More than 2,000 participants are expected to celebrate the Cleveland tech industry during 2014 NEOSA Tech Week April 11-18.

“Tech Week is really becoming part of the vernacular in the region,” says NEOSA director Brad Nellis. “If we hit the 2,200 mark, we will have quadrupled the number in attendance from our first year in 2011.”

Some Tech Week favorites, like NEOSA’s Best of Tech Awards and the NASA Space Apps Challenge, will be on hand once again this year, while some newcomers, like TechPint, will be rounding out the activities.

Global Cleveland’s virtual IT job fair will take place throughout the week. Tom Bennett, Global Cleveland’s director of employer relations and talent attraction, says several hundred job openings will be listed. “This is a great opportunity through Tech Week,” says Bennett. “Not only are there jobs to be had, it’s a great life in Cleveland.”

Kent State University will host its annual Career Expo on Friday, April 17, for students who want to learn more about specific tech careers. “It’s a great way for students to talk to people about what they do for a living,” says Nellis. “It’s a chance for students to understand the different jobs they can get in Northeast Ohio.”

NASA will again host its Space Apps Challenge April 11-13. The challenge is designed to inspire and challenge software developers with actual NASA projects. Last year, more than 9,000 people from around the world participated. This year by popular demand, teams are allowed to work around the clock if they so choose. “Last year we kicked them out at 10 p.m. and they were pissed off,” recalls Nellis. “It’s really intense, it is very cool, and it’s hard-core geek.”

New on the scene this year is TechPint, which will host its fourth meeting on April 16th at the Agora Theater. Kyle Stalzer, CEO of Tackk, and Alex Yakubovich, co-founder of ONOSYS, will speak. And of course, there will be beer. ”We’ve been supporting them and spreading the word,” says Nellis. “It brings a cool, dynamic group together that’s focused on early stage stuff.”

“It's a common misconception that everything in the tech world can be branded simply as 'information technology,’ but in reality you have many different categories and groups of people,” says TechPint founder Paul McAvinchey. “So people coming to TechPint may be different from people going to other tech events in Northeast Ohio. Tech Week does a great job in bringing all these disparate groups together once a year to check in and share ideas, so it makes complete sense for TechPint to participate in this great event.”

The highlight of the week is NEOSA’s Best of Tech Awards on Thursday, April 17. Categories range from "Most Promising Startup" to "Technology Company of the Year." There are plenty of other activities during Tech Week, including Startup Weekend, networking and pitch events.

Go to the Tech Week calendar for more details.

Sources: Brad Nellis, Tom Bennett, Paul McAvinchey
Writer: Karin Connelly