All panels and workshops planned for the MIT Global Startup Workshop (GSW) 2020 in-person event can be found below.
Although we were not able to have the conference on March 23 & 24 in Grenoble, France, as planned, we anticipate sharing selected content related to MIT GSW 2020 on our Youtube Channel as soon as we can.
Panels
This trailblazing lineup of entrepreneurs will inspire you with their start-up success stories. Learn best practices for navigating the French and European tech ecosystem, securing resources, and becoming the best version of yourself to succeed as an entrepreneur. Emphasis will be on the keys to success, including scalability, as it is a key issue in France and Europe.
Technology and entrepreneurship have immense social impact, but what are the implications when an industry that impacts many is shaped by an unrepresentative few? This session will explore barriers to access for women and those with diverse backgrounds. Speakers will discuss initiatives to advance a more diverse tech and entrepreneurial sector, and thereby, enable greater innovation and social impact.
Learn what it takes to go from groundbreaking technology and research to a powerful commercialized product by hearing from a combination of deep tech founders, product designers, venture capitalists, and investors.
Established startups have increasingly partnered with startups to identify promising talent, help create a more innovative culture, and source external solutions to internal challenges. And for startups, corporates can be a source of funding and valuable connections. But even when corporates and startups are willing to work together, how can they make sure they do it right?
Entrepreneurs will discuss best practices rooted in experience to secure venture capital and funding.
The advancement of sustainable practices and green tech has become vitally important in both the public eye and commercial sector, and is a topic dear to the Grenoble community. This panel will explore perspectives from entrepreneurs, investors, and inventors at the cutting edge of green technology as they share the lessons they have learned as they strive to build a sustainable future.
Decades of advancements in electronics, mechanics, computation, biology, chemistry, and engineering have converged to usher in an era of unprecedented medical and biotech innovation. Learn from innovators at the nexus of medicine, engineering, and entrepreneurship as they discuss their experiences in navigating the rapidly growing biotechnology space and share advice for those looking to enter it.
A key goal of the MIT Global Startup Workshop is to identify challenges unique to entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems around the world and to understand how an essential combination of MIT and local expertise can be brought to bear on these challenges. This panel will explore how important ecosystem stakeholders in the Alps can work together to accelerate and sustain growth.
Workshops
Despite the large amount of information available these days, becoming an entrepreneur and creating a new startup is still an uncertain path. Too much advice is given to entrepreneurs without them really ever understanding where it comes from. Or, too many actions are taken by founders simply because it's "what others do". In this workshop, Chris Howard takes us back to fundamentals - but in a way rarely explored before. Understanding these fundamentals - asking the "dumb" questions - allows you to create your own techniques, take your own advice, and intentionally do what others *don't* do. Chris will share his insights and experiences as a serial entrepreneur, entering the world of entrepreneurship from an original perspective and sharing what no one dares to speak.
Soft skills, pitching, communication
Entrepreneurship 101 will provide the participant the answers to questions such as what a startup really is, how to differentiate a good founder from a bad one and provide the necessary tools to communicate your ideas and ultimately create the confidence in others for your startup
The research team from Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) dedicated to innovation management has launched a cooperation with The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Collaborating with one of the CEA labs (Leti- Institut CEA Tech), they identified 75 technologies (especially nanotechnologies) developed by the lab: some quite well known, such as accelerometer or rfid, and some more futuristic, such as bioprinting or brain-computer interfaces. How can we imagine new products and services using these technologies? To do this, they integrated the technologies into a real board game called Tech it! By playing the game, p articipants innovate and build ideas that could be then discussed and implemented with the lab researchers.
During the workshop, the participants will play a “Deep Tech challenge,” using a portfolio of “Deep Tech” to imagine products and services to improve health and well-being. By doing this, they will better understand the nature of these technologies and their potential uses and impact on society. They will pitch their ideas and have experts’ feedback.
Participants will understand the potential of Deep Tech while experimenting with an original ideation method to generate business ideas.