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Great post! I can completely relate to what was described in the first paragraph - before going to university my impression was that loads of people would be wo

Great post! I can completely relate to what was described in the first paragraph - before going to university my impression was that loads of people would be working on cool projects (not even necessarily tech-related) and that it would be really inspiring, but unfortunately when I got there this wasn't the case at all. I got the feeling that there was more cool tech stuff going on at London universities, but word never really got round to us. Our entrepreneurship society (Oxford Entrepreneurs, OE hereafter) seemed to be really disconnected with the 'tech society' (Oxford CompSoc) and the majority of people attending OE events were MBAs/other grad students. (The new OE committee are working hard to change this though) I think HackCampus is a great idea and is exactly what the UK tech scene needs. We (OE) are about to hold our first ever hackathon this November open to all students at all universities, and it seems many other universities are also starting to do the same, so a way to connect UK students interested in this kind of stuff is needed now more than ever. Best of luck to HackCampus and KCL Tech Society! Edit: I should add that a lot of Oxford alums have gone on to do really cool stuff, but I think a lot can be done to interest more undergrads in tech/entrepreneurship.

asronline 12y ago
Thanks, man! Keep us in the loop with your hackathon. We'd love to get the word out. :)
gearhart 12y ago
As an Oxford grad who used to go to a lot of OE events, I agree with you completely (and have definitely encountered the OP's disappointment!). I set up my first company in Oxford just after I left a few years ago, and there was almost nobody else there - 6 months later, we decided to move to London to find a bigger tech scene. Since, we've built a company almost exclusively out of London and Oxford technical graduates, and we've just started an internship programme this year (and they're awesome). If you'd like any involvement from inside the industry, get in touch, we're really keen to build a stronger relationship! The same goes for any technical student groups - if you're engaged enough to organise or attend tech events then you are what the London tech scene needs. That's toby at http://gearhart.co.uk/ http://gearhart.co.uk/ if you want to get in touch :)

asronline 12y ago

Thanks, man! Keep us in the loop with your hackathon. We'd love to get the word out. :)

gearhart 12y ago

As an Oxford grad who used to go to a lot of OE events, I agree with you completely (and have definitely encountered the OP's disappointment!). I set up my first company in Oxford just after I left a few years ago, and there was almost nobody else there - 6 months later, we decided to move to London to find a bigger tech scene. Since, we've built a company almost exclusively out of London and Oxford technical graduates, and we've just started an internship programme this year (and they're awesome). If you'd like any involvement from inside the industry, get in touch, we're really keen to build a stronger relationship! The same goes for any technical student groups - if you're engaged enough to organise or attend tech events then you are what the London tech scene needs. That's toby at http://gearhart.co.uk/ http://gearhart.co.uk/ if you want to get in touch :)