A preview of knowledge sharing at IASP Virtual

This year’s IASP World Conference will be packing a lot in to two days, with a format that blends external speakers with STP and AOI practitioner panels, allowing us to hear insights from a variety of global perspectives.

28th and 29th September are open to everyone (sign up here for free!), while 30th September is exclusive to our global membership to attend our annual General Assembly: IASP members, don’t forget to book 14-15h CEST on 30th September in your diaries, and keep an eye on your inbox for further details.

IASP Chairman Paul Krutko and CEO Ebba Lund will officially open IASP Virtual at 14h CEST on the first day, but the online platform will open an hour earlier for early bird networking with our MC, and it will remain open 24 hours during the conference for you to drop in or schedule meetings with your global peers at the time that best suits you – find out more.

And now on to the knowledge sharing: closely connected to IASP Virtual’s main theme of "Beyond disruptions and resets: the resilience of innovation ecosystems", we’ll be exploring some of the key issues facing our innovation communities today.

You can read about our two keynote speakers here, and here’s an overview of the main topics what we’ll be talking about in our two days of live prime time content, combined with video contributions from our members to bring you more voices and perspectives from around the world.

Anchoring innovation

One of the most important questions we’ll be addressing is the ultimate goal of innovation, and its wider role in building a better world. Speakers will also discuss the impact of the pandemic on STPs and AOIs, and whether the reinforced collaborations it brought about will strengthen our innovation capacity in the long term. STP and AOI leaders will reflect on perspectives from innovation experts from outside our industry, allowing us to hear both sides of the conversation with voices from China, Germany, South Africa, Sweden, and the UK.

Open Innovation and disruption

What can corporates learn from agile startup business models, especially when it comes to coping with the massive disruption caused by the pandemic? Researchers, innovation experts and highly experienced IASP members from India, Spain and the USA will examine how we can support open innovation processes and create clusters of innovation around corporates, connect them with startups and investors to create new ventures, and the new deal flow for corporate innovation.

Our industry in 2021: a preview of the IASP global survey

Get a sneak preview of the findings of the latest IASP global survey, and the most recent trends in science parks and areas of innovation around the world. IASP CEO Ebba Lund will reflect on new data regarding the impact of COVID-19, pivots and adjustments our industry has experienced, and other key preliminary observations.

The future of work

On the second day of IASP Virtual, we’ll be exploring how the modern workplace is adapting to the disruption caused by the pandemic. What are the pros and cons of a potentially more hybrid work environment? We’ll explore these questions both from a STP/AOI perspective, for example whether our facilities should be repurposed or designed differently to continue enabling spontaneous interactions that spark innovation, and also more theoretically, with perspectives from the world of urban planning and experts in networking, as well as science park leaders, from China, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Spain and Slovenia.

Going the extra mile: resident companies supported by their innovation communities

Companies based in our innovation ecosystems share their experiences on the support STPs and AOIs offer them, especially when times are hard. From the inspiration of being surrounded by other innovative businesses and creative people, the sense of community they create among residents and the partnerships that form organically, to the specific resources and new support mechanisms STPs and AOIs put in place during the pandemic, this session will explore the value of innovation communities from the perspective of the people who matter most: entrepreneurs and their companies.

Inspiring Solutions and a taste of Seville

Stay tuned for the announcement of the three winners of our Inspiring Solutions programme, and for a taste of what we can expect at our 2022 IASP World Conference when we will finally meet again face to face, in beautiful Seville, Spain!

Check out the full programme and register for here for free!