Business festivals are the new trend in networking

The SHIFT is not your average business event. It is mixing business with entertainment, culture, great food and a truly unique venue - the Turku castle built in the 13th century, to create a one of a kind experience. We focus on making the most out of the meetings. We'll bring you music, circus, and art to shake your bon-bons. Visitors can schedule 1-on-1 meetings and discuss at a rock-climbing wall or during a massage. You can listen to the key note speakers or the intimate round-table discussions. Shared experiences create more meaningful meetings.

“We are living in an era of social media, but we also need face-to-face interaction between people. One of our benchmarks is the South by Southwest event in Austin, Texas, which combines business related content with culture. We are creating a space where we bring business people, developers, startups, and investor together through music, circus and art”, explains The SHIFT’s Creative Director Erika Halonen.

At SHIFT you will experience the newest technology, like virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence, which we believe will change the pace. “Finland is known to have the number one school system in the world, continuously topping the PISA survey, and our health and cleantech sectors are very strong. All these industries need creative and innovative people that understand the possibilities of technology”, states Alexander Törnroth, CEO of The SHIFT.

Business as usual is no longer good enough, we need groundbreaking choices. The world is full of brilliant people who are already leading this change. “At the SHIFT we wish to embrace the collaboration and dialog by bringing the actors together to show the rest of the world what the future will look like. We will focus on technology, which is a common denominator in the fields of health, learning, and energy”, Alexander says.

10 000 euros will be the price at the pitching competition, all you need to do is to send a short video about your idea by the 25th of April.The pitching competition is judged with a twist. Instead of a jury, the conference attendees, the SHIFTers, choose the finalists.

The event is organized by a Finland based not-for-profit organization The SHIFT.