Last week, City Hall Plaza played host to HUBWeek 2018, an immersive arts, science, technology, and innovation festival featuring industry leaders from all over the world. More than 500 middle and high school students as well as 40+ teachers from across the district participated in the event, exploring the most cutting-edge and impactful ideas of our time.

Together with the team at HUBweek, the Office of External Affairs (OEA) coordinated professional development experiences for educators and students with:

• Amazon Robotics
• iRobot
• LEGO Education
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals
• Apple
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Yuemey
• Ben and Tonya Mezrich (authors of BPS summer reading book Charlie Numbers and the Man in the Moon)

The focus of these experiences was to expose BPS students to jobs of the future while giving educators the tools they need to prepare our students for those jobs.

In just its third iteration, “HUBweek has grown into a leading ideas festival, covering the forefront of innovation and bringing together attendees from 59 countries, 46 states and 38 industries. Through smaller curated experiences and large-scale open gatherings, HUBweek is designed to inspire curiosity, break down silos, and spark bold solutions for a more inclusive future.” (hubweek.org)

This year’s celebration included more than 200 a la carte sessions covering tech, art, education, and more, as well as special panels and programming. You can see the full agenda from this year’s event here.

“We really appreciate the opportunity and the exposure that [HUBWeek] provided to our students,” said Fernando Cleves, a teacher at the Kilmer school. “I asked my students what was resonating in their minds regarding what the panelists mentioned… Many hands were up and I heard ‘go deep in what you love,’ ‘don’t let anyone define you,’ and ‘remember to relax after you work hard.’ It is very motivating to see that they had fun, enjoyed science, and had a positive experience.”

On the last day of HUBweek, the Managing Director and Senior Advisor of OEA, Makeeba McCreary, participated in a panel called The Future of Education: Moving our Students More than a Mile. This conversation highlighted how the City of Boston is connecting groundbreaking technology to educators and students in an effort to advance curricula and prepare future talent. Alongside partners from Timothy Smith Network, Converse, and BU Spark!, Dr. McCreary discussed how OEA is partnering to extend the classroom into innovation spaces across the city.

The week ended with one final panel – an inspirational showcase about the student-led movement to end gun violence. Among the panelists were David Hogg, co-founder of March for Our Lives, and BPS Street Team member Ritchy Rinchet, a junior at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School.

A huge thank you to everyone on the HUBWeek team for organizing this terrific event and helping to foster student interest in innovation and technology. An additional thank you to each of the corporate partners for supporting this endeavor.

For a quick look at the HUBWeek experience, scroll through the photos below.