The one day STEP Conference 2015 saw 2,000 attendees, three themed stages and more than 70 thought leaders covering over 15 of technology’s latest topics.
“Just a few years ago, we were a small conference with big dreams. But we were determined to chart the steps needed to grow. Look at us today – a long way from our small beginnings. That growth is not about to stop. If we continue at the same pace we will be the biggest tech & start-up conference in the entire Middle East and will have 10,000 global attendees coming to STEP by 2017,” shared Ray Dargham, STEP founder.
Apart from the public debut of the world’s 3rd most expensive car – the $3.4million Lykan Hypersport – STEP 2015 hosted keynotes speeches from digital and social media gurus including Jeremiah Owyang – Founder of Crowd Companies, Dave McClure – Founding Partner @500startups and Mike Butcher – Editor-At-Large of TechCrunch.
The event also had three dedicated stages: the main stage featuring digital gurus and the region’s most successful startups; the BMW Stage which hosted Design Track, BMW ConnectedDrive and Gaming Track; and Workshops, where a raft of experts in their fields gave engaging and inspirational workshops surrounding specific topics and issues.
Mr Owyang with his keynote speech spoke about the importance of the collaborative economy, then promised he would be back at STEP in the near future.
“There is a real opportunity for technology and especially mobile technology in Dubai. This place is young and tech-savvy and judging by the age group here at STEP 2015, that there is a potentially bright future for the many young tech start-ups here. I’ve only been here a short while but it is clear that this is the front edge of innovation. I will definitely be back,” he said.
Some of the other highlights was BMW reveal its unique tie up with the Dubai Police via its ConnectedDrive SOS button and saw Pepsi use drones to deliver chilled cans of the famous soft drink to attendees.
