The SPOT Outside the Box

The SPOT...outside the box is a new initiative, uniting the creative imagination and expertise of business, sport, academia, media, IOs, NGOs, as well as the public. Designed to showcase and promote innovative ideas, products, companies, and best practice, the two-day, international event will engage diverse sectors from Switzerland and beyond, for collaboration, inspiration, and a uniquely enthralling experience.

The event will take place from 15 to 16 May 2018 at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne with a core focus on digitisation in the sports industry. The following themes

• Connected sport: New technology, data analytics, connected venues
• New sport: the latest sporting trends, global expansion of e-sports, e-sports convergence
• Performance and Health: Human enhancement & nutrition, latest equipment, materials & design, sporting innovations and knowledge transfer
• Media and Marketing: Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, the Cloud, OTT & sponsors, digital security

The start-up contest targets young companies with innovative business ideas that help to promote sport and physical activity in any form. Start-ups have until 20 April 2018 to sign up for the event, where they will be given the opportunity to make three-minute pitches of their concepts on a dedicated stage. Each start-up will then partake in three-minute Q&A sessions with a panel of experts. A handful of shortlisted start-ups will then compete in the final in front of an audience that will include investors.

Confirmed guest speakers at The SPOT include Senior Manager at Exponent, Inc. and former MIT Sports Innovation Programme founder Kim Blair, who has also an interesting background as a NASA aerospace engineer and will discuss new technologies. Mike Wragg, Global Head of Research at Nielsen Sports will share his insights into the global expansion of e-sports. Dr. Earl Crane of Emergent Network Defense, and former Director for Federal Cybersecurity Policy on the White House National Security Council, meanwhile, will give a presentation on digital security.

The full program is available on the SPOT event website.