SHIFT Business Festival

SHIFT is a two-day international business festival held every year in Turku, Finland, at the Turku Castle. It was first held on May 31 and June 1, 2016. The attendees included over 1,000 visitors, 80 partner companies, 150 startups, and over 20 investors. Around 100 volunteers were part of this event. SHIFT 2017 is slated to be held on May 31 and June 1, 2017.

SHIFT Business Festival
GenreTechnology, business festival
VenueTurku Castle, Turku
CountryFinland
Years activeSince 2016
Websitewww.theshift.fi

The SHIFT is backed by companies and the city of Turku, as well as Turku Chamber of Commerce[1] and The Federation of Finnish Enterprises,[2] while the event itself is put together by local JCI[3] members, start-up actives and students.

2016 - First Year

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The 2016 SHIFT business festival had key speakers such as:

  • Edward Jung, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Intellectual Ventures
  • Andreas Korczak, Microsoft
  • Cecilia Hertz, Founder of Umbilical Design
  • Thor Gunnarsson, co-founder, Solfar
  • Jonathan Pulitzer, managing director in the energy practice, GE Ventures
  • Stephen Lake, CEO, Thalmic Labs
  • Mo-El Fatatry, Founder, Masar
  • Ravi Belani, Founder, Alchemist Accelerator
  • Henrietta Kekäläinen, Founder, Mehackit
  • Markus Alholm, CEO, GE Energy Finland
  • Oliver Rittgen, CEO, Bayer Nordic SE
  • Keiichi Matsuda, Augmented reality designer
  • Teemu Arina, Founder, Biohacker Center
  • Aape Pohjavirta, Founder, Funzi
  • Kristoffer Lawson, Founder, Solu
  • Jussi Westergren, co-founder, Virunga Alliance

The business festival also featured performing artists such as:

  • Kalle Lehto, Circus performer
  • Kimmo Korpela, Breakdance champion
  • Anu Halmesmaa, Sculptor
  • Alessio de Marchi, Metallurgy sculptor
  • Sampo Kurppa, Circus artist
  • Masha Sha, Video artist
  • Celia Eid and Sebastian Bérangér, Animator and Composers
  • Albert Bayona, Visual artist and Cultural promoter
  • Alper T İnce, Painter and Video artist
  • Inna Demidova-Tuomikoski, Visual artist
  • Silja Selonen, Painter and Sculptor
  • Zinaïda Lihacheva, Artist
  • The Turncoats, Jugglers

2017 Lineup

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The event is scheduled to be held in the Turku Castle, in Turku, Finland, on May 31, 2017, and June 1, 2017.

Neil Harbisson, the avant-garde artist and cyborg activist, was announced as first of the speakers in the event. The other speakers are:

  • Alan Laubsch, Founder, National Capital Alliance
  • Gerd Leonhard, Author, CEO of the Futures Agency
  • Melody Hossaini, Founder and CEO, InspirEngage International
  • Lauri Järvilehto, CEO and co-founder, Lightneer; Founder, Filosofian Akatemia
  • Cecilia Tham, Entrepreneur, MOB and FabCafe
  • Christopher Auel-Welsbach, Founder, Product Manager, Speaker on Artificial Intelligence, Leader of IBM Watson Partner Innovation (Europe)
  • Hugh Williams, VP Engineering, Google
  • Laila Pawlak, CEO and co-founder, SingularityU Denmark
  • Henrik Hautop Lund, Professor, Technical University of Denmark

References

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  1. Tartu and Turku, sparkling start-up cities! - http://www.turkusciencepark.com/en/spark-news/1481/tartu-and-turku-sparkling-start-cities/
  2. Exciting Moments at the SHIFT Business Festival - http://www.ambassadornetwork.fi/news-and-events/exciting-moments-shift-business-festival
  3. The SHIFT Business Festival - Helsinki Think Company - http://thinkcompany.fi/the-shift-business-festival/
  4. The first SHIFT Business Festival in Turku, Finland, Was a Great Success | Chamber of Commerce - https://www.sttinfo.fi/tiedote/the-first-shift-business-festival-in-turku-finland-was-a-great-success?publisherId=3471&releaseId=47054309
  5. Business festivals are the new trend in networking | Kauppakamari - https://www.sttinfo.fi/tiedote/business-festivals-are-the-new-trend-in-networking?publisherId=3471&releaseId=44659629
  6. The SHIFT - International business festival in Turku | UBC Sustainable Cities Commission - http://www.ubc-sustainable.net/events/shift-international-business-festival-turku
  7. Bisnesfestivaali The Shift järjestetään toistamiseen Turun linnassa ensi keväänä - https://www.ts.fi/uutiset/2980637
  8. Linnanpuistoon nousee Shift - Yli tuhat osallistujaa - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/398113-linnanpuistoon-nousee-shift-yli-tuhat-osallistujaa
  9. The Shift palaa Turun linnaan – tavoitteena tuplata kävijämäärä - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/450881-the-shift-palaa-turun-linnaan-tavoitteena-tuplata-kavijamaara
  10. Turun Shift sai valtakunnallisen tunnustuksen - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/511878-turun-shift-sai-valtakunnallisen-tunnustuksen
  11. Turun linnan The Shift -businessfestivaali huimassa suosiossa - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/381738-turun-linnan-the-shift-businessfestivaali-huimassa-suosiossa
  12. The Shift ylitti odotukset – uutta luvassa ensi vuonna - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/400172-the-shift-ylitti-odotukset-uutta-luvassa-ensi-vuonna
  13. Shift i Åbo växer med det dubbla - http://www.abounderrattelser.fi/news/2017/03/shift-i-abo-vaxer-med-det-dubbla.html
  14. The world's first cyborg will be a keynote speaker at Turku's SHIFT festival - exploring the meld of ‘Human & Machine’ - http://nordic.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-first-officially-recognised-cyborg-will-be-a-keynote-speaker-at-turkus-shift-festival-this-week---exploring-the-meld-of-human--machine-2017-5
  1. ^ "Etusivu - Turun kauppakamari". Turun kauppakamari (in Finnish). Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  2. ^ "Federation of Finnish Enterprises". Federation of Finnish Enterprises. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  3. ^ "Energiaa ja uusia mahdollisuuksia Nuorkauppakamarista - Suomen Nuorkauppakamarit - JCI Finland". Suomen Nuorkauppakamarit - JCI Finland. 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2017-06-01.