Hull hosts first developer conference putting city on the tech map

Hull has been put in the national tech spotlight by hosting its first ever software engineering conference.

The Developers Up North Conference, held at Jubilee Central Church, Hull, brought together 100 top software developers, engineers, and technology professionals from across the North for a day of learning, connection, and inspiration – showcasing Hull as a thriving digital hub.

KCOM software developer and event organiser Amaka Ndukwu,  said: "It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase Hull and everything we have here that can make Hull a genuine force to be reckoned with on the national tech stage. To attract 100 top professionals was a real coup for the city.

“Our speakers encouraged us to be proud of what we had achieved, because running a conference in a smaller city is genuinely hard. But we did it, and Hull is back on the map."

The conference drew attendees from as far as York, Sheffield, and Louth, with teams attending from organisations including MKM, KCOM, Wren Kitchens, the Home Office, and Sabre Technology.

The one-day conference, organised by developers Damilare Bakare, Fejiro Gospel, and Amaka Ndukwu featured a wide-range of TED Talk-style presentations covering the major issues featuring the tech sector today, including artificial intelligence, frontend performance, modern web architecture, and software engineering craft.

Speakers included Jack Franklin, a Senior Developer at Google, Ryan Townsend of [insert where he’s from]  and Harry Roberts of CSS Wizardry, who closed the day with a keynote speech on building for the modern web.

The conference follows in the footsteps of the Middlesbrough Frontend community, which previously ran large-scale developer events across the region. The organisers have signalled their intention to grow the event and rotate it across Northern cities in future years.

All the presentations from the day will soon be available on the Developers Up North YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.developersupnorth.co.uk.