‘Be where innovation happens’; that has been the slogan of the START Summit since its genesis. Indeed, this year from 22nd - 27th March, the annual event will unit the European startup community virtually offering them a rich program that includes fireside chats, keynotes, pitching sessions and networking opportunities. The highlight remains the START Summiteer award.
START Summit is Europe’s largest conference for entrepreneurship and technology organised by START Global, the leading students’ initiative at the University of St. Gallen. Every year, the event brings together students, founders, investors, corporates and well-wishers of the Swiss startup ecosystem. After the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Corona pandemic, the management team led by President Lucas Angermann made an early decision to hold the 2021 START Summit online with a program that stretches over six days.
“After the special year, we are back. We want to provide a platform for the startup ecosystem to interact in person and share what they have learned. Most importantly, we are launching the new year 2021 from an entrepreneurial point of view, offering young startups a chance to recruit and fundraise despite Corona”, said Lucas Gericke, Head of Public Relations for START Global.
Under the theme "Collaboration Across Europe," speakers such as Julian Teicke, founder of the insurtech unicorn wefox, Verena Pausder, entrepreneur and author of "A New Country," or Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank, will shed light on how Europe can better exploit its potential as a location for innovation. Topics on science and politics will be presented by Lars Feld, former Chairman of the Economic Wise Men and Ann-Kristin Achleitner, a distinguished academician.
The highlight of the event is the START Summiteer pitching competition offering CHF 25’000 cash prize. The participating startups will be divided into verticals by industry; each evening, the jury will nominate a finalist from each vertical to proceed to the finale on 27 March. The most outstanding startups will take home the cash prize. “Looking back at the winners of previous years and seeing what they have achieved since then, winning is a real promise for the future,” said Gericke.
Previous formats such as speed dating, workshops, fireside chats and one-on-one meetings will also take place. This year’s fireside chat will host Matt Cohler and Jay Kreps, two Silicon Valley legends who look back on their careers and analyse the Valley's future. For people who want to network, Chatroulette is highly recommended: the format allows participants to randomly connect and learn about other participants and exchange ideas without any obligation. Participants will be randomly matched with other attendees for five-minute video calls to exchange experiences and establish a foundation for a long-term relationship.
The detailed program for 2021 is available on the event website.
Over 600 coders meet for the START Hack
The preceding event of the START Summit is the START Hack. From March 19-22, 2021, START Hack will bring together over 600 young coders from Europe's best universities virtually to collaborate on ideas, build prototypes and have fun during 36 hours. At the Hackathon, participants form teams that will develop solutions to real-world problems from Microsoft, Helsana, Accenture and other companies. Besides, there will be workshops by incubators to strengthen the entrepreneurial relevance of the technical solutions and lectures, for example, by Arduino founder Massimo Banzi. A jury consisting of industry and academia experts will select a winner at the end of the hackathon. Registration
Registration for the START Hack is still open, and tickets to the START Summit are available online.
(RAN)
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