Disruption is no longer a new concept for this decade. However, the Tech Open Air Festival (TOA) shows us it is alive and well. It is the place where technology meets business people and together, they uncover opportunities to make the world a better place. Influential speakers, workshops, satellite events, interesting topics, meditation corners and hundreds of people make out of it an event to remember. 2019 was the first year Octagon Careers attended, and here are our 5 Best Things about the festival!
#1. Best addressed topics
This year, Funkhaus Location made the festival look like a new city of technology, every corner being dedicated to people interested in specific topics. Most prominently covered were recent trends concerning logistics, shared mobility, smart cities, IoT or women in tech. Moving from space to space, it was an amazing opportunity to be emerged in different topics, by simply walking to a new part of the venue.
Photo: Philipp Gneiting, Head of Open Innovation at Daimler
#2. Best conference speakers
Have you ever wanted to hear Niklas Östberg (CO-FOUNDER & CEO, Delivery Hero SE), Maximilian Tayenthal (CO-FOUNDER & CFO, N26) or Mathias Döpfner (CHAIRMAN & CEO, Axel Springer SE) talking about various topics of interest? How amazing is it that these inspirational speakers, and so many others, were all in one place? TOA made this real! On offer, there were Q&A sessions, TED-like talks, Podcasts, and 137 speakers of the highest quality which attended TOA 2019 and that says a lot!
Photo: Mathias Döpfner, Chairman and CEO at Axel Springer SE
#3. Best participating companies
KPMG, Google, Daimler, Accenture, Bain&Co, SAP are just some of the big names being present at the conference. From Financial Services to Agribusiness, technology cannot avoid any of us - tech is firmly entrenched in our day-to-day lives! TOA 2019 really helped visualise that, attracting some of the biggest and most tech-driven companies across many fields, all of which shared their vision, culture and goals.
#4. Best provided workshops
“Smashing Through the Startup Ceiling: How to Create Real Change for Women” is only one name out of so many interesting workshops which took place at TOA19. Getting to know five women that made their way into the tech world, working now for big companies or their own start-ups in different areas - was one of the best motivational source for all the female participants. After each pitched against a 3-minute clock, we had split circle discussions where we shared and debated interesting topics concerning women's involvement in the today's business world.
#5. Best drinks, food and party
No doubt – one of the most awaited parts of any event, the fun networking portion! That said, TOA made this part of the program simply awesome. From having different locations and topics in many corners of Berlin to bringing awesome DJs – this conference managed to make everyone enjoy the days as well as the nights spent there. TOAxNight program is more than well-organized within TOA Festival and it guarantees a lot of fun and meaningful connections!
Having these 5 Best Things from TOA 2019 after an incredible 3 days’ experience in Berlin, we can’t wait for next year’s festival and more insights about what is coming next!
#Find more: Don’t hesitate to find out more about TOA Festival on their website and for more interesting articles, feel free to check our Octagon Blog page and our Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.