Tag: Webit

Today, healthcare is inefficient, bureaucratic and expensive. It is a multi-trillion industry, that will be among the most transformed sectors over the next 10 years. Thousands of startups, along with giants, such as Google, IBM, Apple, Samsung and many others are entering the race to revolutionize the way we treat human diseases today. This will lead to much more sound, effective and cheap health care. To understand upcoming changes in the best possible way, we asked Prof. Shafi Ahmed a few questions about the future of Healthcare. He is among the most recognized visionaries in the world of medicine and one of the top-level speakers at Health & Wellbeing Summit - part of this year’s Webit.Festival Europe.

What do we need to change in our medical education system to answer the needs of tomorrow?

Medical teaching is still very traditional yet technology is advancing exponentially. We need to look at modern methods of teaching the digital doctors of tomorrow. With my company Medical Realities we are utilising augmented and virtual reality to add a different dimension in immersive learning. I have also introduced a new programme called Barts X for our medical students which teaches our students on innovation and entrepreneurship which is essential in creating future leaders.

You are known as a visionary. How do you imagine the medicine after ten years?

We are currently undergoing the 4th industrial revolution with the fusion of technologies like AR, VR, Robotics, AI, Big Data and the use of wearable technology which will radically change the doctor patient relationship and how we practise medicine. This is the most exciting time to be involved in medicine. When a patient asks for advice the first point of contact will be artificial intelligence rather than a doctor. The doctor’s role will undoubtedly change. A number of specialties like radiology and dermatology will be largely replaced by sophisticated AI. We will consult remotely using AR and VR and monitor our patients using a mixture of wearables, injectables and ingestible sensors. The cost of genomic profiling will be cheap and will allow us to deliver precision and personalised medicine.

What are the biggest medical threats to humanity?

The biggest threats are going to be new infectious diseases like the Ebola virus which can cause devastation quickly. The inequality of the provision of basic surgery globally will affect the well-being of 5 billion people.

How will technology improve our health and increase our life expectancy?

There is much interest in looking at ageing as a disease which will be modified with either medicine or a gene altering process allowing us to live longer.

What is the biggest technological breakthrough in medicine in recent years?

The unravelling of the complete human genome and reducing the cost of profiling to $1000. The discovery of the CRISPR - Cas9 gene editing which is currently the simplest, most versatile and precise method of genetic manipulation. Here you can see a full list of the confirmed speakers at Webit.Festival, while here you can get all the information you need about the tickets for the event.

The automotive industry is changing rapidly under the pressure of challenges on multiple fronts. The shift towards electric transport is making the engineering accomplishments of the past obsolete, while building electric cars requires less workers. In this new business environment, automakers, freight forwarders, transport companies and national and local governments must find the most effective ways to build the mobility of the future. This year, Webit.Festival will gather in Sofia Tech Park more than 300 speakers from every corner of the world. Within two days (25th and 26th of April) they will share invaluable experience from the largest enterprises in the digital industry and will explain to more than 5000 attendees from 90+ countries the key factors that will shape our future. During the Mobility Summit you will get the chance to listen to learn about the crucial factors, that are shaping the future of our transport systems. At the beginning of the conference you will get the chance to see the “New Mobility, New Paradigms” fireside chat between the Managing Partner at New Mobility Consulting Alexander Renz and the Senior Manager of innogy Innovation Hub at innogy SE Carsten Stoecker. Right after that, the Founder and CEO of StartBurst Francois Chopard will share his expectations about the development of space industry in the next decade. StarBurst Accelerator provides seed funding from the business angels and venture capitals firms dedicated to aerospace defense and security as well as access to the largest aerospace group stakeholders to get your first 1 million dollars contract. Then the audience will get the chance to see the fireside chat between the Digital Director for EMEA region at Oracle Luisella Giani and the Co-founder and CEO of Blacklane Jens Wohltorf. At the end of the Summit, ladies will take over the stage for a panel discussion about mobility innovation and business models. The talk will be between the Investment Principal of BMW i Ventures Sohaila Ouffata, the Managing Director of Smart Transportation and Energy at Startupbootcamp Tanja Kufner and the Director for Urban Development at Siemens Julie Alexander. Here you can see a full list of the confirmed speakers at Webit.Festival, while here you can get all the information you need about the tickets for the event.

Despite the fears of a slowdown last year, the investment in European startups hit $12 billion mark, which has put 2016 on par with previous year’s record levels. The Old Continent already has prominent hubs for startups and innovation. But right now we can see that the well established centers, such as Berlin, Stockholm and London are stepping aside to an emerging destinations in Central and Eastern Europe. This has led to an increasing volume of smaller investment deals, which helped to offset the decline in larger rounds across the region. In 2016 Europe registered 943 deals between $1m and $10m. Right now, there is also a growing appetite for tech investment among the private equity funds. This year, Webit.Festival will again give promising startups from Europe and around the world the floor to present their ideas in front of top-level investors. The event will be held on 25-26 April in Sofia Tech Park under the patronage of the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova and the European Commission. We not only provide free grant for startups to get a free expo table, free festival tickets and opportunity to meet unparalleled selection of top enterprise leaders, but also a chance to win €200 000 seed investment in our Founders Games. With over 93% startup failure overall rate, the selected Webit startups for the Founders Games’s semi-finals in the past 7 years have less than 30% failure rate. Being among the Webit's Founders Games startup list is a statement of the company's credibility, innovation and potential in front of enterprise and investors as well as a great marketing opportunity. During Investments Summit you will get the chance to listen to the Partner Innovation Leader for Europe of IBM Watson Christoph Auer-Welsbach, the Vice President of IBM for Cloud and Mobile Technology Jonas Jacobi, the Global Head of Siemens Technology-to-Business Center Sven Scheuble, the CMO of AngelHack Brian Collins, the Partner at SpeedInvest Michael Schuster, the Partner at Flint Capital Sergey Gribov, the Co-founder & Managing Partner at AVentures Capital Andrey Kolodyuk, the Investment Director of 3TS Capital Partners Marius Ghenea, the Co-lead for Growth Capital & Venturing Services at Deloitte Sriram Prakash, the Investment Director of iTech Capital Alexey Telnov, the Advisor of 8VC Jon Soberg and the Partner at Hummingbird Ventures Pamir Gelenbe. Here you can see a full list of the confirmed speakers at Webit.Festival, while here you can get all the information you need about the tickets for the event.

Over the last few decades, the Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have become the modern economy’s greatest driver of innovation, productivity and growth. This industry managed to transform every element of business and society and to enable productivity and innovation in every sector of the economy. But to realize the full potential of this amazing opportunity, we first have to transform our education systems, so that they can create people with the right skill set to reap the benefits of the digital economy. This year, Webit.Festival will gather in Sofia Tech Park more than 300 speakers from every corner of the world. Within two days (25th and 26th of April) they will share invaluable experience from the largest enterprises in the digital industry and will explain to more than 5000 attendees from 90+ countries the key factors that will shape our future. During the IoE Summit you will get the chance to listen to the Director of Strategic and International Development at Wolfram Research Conrad Wolfram, among many others. The physicist, mathematician, and technologist, is uniquely operating at the intersection of computation, data and knowledge. Wolfram technology and consulting solutions drives innovation in data analytics, software development and modelling from startups to Fortune 500 companies, in industries as diverse as medicine, finance and telecoms. They include Mathematica software, the Wolfram|Alpha knowledge engine (powering knowledge answers for Apple's Siri), Enterprise Private Cloud and the Wolfram Language. Conrad is also recognised as a world authority on fixing maths education, including advocating a fundamental shift to focus on computer-based computational thinking rather than hand calculation. He founded computerbasedmath.org (CBM) to drive implementation of the change — now a worldwide force in re-engineering the curriculum with early projects in Estonia, Ireland, Sweden and Africa.Conrad attended Eton College and holds degrees in natural sciences and maths from University of Cambridge. On Webit’s stage, he will explain how the importance of quantitative understanding for jobs, society and management has exploded over the last few decades. He will also talk about the importance of understanding the changing role of computers and automation of knowledge is crucial. Conrad Wolfram will address these questions, explaining the fundamental shift needed in education, and describing the major project he's founded to build a dramatically new, problem-centric computational thinking curriculum. Here you can see a full list of the confirmed speakers at Webit.Festival, while here you can get all the information you need about the tickets for the event.

The world as we know it is collapsing and the change is happening so quick that even intelligent people struggle to understand exactly what is going on around them. In today’s public environment the whole concept of enterprise image is transforming. And while for the last several decades advertising was considered morally neutral, now we can see that big brands are more and more involved in politics. If you don’t believe this ascertainment, just take a look at the USA State Department, which is now led by the ex CEO of the biggest oil company in the world (ExxonMobil) Rex Tillerson. This year, Webit.Festival will address the transformation processes that are shaping the digital enterprises of the future in Europe and the world. The event will be held on 25-26 April in Sofia Tech Park under the patronage of the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova and the European Commission. During the Marketing & Innovation Summit you will get the chance to listen to the Chief Creative Officer of DigitasLBi Chris Clarke. He oversees the agency’s creative output internationally, has overall responsibility for DigitasLBi’s point of view on the world, and is the father of the famous unicorn emblem. Known for his provocative views, Chris is a regular commentator in titles like The Guardian, Marketing and Campaign, and was among the first in this industry to highlight the darker side of digital disruption. He is a passionate proponent of the idea of enlightened self-interest, and believes that businesses can build their brands by creating work which has a social purpose at its heart - a view which is reflected in DigitasLBi’s initiatives for clients like Durex and AstraZeneca. On Webit’s stage, Chris will speak about the death of empathy and will explain why global brand consistency doesn’t matter anymore. He will talk about the emergence of filter bubbles and show how this has impacted politics, culture society and by extension, brands. Whether we like it or not, this phenomenon means we no longer understand the world outside our own network, so brands must increasingly play a game of channel authenticity over brand consistency. Here you can see a full list of the confirmed speakers at Webit.Festival, while here you can get all the information you need about the tickets for the event.

Over the next few years the world will undergo spectacular changes, driven by the rapid development of new technologies. Only prepared people can be successful in this new complex and increasingly digital world. Creating such people is among the biggest missions of Webit.Festival - the most influential forum for digital economy and technology in Europe. The event begins in less than a month, and the tickets for it are already running out. This year, Webit.Festival will gather in Sofia Tech Park more than 300 speakers from every corner of the world. Within two days (25th and 26th of April) they will share invaluable experience from the largest enterprises in the digital industry and will explain to more than 5000 attendees from 90+ countries the key factors that will shape our future. The agenda consists of several parallel conferences and events, workshops, round tables and exhibitions, such as: Marketing & Innovation Summit, Digital Transformation Summit, FinTech & Blockchain Summit, Big Data & Cloud Summit, Security & Privacy Summit, Health & Wellbeing Summit, IoE Summit, Mobility Summit, Smart Cities Summit, Digital Economy Leadership Summit and a series of social events. Here you may find a full list of the confirmed speakers. Part of our mission is helping startups with great ideas present themselves to a wider audience and giving them a chance to compete for a seed investment in Webit’s Founders Games. Webit.Festival gathers 100 of the most promising startups from all over the world. During the event they get the opportunity to pitch their ideas in front of an audience of business leaders, policy-makers and investors from more than 90 countries. This year our prize is €200 000.That is why a separate area of the festival will be dedicated to startups from Bulgaria and the world.

“We are creating density of opportunities for Bulgaria and the world. We are drawing in Sofia the most innovative companies in the world, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and scientific communities and motivate them to work together for a better life for the people through development of entrepreneurship and innovations”, says the Executive Chairman of Webit.Foundation Plamen Russev.

The event is a brilliant way to stimulate your mind and imagination so that today we can be where our competitors will be tomorrow. It acts as a compass and a barometer, giving us an image of the situation worldwide and setting our development direction for the coming years. Come to Webit.Festival and adapt in the best possible way to the changes of the future. You may book your ticket for the event here.

Whether we like it or not, we are going to spend the rest of our lives in the future. This means that it will be a lot better for our common good to start building the one we want to live in. Right now we are witnessing an age in which the reality is moving ahead of science fiction and even Hollywood can’t catch up with the rapid changes in our daily lives. This year, Webit.Festival will address the transformation processes that are shaping the digital economy of the future in Europe and the world. The event will be held on 25-26 April in Sofia Tech Park under the patronage of the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova and the European Commission. The 5000 attendees, coming from more than 90 countries will have the chance to see 300 top speakers, who will share their vision for the future during 12 parallel conferences, covering fields, such as Marketing & Innovation, Digital Economy Leadership, Smart Cities, Mobility, Digital Transformation, FinTech & Blockchain, Big Data & Cloud, Security & Privacy, Health & Wellbeing, IoE and Software Development. During the Digital Transformation Summit you will get the chance to listen to the Chief Designer of SAP, Martin Wezowski, among many others. Before he started working for a big corporation, he studied construction engineering and modern media production technologies. He also had a career in music, which he left behind few years ago. In a recent interview, Wezowski explained that playing in a band and managing it as a business have him a 360-view of a product life cycle, from the initial idea to getting customers to return and eventually to building up a fan base.

“You need to understand every tiny detail and at the same time see the full strategic overview. It was very educational”, he said.

At Webit, Martin Wezowski will explain to the audience why what it means to be an innovator and designer is merging. It is transforming faster than before, from classic styling of the superficial to system design of everything, including social and political systems, deeply rooted in a space of challenges and promises between cutting edge tech and humanism. In an increasingly exponential and converging digital change, we design a relationship, a behavior, that the product will follow. This change is our most important design brief and the stakes are high, it is just too important to be left only to designers. Martin Wezowski believe that everything can and should be given a purpose through innovation and design, including the innovation systems themselves.

With Webit.Festival Europe just a month away, we are building our dream volunteers team of outgoing, responsible and active people! We would like to invite you to become a part of our team and experience the unique atmosphere of the leading European digital and technology event on April 25-26 in Sofia Tech Park. Webit.Festival hosts 5000+ top level selected attendees and more than 300 speakers from over 90 countries. Among them are the people shaping the future of technology and innovation and fostering the digital transformation of the business and the society from enterprise, policy, academia and startups domains. Becoming a volunteer will give you a chance to meet in person the people who are changing the world with their disruptive products and services. See and hear the game-changers live and tap into their invaluable experience and insight! This will also give you the exclusive opportunity to get a free Visitor ticket for the event and save more than €200. We will select the top 200 candidates. Each volunteer will have to help us run the event on site for a half day each of the two days on the event, or for one full day. You will have the chance to enjoy the rest of the quality time at the festival as a visitor. The areas you can contribute for are: - The Webit.Festival tracks organization - Delegates reception - VIP guests services - Exhibitors and startup halls assistants - Media corner assistants - Photography assistants In order to apply, you simply have to fill this form. After we receive your application, you will receive a word from our team with the hope that you will become a part of it. And don’t forget the Night Urban Summit, where you can apply to become a host to one of the over 30 meetups on different topics during the event. They will take place in a respected restaurants and bars in the center of Sofia. To apply to be a host of a meetup, click here.

Last year was full of AI technology advancements, but in 2017 experts and big players in this innovative field expect even more. Probably the biggest success was the historic victory of AlphaGo over one of the best Go players in history Lee Sedol. This was the factual presentation to the world of the positives, that the process called deep reinforcement learning can bring.

“Reinforcement learning takes inspiration from the ways that animals learn how certain behaviors tend to result in a positive or negative outcome. Using this approach, a computer can, say, figure out how to navigate a maze by trial and error and then associate the positive outcome—exiting the maze—with the actions that led up to it. This lets a machine learn without instruction or even explicit examples”, explained the senior editor at MIT Technology Review Will Knight.

In 2017, we are likely to see attempts to apply reinforcement learning to problems such as automated driving and industrial robotics. If the outcome is positive, this could completely change transport and manufacturing. At this year’s Webit.Festival Europe you can listen to some of the top experts in the world of artificial intelligence and machine learning. During the AI Summit they will share their expectations about the development of this amazing field of science and technology. The Partner at IBM Ventures Christoph Auer-Welsbach will speak about Deep Tech and AI and will share the best practices for high-growth startups on going from tested idea to scalable company. He will advise the audience how to apply artificial intelligence techniques in products and business. ARX’s Founder and CEO Mark Val will explain how augmented reality and artificial intelligence are transforming remote collaboration and are creating a profound sense of presence and interaction between remote teams. In his speech he will share how transition is currently happening and the impact of it. The Director of Strategic and International Development at Wolfram Research Conrad Wolfram will give his recipe for fixing current education through artificial intelligence. He is recognized as a world authority on fixing maths education, including advocating a fundamental shift to focus on computer-based computational thinking rather than hand calculation. IBM’s Vice President for Cloud and Mobile Technology Jonas Jacobi will tell us what we can learn from AI, Cloud Computing and IoE and will help us realize the power of the combination of these new technologies. The CEO and Founder of Augmented Pixels Vitaliy Goncharuk will talk about the development of augmented reality and the connection between it and the progress in the field of artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, the Chief Software Architect of Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab Vasil Denchev will explain the primary mission of artificial intelligence - to build good models of the world around us and automatically make accurate predictions for various task of practical importance. Here you can see a full list of the confirmed speakers at Webit.Festival, while here you can get all the information you need about the tickets for the event.