Hosted at USC, the event focused on equal access to emerging tech, offering hands-on experiences with Web3 technology.
Jason Nelson5 min read
The basement where the Y3K summit was held was Way’s brainchild before he left the university to join cross-town rival UCLA as their executive director of digital spaces. The aim of the venue, three years in the making, was to serve as a universal collaboration space for students from all disciplines, Way explained.
“The idea was how can you take a student, no matter what you're studying, whether you're a business student, a humanities student, computer science student, and come together and just say, ‘I want to be able to collaborate with others,’” Way said, adding that the project began three years ago but the global pandemic in 2020 put things on hold.
Undeterred by the pandemic, Way said USC wanted to proceed with the building project, and Y3K was its first major event after its completion.
“To have a conference like this in a space like this, and to have Shana and Tony say we want to bring in the people who matter, who can give creative ideas, who can explore and be able to expose all of the people who wouldn't have been served before,” Way said. “We're gonna give equal access to everybody because we know everybody matters, and that really was the point of this.”
