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. The SHIFT is backed by companies and the city of Turku, as well as Turku Chamber of Commerce and The Federation of Finnish Enterprises, while the event itself is put together by local JCI members, start-up actives and students.
2016 - First Year 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 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 Tartu and Turku, sparkling start-up cities! - http://www.turkusciencepark.com/en/spark-news/1481/tartu-and-turku-sparkling-start-cities/ Exciting Moments at the SHIFT Business Festival - http://www.ambassadornetwork.fi/news-and-events/exciting-moments-shift-business-festival The SHIFT Business Festival - Helsinki Think Company - http://thinkcompany.fi/the-shift-business-festival/ 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 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 The SHIFT - International business festival in Turku | UBC Sustainable Cities Commission - http://www.ubc-sustainable.net/events/shift-international-business-festival-turku Bisnesfestivaali The Shift järjestetään toistamiseen Turun linnassa ensi keväänä - https://www.ts.fi/uutiset/2980637 Linnanpuistoon nousee Shift - Yli tuhat osallistujaa - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/398113-linnanpuistoon-nousee-shift-yli-tuhat-osallistujaa The Shift palaa Turun linnaan – tavoitteena tuplata kävijämäärä - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/450881-the-shift-palaa-turun-linnaan-tavoitteena-tuplata-kavijamaara Turun Shift sai valtakunnallisen tunnustuksen - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/511878-turun-shift-sai-valtakunnallisen-tunnustuksen Turun linnan The Shift -businessfestivaali huimassa suosiossa - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/381738-turun-linnan-the-shift-businessfestivaali-huimassa-suosiossa The Shift ylitti odotukset – uutta luvassa ensi vuonna - http://www.turkulainen.fi/artikkeli/400172-the-shift-ylitti-odotukset-uutta-luvassa-ensi-vuonna Shift i Åbo växer med det dubbla - http://www.abounderrattelser.fi/news/2017/03/shift-i-abo-vaxer-med-det-dubbla.html 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