Startup Estonia goes to Latitude59!

This year, the programme of Latitude59 is combining a total of 100+ speakers on 4 stages in 15 topic tracks and 2-days full of inspiration. Just to bring out a few topics - innovating STEAM education, leadership skills, ethics and challenges in health and data, future cities, a reality check on the state of cybersecurity,  sustainable development goals, Sub-Saharan business environment, new business models in creative content. And being in Estonia, the world’s first truly digital nation, Latitude59 will also be covering the latest trends in govtech and public sector innovation.

Startup Estonia will be in the middle of all of it. We are hosting panels and discussions on two of our focus areas - CyberTech and EdTech. Also, we are introducing the latest Startup Genome Ecosystem Report and sharing information about our startup ecosystem and services in the #meetestonia area.

Creating awareness on cyber security

Cybercrime is one of the biggest threats to every company in the world. According to an estimate by McAfee, the damages associated with cybercrime stand at over $400 billion, up from $250 billion two years ago. Digital devices are attached to our life and with cyber threats being an everyday reality, awareness is essential.  The aim of our cyber security session on 16th of May at 11 am is to give some food for thought to the startup ecosystem players about the essence, value and purpose of cyber security.

The panel consists of industry experts: Andre Loesekrug-Pietri (Joint European Disruptive Initiative - the European Darpa); Kieren Lovell (TalTech CERT), Taavi Must (RangeForce), Clare Lain (NATO CCDCOE). Each speaker is addressing the topic from their personal perspective, which will be followed by a panel session and Q&A in the Ask Me Anything area. Some of the questions addressed during the session are: What is cyber security? Why does meeting privacy requirements not make my app secure? Why does it matter to me? What are future financial implications for me as a startup? And why as an investor should I care? Are there examples of success out there? Join us!

Education - focusing on STEAM

This year, Startup Estonia is focusing also to highlight the importance of education. Future jobs are changing, presenting major challenges with specific skills. Therefore, for some time now, the focus has been on the areas of STEAM (an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking) that support and guide young people to make more informed choices about future work.

On 16th of May, at 2 pm Transferwise is presenting in session "Improving STEAM-Ed"  how to ensure that the next generation has the skills to develop new scalable innovations and solutions for our digital society, offering insights into the latest study and recommendations done by Tartu University about teaching STEM skills in Estonian schools. The session is moderated by Ede Tamkivi, CEO of non-profit Eesti 2.0 and Taavet Hinrikus, Co-founder and Chairman of TransferWise.They will be joined by Sanna Reponen, CTO of Mechanit and Saku Tuominen, Founder of HundrED from Finland as well as Natalia Simonenko, Founder & CEO of Oyster.

Kaidi Ruusalepp (CEO of Funderbeam) and his son Hendrik on the stage of Latitude59 2018, talking about foundership

On the following session “Preparing education for the era of AI”, we will have a look at the ways of how artificial intelligence influences the future of education with a focus on the challenges, capabilities and opportunities of AI. The session will give an insightful overview of current practical use cases of how AI has given superpowers to educators; detect possible threats of using AI technologies in education and discuss AI's potential impact for learning and teaching. Especially welcomed are educators, teachers, entrepreneurs, data scientists, analysts, developers & business developers. The session is lead by  Triin Mahlakõiv, the co-founder of North Star AI and the speakers are Heli Aru-Chabilan, Chair of the Management Board in Estonian Information Technology Foundation for Education (HITSA) and David Kelver, Senior Manager at Education Business Department of Rakuten, Inc.

The educational focus day ends with a STEAM-Ed pitching session, where five STEAM initiatives from Estonia will pitch their vision for education that delivers both science and collaboration. The initiatives compete for funding from the Good Deed Education Fund, a venture philanthropy fund founded by the new generation of Estonian entrepreneurs.

Presenting the Startup Genome Ecosystem Report 2019

The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2019 (GSER) is the world’s most comprehensive and widely-read research on startups based on data from thousands of startup founders and research on millions of companies. Featuring new and exclusive content, the 2019 GSER provides insights and guidance to public and private leaders in dozens of countries and cities — from Bahrain to New Zealand— about how to cultivate vibrant startup ecosystems. The report outlines key success factors for startups, constituting the new science for entrepreneurial ecosystem development. Startup Estonia engaged Startup Genome to benchmark Estonia against more than 50 ecosystems globally. Estonia’s #GSER2019 highlights are:

• Top 10 Global Ecosystem for Affordable Talent

• Top 5 Activation Ecosystem for Fintech

• Created $1.2b in Ecosystem Value with $69m in early stage funding over last 2.5 years

• Regional sub-sector strengths are Fintech and Cybersecurity

The report was published on May 9th with a launch at The Next Web. On 17th of May at 1 pm, The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2019 will also be presented at Latitude59.


#Meetestonia

Together with e-Residency, Invest in Estonia and e-Estonia Briefing Centre we are joining forces and inviting you to #meetestonia area of Latitude59! You will have a chance to learn more about our governmental initiatives, supporting the entrepreneurial, digital and startup ecosystems of Estonia. Startup Estonia is introducing the Estonian Startup Visa programme and answer all of your questions about our startup ecosystem.

See you at Latitude59!

Team Startup Estonia

Photos by: Annika Haas