Opening Keynote - Gaming Without Borders: How Video Games Are Shaping All Technology

From NVIDIA's GPU's, to decades of AI-driven NPCs and immersive worlds, to real-time physics engines and cloud computing, video game technology has become the foundation for innovation across industries. In this electrifying keynote, Matt Thompson—a technology veteran who has worked with companies like Microsoft, Disney, Warner, Universal, Sony, Meta, Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Canva, Adobe, Vimeo, Twitch, Activision, Zynga, Netflix, Paramount, Roblox, Fortnite, Unreal Engine, Unity, and YouTube—will explore how gaming is driving the evolution of interactive media to replace social media, being used for medical and other training, Robotics, forensics, flight simulators and multiple military applications, interactive marketing, and the metaverse. Learn how concepts born in gaming, like gamification, real-time rendering, and adaptive AI, are transforming everything from education and healthcare to fintech and smart cities powered by Digital Twins. Whether you’re in gaming or not, this session will show why the future of technology is being built on the foundations of play.

Track B - Game Development in the Classroom & Beyond: Building the Next Generation of Coders & Creators

In an effort to help create technologically proficient talent, this panel discusses different approaches to teaching coding for kids and existing workforce generations by using the fun of creating video games as the catalyst. Join our panelists in exploring what’s being done today and what’s to come in non-traditional approaches to learning and workforce development!

Breakout 2B - Fueling the Talent Pipeline: Why Kids Don’t Care About Geo—and How to Change That