From the grassroots to state government to opportunities in federal grants and contracting, three upcoming events span the full range of tech gatherings in Hawaii.

Allow me to open this column with my own: the Hawaii Geek Meet, returning after a two-year hiatus Sept. 25. It will be the 13th occurrence of this outdoor, family-friendly summer STEM festival, which all nerds know is a prime, happy and lucky number.

The first Hawaii Geek Meet was inspired by the first Maker Faire in 2006, a celebration of do-it-yourself makers, hackers and crafters. To this day, our free gathering at Magic Island breaks the mold among tech conferences: attendees are encouraged to get some sun, and to bring their kids.

As in years past you can expect to see a broad mix of groups, from astronomers and rocketry fans to cosplayers, environmental groups, robotics teams and sci-fi clubs. Play some oversized board games, show off your favorite gadgets and make some new friends.

And there’s still room for your club, tech firm or startup. Sign up and set up a tent for a combined summer potluck and outreach opportunity.

For more information on the Hawaii Geek Meet, visit hawaiigeek.com.

Two days later things get a little more formal with the Hawaii Digital Government Summit. Also returning to an in-person event after a pandemic break, the summit will take place Sept. 27 at the Sheraton Waikiki.

While it’s unlikely you’ll see Storm Troopers in the halls, you will get a good look at something many consider similarly mythical: innovation in the public sector.

“Government is large and complicated, and working with government isn’t easy,” says state Chief Information Security Officer Vincent Hoang. “Lots of rules are in place to minimize bad behaviors, but that creates a lot of speed bumps for most folks that are genuinely trying to help.

“One of the primary goals (of the summit) is to highlight the work being done in government, and where we want or need to go,” he explains.

In addition to Gov. David Ige, speakers include Hawaii Chief Information Officer Douglas Murdock, University of Hawaii Chief Information Officer and Information Technology head Garret Yoshimi, and executives from Oracle and Walt Disney World.

Organized by the state Office of Enterprise Technology Services, session topics range from data governance and cybersecurity, to embracing the cloud and data analytics. There will even be a preview of the other big event organized by ETS: the Hawaii Annual Code Challenge.

For more information on the Hawaii Digital Government Summit, visit events.govtech.com.

Finally, things get serious in the fall with the first-ever Pacific Tech Conference. Taking place Oct. 24-26 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, the conference is actually a relaunch of a longstanding federal contracting conference.

With a more accessible name, organizers are casting a wider net in 2022, folding in West Coast and Pacific Island stakeholders.

The core program will explore opportunities available to local businesses under the federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

“We wanted to make it bigger because there’s so much more that surrounds SBIR,” explains Cindy Matsuki, who manages the SBIR program for the Hawaii Technology Development Corp.

“We have a lot of big problems in Hawaii, and our tech community is small, so sometimes it helps to partner with others,” she continues. “I want Hawaii companies — more mature Hawaii companies that aren’t yet working with the federal government — to find partners and get more business and customers at this conference.”

A glance at the Pacific Tech Conference program makes it clear that a significant portion of the opportunities relate to the military and the defense industry. Matsuki said Hawaii leads the nation in the percentage of defense-related SBIR funding.

“Because of the threat of China and North Korea, I think there’s a lot of opportunities and funding that are coming to the region, including Hawaii,” she said. “I think a good outcome for (the Department of Defense) is to discover a company here that would fit that could potentially solve a need or fill a technology gap.”

The conference also will include a tech showcase where local companies will have an opportunity to pitch their products and services to attendees.

For more information on the Pacific Tech Conference, visit htdc.org/pacifictech.

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Ryan Kawailani Ozawa, publisher of the Hawaii Bulletin newsletter, hosts an open Hawaii tech community chat server at HawaiiSlack.com.