The first Delaware Innovation Week kicked off on Friday night with a reception at the new JPMorgan Chase Technology Center near Wilmington.
The week-long event was organized by Technical.ly Delaware, a technology news and events service that expanded from Philadelphia to Delaware in 2014.
Chris Wink, editorial director of Technical.ly said he is pleased with the response to a large number of events that will continue until Friday. Technical.ly has similar events in its other markets that include Baltimore and Brooklyn.
Gov. Jack Markell again praised the decision by JPMorgan Chase to expand to the center, which underwent a major overhaul after being acquired from AstraZeneca.
Michael Zbranak, managing director, global technology for JPMorgan Chase, said the company will grow its technology presence in the state.
The financial services giant is now the largest private “for profit” employer in the state. The largest private employer is Christiana Care.
Markell also took note of the Tech Hire program, which created a partnership among financial services companies in the state in training and hiring financial services workers.
The governor said this marks a change from the traditional strategy of companies hiring workers away from each other.
A key element of the program, Zip Code Wilmington has enrolled its first class. According to Markell, students are on their way to technology careers with good pay.
Delaware Tech is also launching a program that will provide certification in Java, a computer programming language, Markell said.
