10 European tech events to attend in late 2018
Summer is gone and 2018 is coming to an end. It doesn't mean that the tech world is slowing down, though. Quite on the contrary. Fall can be a perfect timing to get hold of new ideas, knowledge and skills that your business might soon require. Tech conferences are happening all over the world. Check these 10 European tech events in late 2018 you definitely should not miss. Here they are, in chronological order!
World Summit AI
October 10-11, Amsterdam
After having sold out the last year's edition with nearly 3,000 attendees, World Summit AI, the leading conference of world's AI aficionados is about to double its audience, expecting over 6,000 attendees and promising 140 speakers who will deliver their insights on everything one is supposed to know about AI. Speeches from guests like Steve Chien from NASA, Cassie Kozyrkov from Google and Manuela Veloso from JP Morgan Chase and Carnegie Mellon University will focus on applied solutions for enterprise, innovation, AI ethics and the global benefits of the Artificial Intelligence. Star-/scaleups, Big Tech companies, scientists, academics, investor, CEOs and CTOs - they all will be there. If you are willing not only to embrace the change, but also to be a part of it, this is most probably the place and time to be.
SaaStock
October 15-17, Dublin
Over 3000 people from over 1000 worldwide Software as a Service companies. Over 100 exhibitors from over 50 countries. Over 40 hours of content, time for networking and inspiring discussions. And, last but not least, over 200 venture capital funds. All this in just three days in the capital of Ireland. Business founders of prosperous SaaS enterprises will share their stories. Listen about make-or-break moments in early stage funding, what actually defines great teams or is customer feedback always the critical factor when it comes to developing your product. SaasCity bootcamp, SaaStock Startup program as well as the Pitching Competition are the part of the deal, too.
Agile & Automation Days
October 15-16, Cracow
Programmed with mainly Test Automation Specialists, Scrum Masters, Test Leads in mind, Cracow's Agile and Automation Days features a conference with keynote speakers, practical workshops and simply is a great networking opportunity. "During the Agile & Automation Days we will present topics that have not been seen or heard before in Poland. The conference will be an interactive experience that will allow the participants to look at the subject of Agile and automation in many different ways", boast the organizers. This years' speakers include Karen N. Johnson from JAMF, author and co-founder Workshop for Regulated Software Testing (WREST) and Stephen Janaway from Bloom & Wild inter alia.
Wolves Summit
October 23-24, Warsaw
An international conference with special emphasis upon European startups and scaleups. According to their own website, the attendees call Wolves Summit the most effective networking event for startups and scaleups in Middle and Eastern Europe. It is a perfect opportunity to meet the most promising international companies from the tech and innovations industry at one place, and for the new companies to find investors. The traditional formula of Wolves Summit consists of 1:1 meetings, VIP and networking parties, Startup Expo, as well as The Great Pitch - a competition in which selected start-/scaleups fight for potential investors. This will be the 8th edition of Wolves Summit.
I Love Marketing
October 24-26, Warsaw
50 speakers in just 3 days in the capital of Poland. I Love Marketing has become one of the most popular events fully devoted to internet marketing in Poland. The organizers take pride in transferring practical knowledge from top speakers and with absolutely no sales content. The speeches hold true to the TEDx standard of presentations that do not exceed the 18 minutes long. An opportunity to become part of a huge creative community, learn from the best and plan the marketing strategy for your brand. The speakers will present the newest trends and the upcoming changes in the marketing business. For the first time in the history of I Love Marketing, the first day of the event, named "I Love Influencer" will be dedicated to this growing phenomenon - its mechanisms, value and resulting risks. I Love Marketing is a gamified event, which means the speakers will compete for your attention and the participants will be able to assess them.
Web Summit
November 5-8, Lisbon
Named "Glastonbury for geeks" (The Guardian) or "Davos for Geeks" (Bloomberg), Lisbon-based Web Summit is said to be "the largest tech conference in the world" (Inc Magazine) or at least one of the largest. With numbers like over 70,000 attendees, 1,200+ speakers from 170+ countries from all corners of the globe this might be believed to be a true statement. The organizers have just announced that the event will be taking place in Lisbon until at least 2028, but let us focus on the impending 2k18 edition. Speakers include CEOs from Booking.com and Pinterest as well as top figures from companies like Svarowski, Microsoft, Apple, Slack and Netflix. Plus dozens more, literally. "We’ve disrupted an old industry by building incredible software and designing mind-blowing events. We’ve revolutionized how people come together in our world. We’re just getting started" - even if it is a bold statement, being in the tech industry, you can not just ignore Web Summit.
VM World
November 5-8, Barcelona
Four days of innovation to accelerate attendee's journey into a software business, including hands-on labs, workshops, partner forum and many more. The conference is going to cover software business in its wide spectrum: from mobile devices, to data center and the cloud. Latest technologies from VMWare and 100+ exhibitors including Amazon Web Services, IBM, Intel and many, many more.
European Women in Tech
November 28-29, Amsterdam
No matter how masculinized the tech industry may appear, things have been changing in favor of gender diversity and equality in this sector. Events like Rails Girls and European Women in Tech are the best example of these developments. After two successful editions in 2016 and 2017, the conference returns to Amsterdam. With over 3,000 Europe's leading women in tech on board, the event gives its participants the opportunity of boosting their career through gaining new skills - both soft and strictly tech ones - through keynote speeches, workshops and networking possibilities. Speakers include: Ayelen Chavez from OLX, Marlene de Koning from Linkedin, Ineke Verwijs from Fujitsu and many more.
Disrupt Berlin
November 29-30, Berlin
Hosted by TechCrunch, Disrupt is something what might be considered as Europe's ultimate startup gathering. "At Disrupt, everyone is a startupper – no matter if you’re a founder, investor, hacker or tech leader. So much more than just on-stage interviews, Disrupt is where you’ll find the renowned Startup Battlefield competition, hundreds of startups in Startup Alley, Workshops and legendary networking at our After Parties… and we’re in Berlin, right where many startup dreams begin" - the organizers boast. Startup Battlefield is the competition for the world's top early-stage startups, while Startup Alley is the showcase of the most promising ideas and products. Definitely not to be missed by the investors and like-minded entrepreneurs. And, yeah, media ranging from Bloomberg to CNBC to Financial Times will also be there, so if you have a brilliant idea, you can get a mention or two, right?
Slush
December 4-5, Helsinki
"Don’t come to Slush for inspiration and networking. Come if your time is best used by learning from people than by staying home, working on your product", alarm the crew of Finland's Slush. This is simply one of the biggest and most popular tech events in the world and by far the most prestigious one in the North. Over 20,000 tech heads from the whole world will attend this year's conference. Speakers include Casey Winters who lead growth of Pinterest inter alia, and who will talk about user retention tactics, Julia Grace who built engineer teams in Slack during the company's growth, as well as Christian Meermann from Zalando telling about starting to build it into a performance marketing powerhouse. New additions feature Resource Bank, roundtable discussions and the Showcase Studio with 80 companies presenting their products. Even though it is going to be cold and hazy in Helsinki in December, Slush's attendees like it that way!
2019 is already filled with cool tech events. Check them out!
A lot of cool technology events are already scheduled for 2019. Conferences, summits and meetings are planned all over the world. The tech industry is a vast one and the topics covered at these events range from AI, cybersecurity and telehealth to gaming, SaaS market, growth and hyperscaling among others. Each of these events is not only a good way to discover the future of technology, but also a perfect opportunity to meet your future business partners. Out of the tech events announced so far in different parts of the globe, I have made a list of those most interesting. Ready to make plans for 2019? Grab your calendar and check our guide to the tech events in 2019 you definitely can't miss. With more details and new ones announced practically every week, this guide will be updated regularly.
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