Alumni buzzing about Hive X

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Young professionals will gather to discuss a number of important community issues this
weekend at the Hive X conference, organized by a number of McMaster graduates.

Former McMaster Students Union president Ryan Moran, now an MBA candidate and
vice-chair of the Hamilton Hive – an overarching network connecting a growing number
of young professional groups in the city – is one alumnus helping to plan the
conference, taking place on Sunday, Oct. 23 at the downtown Sheraton Hotel

“The Hive is about professional development, personal involvement in the community
and community development,” he said. “And the Hive X conference really echoes those
themes.”

In addition to workshops on marketing in the digital world, smarter transportation,
adaptive reuse in the downtown and youth attraction and retention, the conference also
features a keynote luncheon with social media expert Amber MacArthur, Minister of
Research and Innovation Glen Murray and MRX and Lulu.com owner Bob Young. A
morning talk on the city's creative industries by local singer Serena Paton and an
afternoon presentation on the global reach of medical research in Hamilton by Dr. Azim
Gangji, an assistant professor of medicine at McMaster, will round out the day.

The Hamilton Hive executive committee – Moran and fellow McMaster graduates Michael
Marini and Brooke Gordon – is keen to involve students in the young professional
movement.

“One of the Hive's goals is to reinforce with students the idea that Hamilton is an ideal
destination to start a career and plant roots,” said Moran, who hopes McMaster students
in all programs and faculties, will see the benefits of attending. “Hive X is an
opportunity to meet current leaders in the city, meet emerging leaders in the city, meet
other young professionals, get involved in the community and develop an interest in the
city.”

“We're targeting people from the first year of university onward,” said Marini, the Hive's
chair. “At the conference, we're aiming to talk about the issues and action items that are
important to all young professionals and entrepreneurs, including students.”

The Hive's leadership say they created Hive X to mobilize and engage the city's next
generation of leaders. They hope to conclude the day-long conference by creating
“actionable steps” that the Hive can use to represent young professional perspectives in
the city.

Moran has been heavily involved in promoting Hamilton to young professionals. In 2009
he completed a section on Youth Retention and Attraction for the City of Hamilton's
2010 Economic Development Strategy, which led to involvement in the Hamilton
Economic Summit's “Hamilton Next Generation Project”. The culmination of the project
led to the creation of the Hamilton Hive.

For more information and to purchase tickets to the conference, visit href=”http://www.hamiltonhive.ca”>www.hamiltonhive.ca.