Explorers Rejoice! Oslo Innovation Week is Coming

Oslo Innovation Week 2019 is just around the corner: five days full of talks, workshops and panels hosted by startup hubs, more than 150 partners from global companies, the city of Oslo and educational institutions. OIW will bring 250 speakers from all over the world – and especially from the Nordics.

OIW chooses a theme every year. In previous years the event was focusing on community collaboration (“Dugnad” in Norwegian) and Power Couples bridging the gap between established companies and the startup scene – and now the time has come for some serious exploration.

Yes, this year’s main theme is Explorers, and it’s all about highlighting the pioneers; the startup founders and the investors, the corporate and public sector leaders, scientists, programmers and makers, who dare to take the path less traveled to find business solutions that will solve large, global challenges.

Why Explorers?

“We wanted to highlight the explorer – people and companies who push the limit. Either if it is a founder like Kjartan Slette from Unacast using data from around the city to improve how citizens move around or Ida Louise Andersen from Scandinavian Design Group who develops cutting edge branding for companies with sustainable solutions. Or Kristine Laake who develops methods for recycling waste at Norsk Gjenvinning.” – says Siw Andersen, Head of Oslo Innovation Week.

The action-packed week will be divided into 5 tracks: Future of Work, Cities, Quality of Life, Entrepreneurship & Startup and Explore Oslo. Some of the highlighted topics include green solutions, entrepreneurship, impact investment, health, education, circular economy, urban development, the future of work, digitalization, mobility, and more.  

More than 50 events will be held between 23-27 September, all revolving around one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. All events have international partners to attract a more international crowd and they are all located in downtown Oslo for a more vibrant experience for attendees. Last year, more than 13 000 people joined OIW.

What not to miss?

“Oslo is the European Green Capital 2019 and this year’s program is all about green solutions and how to create cities for the future. Cities you and I want to live in. One event that I am really looking forward to is A Plastic Promise on 24 September. This event brings together the public and private sector to discuss solutions on how to reduce plastic in industrial production and business.” – adds Siw Andersen.

OIW’s pitching contest, OIW 100 Pitches is back for the 5th time, connecting the most promising seed stage startups in the Nordics with investors, VCs, corporates and partners. Like Oslo Innovation Week itself, the competition is about giving a platform to business solutions for the UN 17 sustainable development goals. The finale will be held during DNB NXT, Thursday 26 September.

Joining Oslo Innovation Week as speakers among others are Saara Azbel, Sustainability Manager at Marimekko and Liv Arnesen, one of Norway’s most famous female explorers. You can also participate in workshops and hackathons such as Satellite Data Hackathon or The Future of Work – and of course the famous afterworks at various locations in the buzzing Oslo downtown scene. 

Check the full program here.

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