The 16th Annual Youth Entrepreneur Showcase (Y.E.S.) for Arkansas Competition for 5th-8th graders is on!  The competition structure has not changed from 2020 except that the 2021 Expo Day will be virtual. 

Please watch this website for more details – for now, it’s time to get students thinking of those business ideas! Sponsored by Arkansas Capital Corporation. Click here for more information.

Want to meet online? Let's get together with our Little Rock community for an online event.

We miss you. It's BYOB and your own WiFi. Prepare to meet some new people and rebuild relationships with some of those you have been missing.

Tech After 5 Little Rock is supported by the Arkansas Center for Data Sciences. To register for Tech After 5, click here. The link will be posted by early November.

During SBIR Week in the South in November, Arkansas entrepreneurs can connect with decision makers from the country’s largest source of early-stage research and development funding – without leaving home.ASBDTC also provides a series of preparatory events during Techtober!

The event is an online opportunity to get more acquainted with “America’s Seed Fund,” the SBIR and STTR programs that provide over $3.7 billion in funding to small businesses each year in a variety of technology areas.

On Monday, Nov. 2, participating federal agencies will lead live, virtual panels and sessions for the South region. Friday, Nov. 6, is designated for virtual one-on-one meetings between innovative Arkansans and the program managers.

Small technology firms, scientists, and researchers are encouraged to take part.

One-on-one meetings are a coveted opportunity to directly engage the agency SBIR/STTR program managers who seed a wide spectrum of innovative ideas and administer over 5,500 new awards annually. To register, click here.

Program Format: Webinar
Training Topics: Government Contracting, Managing a Business, Technology
Description:

Join us for an interactive discussion about Arkansas-based funding opportunities for tech-based companies. Representatives from Central Arkansas Angel Network, Arkansas Economic Development Commission's Division of Science and Technology, Innovate Arkansas, and Arkansas Development and Finance Authority will discuss their respective programs and engage in Q&A with the audience.

This virtual event is part of "SBIR Week in the South: Arkansas." Click here to sign up.

During SBIR Week in the South in November, Arkansas entrepreneurs can connect with decision makers from the country’s largest source of early-stage research and development funding – without leaving home. ASBDTC also provides a series of Techtober events to prepare for SBIR Week.

The event is an online opportunity to get more acquainted with “America’s Seed Fund,” the SBIR and STTR programs that provide over $3.7 billion in funding to small businesses each year in a variety of technology areas.

On Monday, Nov. 2, participating federal agencies will lead live, virtual panels and sessions for the South region. Friday, Nov. 6, is designated for virtual one-on-one meetings between innovative Arkansans and the program managers.

Small technology firms, scientists, and researchers are encouraged to take part.

For added information and to register, click here.

ANNOUNCING JOLT.ED!
JOLT.ED IS A FREE, FOUR-PART PREP COURSE FROM THE JOLT GAME MASTERS. LEARN HOW TO CONNECT YOUR GAME-WINNING SKILLS TO REAL-WORLD TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES, AND NETWORK WITH OTHERS IN THE JOLT COMMUNITY!

THE JOLT.ED SERIES WILL CONSIST OF 1.5-2 HOUR SESSIONS AND WILL BE HELD THROUGHOUT  “TECHTOBER” AND ARE ALL HOSTED AND LED BY OUR JOLT GAME MASTERS — THE CYBERSECURITY EXPERTS WHO'LL HELP YOU:

1. Develop critical thinking processes and mindsets needed to solve complex cyber puzzles

2. Introduce the tools and techniques needed to make solving easier (or even possible!)

3. Identify relationships between the experience of solving both puzzles and real-world situations

4. Share strategies and tips from recent winners on how to incorporate game strategy

   Click here for more information and to register.

Purchase Tickets

Sponsorship Opportunities

This event is to raise funds for the James and Carol Hendren Science Emergency Scholarship to provide funding for promising students who need financial assistance in order to complete their degree in STEM at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

The event will be held virtually via Zoom from 4:30pm to 5:30pm on October 29, 2020. This event will consist of speakers from UA Little Rock, the Dean’s STEM Council, local business leaders, and students who have benefited from this scholarship.

Ticket price is $125 and is completely tax deductible.

The 2020 Million Women Mentors Summit will be a chance to celebrate the work of our movement, help us to publicly amplify mentoring as a highly effective practice to drive change especially during this COVID-19 world, engage with new learning and deliver corporate impact focusing on the future STEM community.

Beginning at 11 am ET and lasting until 4 pm, attendees will immerse themselves in best practices, helpful resources and thoughtful breakout sessions catered to growing the movement with exciting updates powered by Pod Network. Attendees will leave the Summit with access to new resources for measuring impact of programs within their organization.

Click here to register.

As part of the Arkansas Science Festival this October, Arkansas State University Museum will present Blast into STEM. During the week October 20-24 from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM, a variety of hands-on activities at ASU Museum will engage visitors in the awe-inspiring field of space science and enable them to connect with current NASA research. For more information about Blast Into STEM, contact curator of education Jill Kary at jkary@astate.edu or call 870-972-2074.

To register for this free event>>

The Museum of Discovery has tinkered with Tinkerfest 2020 to keep it safe. It will be split between 4 Saturdays, Sept. 12 , Sept. 26, Oct. 10 and Oct. 24. Each event will be outside and have limited participants.

The theme for the October 24 Tinkerfest will be "Spooky Tinkering" to celebrate Halloween! (Great #Techtober theme!)

Go to www.museumofdiscovery.org for more information.

This is a free webinar covering a variety of technological responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Click here to register.

9:00 – 9:30          Technology and the Pandemic

Randy Mott, Senior Vice President of Global Information Technology and CIO, General Motors

9:30 – 9:50          Pivoting Online to Serve Clients

Brett Amerine, Managing Director, Startup Junkie Consulting

9:50 – 10:20       Remote Workforce Issues

John Burgess, President, Mainstream Technologies

10:20 – 10: 50    Use of Geospatial Technologies in Response to COVID

Dr. Jack Cothren, Director, Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies

10:50 to 11:00  Break

11:00 – 11:40     Broadband and Education During the Pandemic

• ·         Dr. Rebecca Glazier, Associate Professor, School of Public Affairs, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

• ·         Don Benton, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Research and Technology, Arkansas Department of Education

• ·         Steven Bandy, General Manager, OzarksGo

TAKE ME TO THE MOON Telescopically guided tour of the moon followed by showing of award-winning movie Apollo 11 Stone Drive-In Theatre $5 Click Here for information

The Ceremony is Virtual this year and there is no charge. Click here to Register:

Program for the Evening:

Greeting by Susan Norton

Jennifer Wheeler from State GIS Speaking on statewide Arkansas COVID-19 Reporting 

This year’s honorees are:

 Mr. Don Benton, Assistant Commissioner of Research and Technology at the Arkansas Department of Education, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Dr. Susan Bristow, Teaching Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Arkansas

Dr. Jackson Cothren, Director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas

Mr. Alan Gardner, Principal & Senior Vice President of Operations at RxResults

Dr. Greg Holland, Senior Data Scientist and Director at the Arkansas Research Center

Dr. Xiuzhen Huang, Professor of Bioinformatics and Biomedical Informatics at Arkansas State University

Ms. Adita Karkera, Deputy State Chief Data Officer, Database Administration Lead at the Arkansas Department of Information Services

Mr. Arijit Sarkar, Chief Information Officer and Director of Information Systems at Arkansas Department of Education, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Mr. Scott Spradely, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at Tyson Foods

Mr. Tony Warren, Managing Director at Euronet Worldwide

Dr. Panneer Selvam, Professor of Civil Engineering at University of Arkansas

Additionally, Dr. Peter Ungar, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Arkansas will be recognized at the October 23 event as he was a member of the Class of 2019 but unable to attend his formal induction.

As part of the Arkansas Science Festival this October, Arkansas State University Museum will present Blast into STEM. During the week October 20-24 from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM, a variety of hands-on activities at ASU Museum will engage visitors in the awe-inspiring field of space science and enable them to connect with current NASA research. For more information about Blast Into STEM, contact curator of education Jill Kary at jkary@astate.edu or call 870-972-2074.

To register for this free event>>

ACOT is an annual conference geared toward Education Technology Directors, CTOs, CIOs, Superintendents and their teams. ACOT is open to K-12, College , Government, and Public Library Technology Departments. Sessions at ACOT are highly technical and informative. Our mission is to give you the skills you need to excel in your career. This year it is all virtual and sessions will be recorded.

Click here for more information and to register.

ANNOUNCING JOLT.ED!
JOLT.ED IS A FREE, FOUR-PART PREP COURSE FROM THE JOLT GAME MASTERS. LEARN HOW TO CONNECT YOUR GAME-WINNING SKILLS TO REAL-WORLD TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES, AND NETWORK WITH OTHERS IN THE JOLT COMMUNITY!

THE JOLT.ED SERIES WILL CONSIST OF 1.5-2 HOUR SESSIONS AND WILL BE HELD THROUGHOUT  “TECHTOBER” AND ARE ALL HOSTED AND LED BY OUR JOLT GAME MASTERS — THE CYBERSECURITY EXPERTS WHO'LL HELP YOU:

1. Develop critical thinking processes and mindsets needed to solve complex cyber puzzles

2. Introduce the tools and techniques needed to make solving easier (or even possible!)

3. Identify relationships between the experience of solving both puzzles and real-world situations

4. Share strategies and tips from recent winners on how to incorporate game strategy

   Click here for more information and to register.

As part of the Arkansas Science Festival this October, Arkansas State University Museum will present Blast into STEM. During the week October 20-24 from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM, a variety of hands-on activities at ASU Museum will engage visitors in the awe-inspiring field of space science and enable them to connect with current NASA research. For more information about Blast Into STEM, contact curator of education Jill Kary at jkary@astate.edu or call 870-972-2074.

To register for this free event>>

The Black Founders Summit will bring together key business leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs for actionable insights and discussions on the issues that matter most to the Black entrepreneurs.
Join us as we launch our Black Founders Summit to help Black business owners survive the current uncertain economic and build pathways to thrive as they move into the future
What to expect?
– An Agenda defined by Forward-Thinking Solutions to the challenges facing Black-Owned Businesses
– An opportunity to develop an ecosystem for advancing Black entrepreneurship
– A platform to engage on ideas and actions that will shape the future of Black Economic Development

Click here for more information and registration.

ACOT is an annual conference geared toward Education Technology Directors, CTOs, CIOs, Superintendents and their teams. ACOT is open to K-12, College , Government, and Public Library Technology Departments. Sessions at ACOT are highly technical and informative. Our mission is to give you the skills you need to excel in your career. This year it is all virtual and sessions will be recorded.

Click here for more information and to register.

On Wednesday, October 21, at 11:00 a.m. ARA Project Scope brings research closer to the people. Hosted by Arkansas Research Alliance, this month's webinar features Dr. Laura James, UAMS Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research and Director of the Translational Research Institute (TRI). 

Dr. James will explore, among other topics, the extraordinary role UAMS plays in combatting COVID-19. Not only are you invited to attend, we enthusiastically encourage you to invite fellow colleagues as well. Please forward the registration information to anyone you like. Registration is free and open to the public.  Click here to register.

As part of the Arkansas Science Festival this October, Arkansas State University Museum will present Blast into STEM. During the week October 20-24 from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM, a variety of hands-on activities at ASU Museum will engage visitors in the awe-inspiring field of space science and enable them to connect with current NASA research. For more information about Blast Into STEM, contact curator of education Jill Kary at jkary@astate.edu or call 870-972-2074.

To register for this free event>>

ACOT is an annual conference geared toward Education Technology Directors, CTOs, CIOs, Superintendents and their teams. ACOT is open to K-12, College , Government, and Public Library Technology Departments. Sessions at ACOT are highly technical and informative. Our mission is to give you the skills you need to excel in your career. This year it is all virtual and sessions will be recorded.

Click here for more information and to register.

Virtual or, for the very first time, Virtual+

Virtual+ includes all Tech Summit content, available on-demand for 12 months, PLUS the opportunity to join three à la carte small group outdoor experiences, designed for those interested in enjoying our region's unique quality of life firsthand! Click here for information and to register.

As part of the Arkansas Science Festival this October, Arkansas State University Museum will present Blast into STEM. During the week October 20-24 from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM, a variety of hands-on activities at ASU Museum will engage visitors in the awe-inspiring field of space science and enable them to connect with current NASA research. For more information about Blast Into STEM, contact curator of education Jill Kary at jkary@astate.edu or call 870-972-2074.

To register for this free event>>

ACOT is an annual conference geared toward Education Technology Directors, CTOs, CIOs, Superintendents and their teams. ACOT is open to K-12, College , Government, and Public Library Technology Departments. Sessions at ACOT are highly technical and informative. Our mission is to give you the skills you need to excel in your career. This year it is all virtual and sessions will be recorded.

Click here for more information and to register.

Virtual or, for the very first time, Virtual+

Virtual+ includes all Tech Summit content, available on-demand for 12 months, PLUS the opportunity to join three à la carte small group outdoor experiences, designed for those interested in enjoying our region's unique quality of life firsthand! Click here for information and to register.

Virtual or, for the very first time, Virtual+

Virtual+ includes all Tech Summit content, available on-demand for 12 months, PLUS the opportunity to join three à la carte small group outdoor experiences, designed for those interested in enjoying our region's unique quality of life firsthand! Click here for information and to register.

Showtime is Saturday, October 17 at 8pm CT at the Arkansas Science Festival! Click here for tickets.

After surviving a crash-course in comedy, a cohort of real-life scientists will perform their late-night comedy live for celebrity guest comedian Adam Cayton-Holland, and broadcast it to all of you at home. It will be a brainy evening of laughter, learning, and libations from the comfort of your pandemic pajamas. We've adapted our popular live showcase events for online audiences: our participants will be calling in from home, potentially their bathrooms, and possibly not-wearing pants.

Our lineup of real-life scientists will be representing the fields of botany, neuroscience, mathematics, and more! When you join our livestream event, your ticket purchase sends all proceeds towards non-profit science-outreach training and programming. Science needs a voice now more than ever, and what better way than through humor?

Our special guest is Adam Cayton-Holland! Adam is a national touring comic who has appeared on CONAN, Comedy Central Presents, The Late Late Show with James Corden, @midnight, The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, and more. Along with his cohorts in The Grawlix, he created, wrote, and starred in “Those Who Can’t,” which aired for three seasons on truTV. Cayton-Holland is the founder of the High Plains Comedy Festival in Denver. He has performed at comedy festivals all over the world, as well as The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. We have absolutely no idea why he agreed to do this show with us, but we're really, really, really happy about it. 

The show is hosted by Annie Medina, star of the stage! She's turned heads and melted hearts for years as a nationally-touring burlesque dancer and comedienne! Annie will be welcoming our new cohort of scientists to the stage with her trademark glamour, energy, and megawatt smile.

A link to our private Youtube Live Event will be sent out with a final reminder on the day-of. To ensure you receive the correct link, please don't use a spam email account (you will also need a YouTube Account). There you can join the live chat with our hyperventilating scientists leading up to 8pm CT premier. This event will only be streamed live, so don't miss it!

This event is intended for adult audiences only, and a Youtube or Google account is required by YouTube Live for age verification.

ANNOUNCING JOLT.ED!
JOLT.ED IS A FREE, FOUR-PART PREP COURSE FROM THE JOLT GAME MASTERS. LEARN HOW TO CONNECT YOUR GAME-WINNING SKILLS TO REAL-WORLD TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES, AND NETWORK WITH OTHERS IN THE JOLT COMMUNITY!

THE JOLT.ED SERIES WILL CONSIST OF 1.5-2 HOUR SESSIONS AND WILL BE HELD THROUGHOUT  “TECHTOBER” AND ARE ALL HOSTED AND LED BY OUR JOLT GAME MASTERS — THE CYBERSECURITY EXPERTS WHO'LL HELP YOU:

1. Develop critical thinking processes and mindsets needed to solve complex cyber puzzles

2. Introduce the tools and techniques needed to make solving easier (or even possible!)

3. Identify relationships between the experience of solving both puzzles and real-world situations

4. Share strategies and tips from recent winners on how to incorporate game strategy

   Click here for more information and to register.