jalisco brand,” said Germán Ralis Cumplido, the Secretary of Tourism. “Also, a new vision of intelligent tourism.”
“Above all, it will be a chance to restructure destinations with technology so we can spearhead at the national level smart destinations that provide greater economic and social benefits to our communities.”