Students are invited to come ride the lift to Silicon Slopes, Utah's high-tech corridor, during the Rollins Center for eBusiness' semiannual eBusiness Day Friday, Nov. 21, at the Tanner Building on the Brigham Young University campus. The event will include speakers, discussion panels and raffles.
Silicon Slopes is the term for the area in Utah along the Wasatch Front with more than 5,200 high-tech and life science companies.
"Many believe Utah can become like Silicon Valley," says John Richards, managing director of the eBusiness Center. "The keynote speaker and panel sessions will focus on how to overcome obstacles standing in the way of this vision."
Josh James, president and CEO of Omniture, will discuss this year's theme of Silicon Slopes as the keynote speaker at 9 a.m. in 151 Tanner Building.
The event will include panel discussions where prominent business leaders discuss key issues facing high-tech companies in Utah. The issues to be discussed are how Utah's image could limit its high-tech potential, whether college students are adequately prepared to join the workforce, and if there is enough capital available to fund powerful high-tech companies.
"Students should come to eBusiness Day because it will provide them with a chance to be a part of something big," says Joshua Nicholls, student lead of eBusiness Day. "Silicon Slopes is an emerging label in Utah, and this is a great opportunity for students to get involved in a powerful discussion about things that really matter here."
In addition to the discussion panels, Utah technology companies will set up booths in the Tanner Building atrium for students to network and learn more about the state's role in advancing the technology industry.
"Students will be able to rub shoulders with some of the hottest companies in Utah tech today including Omniture, Move Networks, LanDESK, DirectPointe, IM Flash Technologies, etc.," says Mark Adams, community development liaison for the Silicon Slopes initiative.
For additional information and a detailed schedule of events, visit ebizday.byu.edu.
The Marriott School of Management, which is hosting the event, has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world.
For this and other Marriott School news releases, visit the online newsroom at marriottschoool.byu.edu/news.
Writer: Rachel Finley
