Inside Tech Open Air Berlin 2017
Tech Open Air is an international tour bringing together industry leaders in technology, art, music and science. The next event is set to kick off in Berlin on Tuesday 11 July 2017.
Berlin is often hailed as a cultural capital within Germany and across Europe, but the eclectic metropolis is also gaining a positive reputation as a hub for cutting-edge technology and startups. Brands like Dubsmash – a smartphone app that lets users record themselves alongside their favourite song or movie soundtrack, and which has reached number one in the App Store in 29 European countries – are placing Berlin on the international startup map. Tech Open Air has found it’s place in the city by providing an opportunity for entrepreneurs and creatives to capitalise on Berlin’s budding creative atmosphere. The event prides itself on a unique, anti-disciplinary approach that brings diverse communities together into one room.
We have exclusive access to Tech Open Air Berlin and a 20% discount on the ticket price for fluoro readers. Click here to purchase discounted tickets.
Tech Open Air Berlin includes a two-day conference running alongside four days of Satellite Events, wrapping up with a large celebration in the German city. Satellite Events include more than 200 workshops, networking events and professional discussions held around the city. Most of these events, which are open to both Tech Open Air attendees and the general public, are entirely free.
On Wednesday 12 July, Tech Open Air’s two-day conference will begin at Berlin’s historic Funkhaus studio, where 200 awe-inspiring speakers will make up the conference’s talks, panels and interviews. There will also be the Haus of Tech exhibition hall, where high-profile companies like Google, Red Bull and KPMG will be alongside 150 Berlin startups. And to top it all off, 500 of the world’s stop investors, including partners from roughly 100 venture capital firms, will be present at the 20,000-strong event.
Throughout the four days, there will be breakout sessions that fit a variety of interests. Disrupted, for example, is a German sub-conference that will address the disruption faced by Mittelstand companies – small and medium-sized companies in German-speaking countries – resulting from digital innovation.
During the Women in Tech event, three big-name entrepreneurs will participate in a 25-minute panel discussion before the conference will divide into groups for roundtables with each of the entrepreneurs. The sub-conference is set to assist female professionals in tech-reliant industries get all they can out of their disciplines.
Music Tech Lab, another component of Tech Open Air, will be a series of workshops and talks perfect for producers, musicians and professionals within the music industry. Attendees will delve into the role of VR in music, video game music and how to get a music tech startup off the ground, among other things.
Tech Open Air founder Nikolas Woischnik said that the most important aspect of the event is perhaps its ability to foster active participation between the event’s participants, whatever sector they may come from.
“[One word that defines Tech Open Air] is ‘platform’. A platform is open, and a platform allows participants to build upon it — and this is what we want to be,” he says.
“I think it manifests itself with all these different formats that we have on site where startups, but also creatives, scientists and investors, can take an active role in Tech Open Air and participate.”
Woischnik added that Tech Open Air’s Satellite Events are what make the event a well-founded festival for creatives the world over. “These events really show how Tech Open Air is a platform,” he said. “We become almost like infrastructure for the tech and creative ecosystem here in Berlin.”
Tech Open Air will be packed with high-profile names in tech, art, music and more. People like Jake Lodwick, co-founder of video platform Vimeo, will offer their inside views on the future of their industries. Lodwick, a serial entrepreneur, has put his hand into building well-known companies like CollegeHumor, Bleacher Report, Tumblr and MakerBot. Adina Popescu, Founder and CEO of Snowblack VR, will also be present, offering her views on mixed reality simulations, viral storytelling and the tech of tomorrow.
Gadi Amit, the award-winning designer of the Fitbit, will be speaking at Tech Open Air, to likely bring lessons learnt from his new design firm, NewDealDesign. The San Francisco-based designer has garnered a following for his cutting-edge approach to tackling problems. For Amit, Tech Open Air is a chance to share his views on design, which hinge on the idea of simplicity, functionality and tactile engagement. “The ability to view the work, touch it and yet leave on the side,” he said, “is exceptionally important for both the creative individual and the team around: it allows anecdotal discovery and serendipity in interaction with the problem.”
We have exclusive access to Tech Open Air Berlin and a 20% discount on the ticket price for fluoro readers. Click here to purchase discounted tickets.
Stay tuned to our Instagram and Facebook as we share the latest from Tech Open Air 2017, with the event taking place from Tuesday 11 – Friday 14 July 2017 in Berlin, Germany.
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