Technology company Modev President Pete Erickson created the VOICE Summit to connect people through technology.
“We believe human connection is vital in the era of digital innovation and it drives everything we do,” Erickson said. “We are bringing together 5,000 people from this conference from 26 countries who are speaking for four days. VOICE is a platform event.”
Modev employs developers, engineers, designers, product leaders and executives, according to the company website.
The New Jersey Institute of Technology is hosting the VOICE Summit from July 22 to July 25. It features presentations and break-out sessions about all sorts of technological innovation.
“If you are going to be a tech hub, you are going to need a lot of support,” NJIT President Joel Bloom said. “It costs money. You cannot find a better partner than Pete Erickson. We are going to have a footprint worldwide based on his vision for 2020. NJIT continues to grow starting with nearly 12,000 students. Our graduates leave with three or four job offers in their hands.”
“I talk to my son and wife through my Smartphone,” Bloom said. “The research is behind this. It is transformative. NJIT was recognized two years in a row for being number one in the nation for accepting students from the lowest of family incomes and 10 years into the workforce they are in the top 20 percent of income. Education transforms their lives.”
U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-10th District, called Newark a “diamond in the rough that is beginning to show its brilliance to the world.
“The transformation of this town is not by mistake,” Payne said. “We strive to make sure resources and the climate is right for the “technology hub to take off.”
“We showcase the university and Newark can handle this event,” Greater Newark Convention & Visitors Bureau President and Chief Executive Officer Karin Aaron said. “Last year’s VOICE Summit generated $5 million in economic impact with people staying at hotels and eating at restaurants. …The more we host events in Newark, the more we thrive.”
David Heafitz, vice president of information technology at Prudential, touted the arts in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
Arria NLG chief operating officer Jay DeWalt explained his company generates human language from underlying data.
