Impact 4 Revolution
Lately, IE has been swarmed with a range of events relating to new technologies, their disruption in the current market and their utility. However, given the emphasis on profit creation, the discussion on sustainable and social application has been limited. Keeping this and the relevance of new technologies in mind, IE Business School with the Net Impact Club, Impact Revolution and Make Sense joining to co-organise the conference, Impact 4 Change.
The conference began with a general discussion about new disruptive technologies, including drones, big data, and blockchain. The speakers shared their thoughts on the potential of these technologies, the threats that arise from their use, their implementation in a social and sustainable way, and the adaptation of regulations to these disruptive innovations. The panelists included Francisco Sanz, Pedro Claveria, and Alex Casas, each an expert in one of the technologies. The conversation amongst the experts was mediated by Conchita Galdon, head of IE Social Innovation.
Once participants had a clear idea of these technologies, they were split into four groups, each being given a social problem to which the prior discussed technology could cater to in some way. The groups were given forty-five minutes to devise an application, which would then had to be summarised in a two minute pitch.
"It was really exciting to see how the groups were able to develop such impressive concepts in a short amount of time" shared one of the organisers of the event.
The team in charge of developing an application of blockchain for refugees was voted the best by participants. The team included Dominik Lederer, Severin Kröger, Hannah Oldorf, Yolanda Ocampo Escobar, Valerio Meucci, Jeri Morgan, Elisa Alonso, Luca Mastrilli,and Jordan Sorensen, who were all mentored by Alex Casas. The winning team was able to select one of the following NGO's, Itwillbe, Zipline, Rainforest Connect, and E-nable, to which the events proceeds would be given. Thus, 240€ were donated to Itwillbe, an organisation working to provide digital biometrical identities to street children in order to reduce the risk of human trafficking and help them obtain access to basic services.
The conference concluded with some tapas and cocktails, allowing participants to freely network and further discuss with the panel. To have a more in depth coverage of the event, visit the following link: https://socialinnovation.blogs.ie.edu/2018/03/05/a-conference-out-of-the-ordinary/
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