Find a Job, Make Connections and Learn About Local Innovation at the Vermont Tech Jam

Vermont has a national reputation for its snow sports and craft beer. But the state is also home to numerous innovative tech companies that make everything from underwater robots to battery-powered aircraft. And they’re hiring.

You can interact with dozens of these companies at the next Vermont Tech Jam, an annual career and tech expo on Saturday, October 22. Organized since 2008 by the newsweekly Seven Days, with help from the Vermont Technology Alliance, the Jam showcases some of Vermont’s most inventive enterprises at Hula, a coworking campus on the Burlington waterfront.

This year’s free event, presented by VTTA member Marvell and Hula, starts with a one-of-a-kind job fair, where job seekers, college students, career changers and other professionals can mingle and talk tech. Vermont colleges and technical programs will also be exhibiting at the event. And the Jam includes a daylong robotics demo zone where members of Vermont’s FIRST robotics community display their creations and explain this unique opportunity to help cultivate the next generation of Vermont innovators.

The career fair, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., is followed by a 4 p.m. keynote presentation from Boston Scientific cofounder John Abele and Sarah Kalil, CEO of the promising Vermont-based bioscience company CoreMap.

Abele, a Shelburne resident, helped build Boston Scientific into a company worth billions. Now he’s investing in up-and-coming new technologies, and mentoring entrepreneurs like Kalil. CoreMap is based on years of groundbreaking medical research on atrial fibrillation led by University of Vermont Medical Center’s Dr. Peter Spector; Kalil, a native Vermonter, is helping bring his innovations to market. Their company recently secured $23 million in financing.

The Vermont Tech Jam is sponsored by an array of Vermont companies and organizations committed to supporting the local tech ecosystem: Hula, Marvell, Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman, Vermont Information Processing, Vermont Tech Council, Mascoma, Data Innovations, Norwich University, Health Plans Inc., the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Vermont Technology Alliance, WCAX and Vermont Biz.

For more information, a complete schedule and a list of exhibitors, visit techjamvt.com.