{"id":10676,"date":"2019-07-02T14:20:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T12:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.esmt.org\/degree-programs\/?p=10676"},"modified":"2023-04-27T14:09:55","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T12:09:55","slug":"digitalfuture-summit-2019-distinguishing-itself-from-the-mass-of-digitization-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.esmt.berlin\/voices\/digitalfuture-summit-2019-distinguishing-itself-from-the-mass-of-digitization-events\/","title":{"rendered":"DigitalFuture Summit 2019 – Distinguishing itself from the mass of digitization events"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We all know the conferences where you end up wondering why you really went. Indeed, we often take away insights from mostly monotonous lectures, but there is no real fun. Experts from different industries are on stage, and as a simple participant you won’t come closer than sitting in the first row. We are constantly preaching that we should build our networks and increase the number of our LinkedIn and Xing contacts. According to a 2017 study (IAB-Stellenerhebung<\/a>), around 30 percent of all new hires are based on personal contacts. How is a simple student supposed to get to these contacts and expand their network to the maximum, apart from internships?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, there\nare several career fairs at which different companies of all sizes present\ntheir company at a stand where you have the\nopportunity to talk to employees. However, these events do not offer more than\na brief company presentation and a small selection of vacancies. An exciting\nexperience is a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nDigitalFuture Summit was founded a few years ago by students of ESMT Berlin to\ndiscuss the constantly growing topic of digitization, which affects all\nindustries and small start-ups as well as large corporations. The objective was\nto create a two-sided platform with students on the one hand and partner\nbusinesses and experts on the other. International students with different\nbackgrounds received the opportunity to get in contact with leading experts,\nenrich their own knowledge, and network to accelerate their career. A constant\nfor the event is that top executives and experts\ngive interesting lectures, participate in panel discussions, lead engaging\nmaster classes, and interact with students in workshops (more about the\ndifferent types later).\nNonetheless, annual trends are always changing in the field of digitization.\nThus, this year\u2019s DFS was focused on\nconnectivity, sustainability, creativity, and\nmobility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand\nthe work and processes behind the two days of the summit, let\u2019s take a look at\nthe phases behind the scenes leading up to the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first phase\nstarted off with the formation of 4 teams\nwith over 30 highly motivated students under the leadership of Patrick Schiebel\nand Sarah Ziegler. Those teams were structured in the following groups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategy and Communication<\/strong>: Dedicated to design, shaped the topic and schedule, and\nprovided a unique learning experience and information exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Event and Participants Management<\/strong>: Coordinated\nall venue related topics to ensure a smooth event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partner Management<\/strong>: Supported the realization of DFS19 by establishing\nand managing partner accounts, helped to connect one with people who are active\nin the field of digitalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finance and Legal<\/strong>: Managed the budget and\nfacilitated legal coordination and communication between the work\nstreams and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The teams\ncontinued the organizational preparations for the second phase of the event by defining\nthis year’s strategy and concept at an early stage. Followed by setting up the budgets\nand invitations for the participants from previous years and selected\ncompanies. Never does preparation for a\nbig event like that go perfectly smooth. The\norganizers faced occasional setbacks, which lead to the identification of\nadequate alternatives and new solutions to ensure its success. One of the\nbigger goals this year was to ensure 300 participants at the event. In order to\nachieve this goal, it was imperative to\nprovide a well-structured and varied agenda. Throughout 20th<\/sup> and 21st<\/sup>\nof June 2019 after the welcome keynote speech, participants had the opportunity\nto participate in four different types of sessions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keynotes: <\/strong>Listening to the views and forecasts of leading\nexecutives about the future of digitalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panel Discussions: <\/strong>Discussions of recent market trends and expected\ndevelopment in the field of digitalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Master Classes: <\/strong>Interactive sessions given by experts in the field of\ndigitalization allowing students to interact with speakers and ask advanced\nquestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workshops: <\/strong>Direct engagement with attendees, helping them to\nlearn more about digitalization through case studies, discussion of problems,\nor presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n

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One of the\nchallenging tasks for the teams was to secure top-class partners.Some of the companies that the DFS had\nthe honor of welcoming to the ESMT campus were: Accenture interactivity,\nAccenture strategy, Amazon, AUDI, Axel Springer, BNP Paribas, BVG, heycar, Pfizer, N26, SAP, Siemens, Volkswagen,\nWayfair, Simon Kucher & Partners, Huawei, Microsoft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the\nhighlighted companies, the top managers, who provided participants with their\nexpert knowledge and forecasts for the future, contributed to the overall\ncontent of the summit, part of those were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n