5th – 7th May 10.30am – 8pm at Chiang Mai Hall, Central Plaza Chiang Mai Airport
The great leaps in digital technology can be utterly bewildering to the average person, as we grapple to keep up with latest devices, trends, gadgets and their seemingly endless possibilities. Wares, both soft and hard, may be simpler to use, but for many, difficult to master and command. Social and new media may feed us, but they also consume us, as we struggle to keep up.
When we hear the words Digital Fair in Chiang Mai, it normally comes with the image of rows of booths selling hardware and software. Hundreds of brands compete by offering deep discounts on computers, programs, games, phones…all manned by slick salesmen and pretty girls in platform heels. These fairs are great opportunities to buy what you need and to get an idea about what is trending in the market place, but they are not nescessarily a place to learn or be inspired.
The upcoming 3rd Northern Digital Expo is taking the template Chiang Mai tech fairs to a whole new level, and promises to be a must-attend event for both tech geeks and gurus as well as the reluctant luddite. For three days, at Central Plaza Chiang Mai Airport, an ambitious expo is to be held to showcase all that is exciting and new in not only the great world of digital technology, but our very own Chiang Mai world of digital technology.
Organised by the excitingly progressive College of Media Arts and Technology (CAMT), Chiang Mai University, the aim of the fair is to showcase as well as raise awareness of the exciting developments coming out of the north of Thailand as well as invite the public to come and see how they can benefit from these great digital leaps being made.
“It isn’t about selling things,” said Dr. Pradorn Sureephong, Assistant Dean of Research and International Affairs at College of Arts, Media and Technology. “We are aiming to make this annual event a really exciting and vibrant expo to help promote and support the budding digital economy in the north of Thailand, inspire newer generations to consider future career opportunities in the digital sector as well as offer the average person ideas and solutions which they can implement into their everyday lives and businesses to help them to become more competitive, efficient and widely known.”
From their first expo in 2015 seeing just 3,000 visitors which shot up to over ten thousand in 2016, this year’s extravaganza is promising to draw in even larger numbers as the buzz’s vibrations spread.
“I want people to come and be inspired, but also to find practical solutions and ideas,” continued Dr. Pradorn. “Farmers may come and learn about solar energy, vendors can find good accounting programmes and teachers can learn about new tools for their classroom. This is an opportunity to learn what the latest innovations in information technology can do for you. We will have consultants offering advice in many fields of expertise, there will be many free-trial periods offered on software so people can not only learn about, but get to implement the software into their business to see if it is a good fit.”
What will you find at the Northern Digital Expo:
• 65 northern-based companies will be showcased in the Digital SME zone.
• 50 businesses in the north and beyond will be recruiting for talent in the Job Zone.
• Meet 42 exciting startups from all over the north of Thailand.
• Find out what is going on with the software industry by meeting 10 software companies.
• Learn about the top 40 projects from students from 18 universities in the north. The universities will also be represented and happy to talk to any future students.
• Quality food and drinks to keep the energy up throughout the day.
Not only that, CAMT has lined up some very interesting speakers for the event as well as great entertainment which should be a pleasant break from all the tech speak.
There will be a Networking Dinner on 4th May where you can meet leaders in the digital economy as well as representatives from CAMT.
The official opening by the governor of Chiang Mai will be at 2pm on the 5th, followed by a talk show led by famous host Pongsuk Hiranprueck on How to Make Your Business Smart and a discussion afterwards on Smart Tourism Pitching, before the evening ends with a band from Mae Jo University.
6th May will see a keynote speaker from Thai digital giant Tencent, whose platforms consists of news, entertainment, multimedia and services in Sanook.com, Joox, and Topspace at 11am followed by a speaker from super popular social platform LINE at 1pm. At 3pm a speaker from Kaidee.com, Thailand’s Amazon, will be giving a talk on Marketplace for Thai People and taking questions before ending the day with a mini concert by Jesseter.
The final day of the expo will open with an exciting Cosplay Competition with a grand prize of 25,000 baht for the most authentic Cosplay character followed by an announcement of winning student projects at 1pm. From 1.30pm until the end of the day there will be Maker Race by Maker Space where participants will assemble RC Cars, installing them with small cameras with transmitters and then race them with RV headsets! The racers’ views will be also broadcast on the big LED screen for participation excitement. At the end of the event there will be the drawing of a grand prize donated by the event sponsors.
The event will also see the launch of what will become a monthly digital forum, an event which will bring distinguished speakers from the IT sector for an open discussion on a variety of hot topics.
So, if you are looking to get to know the Thai digital world, make some contacts, find out what is out there what that can be applied to your life or business, this is an excellent opportunity. Dr. Pradorn promises a fun, interactive event where sales are secondary to the sharing of knowledge.
“There is so much going on in the north of Thailand in the IT world, we feel that this is a perfect opportunity for the general public to come and experience and be inspired by it all.”