By Lynzee Mychael
With Black History Month 2023 upon us it’s important to find new and innovative ways to celebrate black advancements, and Tech Town Detroit has an upcoming conference that should be on everyone’s calendar.
Thursday, Feb. 16 , Tech Town Detroit presents, Detroit on the Move: Celebrating the Evolution of Black Mobility at the Wayne State Industry Innovation Center. The interactive conference begins at 9:30a.m. and plans to host upward of 120 guests and students. The conference will feature panelists, demonstrations, and a deep dive into how technology and mobility have evolved in the city of Detroit over time.
Raina Baker, Outreach and Engagement manager with Tech Town Detroit, says the event will create much needed dialogue around mobility and what it means to Detroiters with a focus on inner cities and minorities. Baker’s role is based within tech with a focus on mobility.
“The purpose of this event is twofold. To celebrate pioneers in the mobility sector but also to get metro Detroiters thinking about mobility differently,” says Baker. “We are the Motor City, but mobility is so much more than automotive.”
Key Tech Town organizers working alongside Baker are Angeline Lawrence, Director of Entrepreneur Education, Dr. Marlo Rencher, Director of Tech Based Programming, and Tu Le, Entrepreneur in Residence (ERI). Baker credits the teams’ collaborative skills and passion for mobility solutions in helping them create a valuable event.
Tech Town Detroit defines mobility as the movement of people or things in cost effective, energy efficient, and accessible ways. This includes innovations from electric vehicles to electric bikes and robots. To demonstrate some of these advancements, Baker and her team have enlisted the help of local high school robotics programs. Participates reach as far as Pontiac and as close as right in the heart of Detroit.
One of those local programs is the Mary Grove High School Robotics team, Led by Leon Pryor. Mary Grove Robotics will be in attendance showcasing their robots and recent developments. Baker, who is a proud Detroiter, says she is blown away at the fact youth right in her back yard are building semiautonomous robots. She refers to them as geniuses and future pioneers.
“They are going to be the mobility pioneers. We see them as innovators, thinkers, and emerging entrepreneurs.”
To invite the youth into the conversation and promote engagement, Tech Town is holding a pitch competition and participants will showcase their problem-solving skills by answering, what are some of the challenges that vulnerable populations face when it comes to mobility?
“We have outlined those [populations] as pregnant women or birthing people, seniors, people with disabilities and those who face economic disadvantages,” says Baker.
Students were asked to submit pitches offering solutions to mobility issues that those vulnerable groups face today. Finalists and winners will be announced at the conference where they will receive cash prizes and strategy sessions with Tech Town’s Mobility Entrepreneur in Resident (EIR). These strategy sessions will give students the resources they need to pursue their ideas all while building skills within innovation, collaboration, and execution.
Baker says fostering relationships while creating an open forum between current mobility partners and emerging pioneers will lead to tech advancements that will benefit the cities accessible mobility efforts.
“With the pitch competition we’re not going to only hear young people’s ideas and just give them money. We want this to be a lasting relationship. They’ll also be able to book strategy sessions so they can polish their ideas and be challenged.”
The Fireside Chat will open the floor to flowing dialog with keynote speaker Dr. Donna Bell, Executive Vice President of Product Creation, Engineering, and Supply Chain at Lordstown Motors. Bell will be accompanied by panelist in the tech and development space including Mack Hendrick, EIR and development with Tech Town, Brittni Abiolu, Founder and Managing Director of VentureHue, and a host of prominent investors, founders, and directors providing their expertise on topics surrounding advancements and mobility in Detroit.
This knowledgeable panel will also provide guidance on how to secure funding for start-ups, understanding the mobility echo system, and why mobility development is important in the city of Detroit.
Baker says that Tech Town Detroit will be hosting additional mobility events throughout the year to encourage more conversations around solutions for those populations in need. If interested in attending Tech Town’s, Detroit on the Move Interactive Conference register at techtown.zohobackstage.com.
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