TWO workshops central to Bradford Tech Week are being run this week by tech experts Exa Networks.

First up is the Exa Hack Jam on Wednesday October 21, followed by a Virtual Video Games Tour on Thursday, October 22.

The Bradford firm behind the online workshops is an internet service provider delivering bespoke internet services, and has been involved in the city's first ever Tech Week since its inception.

Described as a junk modelling challenge with a strong emphasis on creativity, initiative, resourcefulness and collaboration, the Hack Jam, will see those taking part collaborating in teams to solve a tech problem using limited resources against the clock.

On Thursday the Video Games Tour is essentially a tour around Bradford for young people with an interest in video games who are considering a career in the industry.

The workshop also aims to raise awareness of businesses in Bradford that contribute to the video game industry, and can give an insight into the pathways into tech roles within the industry.

It will include interviews with Nele, a young games developer who works a local video games company, Tyler from Ilkley, who works for an independent video games firm based in Manchester , and Adam from Impact Gamers BFD, who talks about the opportunities to attend regular activities linked to video games and about the benefit of guidance from a mentor.

Both workshops are aimed a pupils in years 8 and 9, and can be accessed by schools or students studying at home.

Tech Week has been launched by Bradford Means Business, The Telegraph & Argus, LOCALiQ and tech experts Exa Networks. The initiative aims to help young people into careers in digital industries.

The programme will all be online this year, with three workshops in total taking place throughout the week. In addition there are hundreds of tech-related learning videos available on the Tech Week YouTube channel, including exploring AI learning with the University of Bradford; courses in tech at Keighley College, Science Festival STEM activities, and the PwC Employability Hub.

Tech Week aims to firmly place the idea of tech as a career into the minds of school and college students across the district and challenge them to think about how tech impacts on almost every type of business.

The team behind the initiative have been working closely with the University of Bradford, Bradford College, City Fibre, Exa Networks, Cloud2, Teledyne, BTL, Virtual College, and Emerald, to develop an interactive programme for students and give them a taste of life in the tech sector.

Visit bradfordmeansbusiness.com for more.