Day two at Tech Open Air 2018: From a morning yoga session to exciting talks and interviews to meeting up with "old" friends, it was all there. The question also arose: Will we all soon be moving to the countryside?
The second day of TOA 2018 starts off much more relaxed than the first: The lines at the entrance are manageable, and the resentment from the long wait the day before seems to have long since vanished among the diverse international audience. After all, it's much more worthwhile to focus on the extensive program. Good planning is essential to taking in as much excitement as possible.
Astronaut Jeanette Epps: Overcoming Obstacles
So it all starts at 10 a.m. on the stage of Studio 1 at Funkhaus Berlin. An impressive backdrop. On the way there, you pass the Forest Stage, where a group of about 50 people are practicing yoga together in the open air. Harmony of body and mind is certainly not neglected here.
Right at the start of the day, the Tech Open Air will feature a special guest: Dr. Jeanette Epps, NASA astronaut and former CIA scientist, will share her story and the hurdles she has had to overcome and continues to overcome as a Black woman with great ambitions—in a supposedly male-dominated world—on the way to achieving her goals. Although she was originally scheduled for two space missions, she was unexpectedly and without explanation removed from the program in January of this year. So she continues to wait for her first flight into space. The calm manner in which Epps handles this setback impresses the audience, who hang on her every word for 45 minutes.
Networking at the Späti
We continue with a tour through the House of Tech: Startups have set up their booths on 4,000 square meters, seeking interaction with Tech Open Air attendees. This is also where you'll find the Google Stage, where small talks will be held. There's also the opportunity to work in peace in the adjacent co-working area or chat in the networking area over a cold drink. These are conveniently available in the bar area, appropriately called the "Späti."
The crowd is great
Munich-based companies have also made the journey to Berlin to establish contacts. We have Maximilian Rast spoke, CMO at ottonovahow he and his team like the TOA.
Thanks for taking a moment, Max! You've been here at Tech Open Air since yesterday. What's your first impression?
© Munich Startup
So in the morning, you get the feeling that people are still waking up, so everything's a little slow. But after that, it gets really cool. There are a lot of people here who are genuinely interested. We've been to a few other events where we thought we'd find the target audience, but ended up feeling a bit disappointed. Here, on the other hand, we have the feeling that there are really good conversations, people are very interested, and understand what we're doing. So, it's really exciting for us.
As an exhibitor, do you also take part in the conference program or are you too busy for that?
Hardly. Our co-founder Frank Birzle, who was here yesterday, gave a talk on the Innovation Stage, but I'm mostly here at the booth. Precisely because there's interest and conversations.
What do you consider the highlight of the event? And is there a "flop" or something that could be improved in your opinion?
The crowd is definitely top-notch. There are a lot of exciting people here. It's fun to engage in dialogue. Building trust is particularly important for us, and that works very well in face-to-face conversations. We're not a hundred years old like Allianz, and we won't be able to solve this problem in the next hundred years either. That's why we're looking for other ways forward, and the discussions here are one of them.
There isn't really a real flop. What I find a bit of a shame is the positioning of the Innovation Stage (Editor's note.: The Innovation Stage was in the middle of the exhibition area. It gets a bit lost here. I think there were some cool presentations, from what I saw, that were somewhat lost in the room, especially because of the noise.
Then I wish you much success at the Tech Open Air and thank you very much for the interview!
Gladly.
How Connected Mobility will change our lives
At the Innovation Stage addressed by Maximilian Rast, Kay Herget, Head of Marketing, Strategy and Business Development at BOSCH SoftTec, will give a presentation entitled "How will Connected Mobility change the way we live?" He puts forward the following thesis:
"The future of mobility is automated, electrified, shared and: connected. This will open up possibilities for whole new business models and lifestyles."
He predicts that the mobility of the future will have a significant impact on both our cities and society as a whole. He predicts fewer cars thanks to efficient sharing models using different modes of transport, an end to the parking problem, and, above all, quieter cities.
Is the exodus from the city now coming?
An exciting question is how people will use their time in cars in the future, when they no longer have to drive themselves. Working, for example, is certainly very likely. One possible consequence, says Herget, could be that more people move to the countryside again, since living in the city would no longer be absolutely necessary if one could start working on the way to work. However, the possibilities for using cars seem virtually inexhaustible to him.
About as inexhaustible as the number of lectures offered at the Tech Open Air. No matter what industry you're interested in, you'll get your money's worth here. It's also inevitable that you'll get to know new things and, above all, new people. And that's not a bad thing.
