After a long break from physical events, the Annual Meeting 2021 of the EIT Digital Alumni Foundation took place in Stockholm between October 29th and November 1st.
The theme of this year’s meeting was "Social Responsibility in Tech", focusing on some of the most crucial challenges that our society faces when it comes to digitalization. It was a long weekend full of activities for our alumni members to grow personally and professionally, meet inspiring people, listen to talks and get surrounded by a community of digital experts from all over Europe (and beyond).
The event was hosted at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology (EIT Digital CLC) in Stockholm and organized by the Alumni Board with a big help of the local volunteers. In total 80 participants gathered for this event, including 20 alumni based in Stockholm. Accommodation was provided in the Generator Hostel in a great location close to the heart of the city. It offered us a cool networking environment - a big lobby with a bar where people could meet anytime, as well as delicious breakfast every morning to keep us all full of energy for the day ahead.
The first day of the event was Friday, when participants arrived and registered. We enjoyed a welcome dinner at a burger place with some networking, which continued later in the hostel lobby and at the bar.
Saturday programme was full of presentations and talks and took place at the university campus. The Alumni Board shared updates of their activities and of the working groups, partnerships and upcoming projects. That included a surprise presentation about a unique opportunity for the alumni members – co-living 2022 in the Canary Islands! Later, the keynote speaker Freddie Catlow talked about the environmental issues our planet is facing, his story of building an ecohotel in Sri Lanka and about starting his sustainable technology company Planboo.
This part of the event was also streamed so more members could join us online. The recording is still available so if you’re interested, feel free to check it out, you can find it on our YouTube channel!
Participants also joined the challenge introduced by Kimitisik - working in groups, brainstorming and preparing their pitches on the topic of quality education. In quite a short time, the groups came up with multiple brilliant ideas. The challenges to tackle were e.g., education beyond the traditional classroom or the grade free education. After a long active day, we went for a chill networking dinner with drinks and tried shuffleboard, a game popular in Sweden.
Sunday started with a guided city tour around Stockholm. The Nordics treated us well this time around and the weather was just lovely! Those who joined had an opportunity to experience the vibes of the city and learn some interesting facts.
Afternoon programme was a laser tag game, a great chance to get to know each other in a fun way. Finally, we all gathered at the hostel to watch all the video pitches and to vote for the winner. The winning team’s idea was to use deepfake software in children’s education (e.g., celebrities or movie characters). Congratulations once again!
A huge shout-out goes to everyone who helped to make this event happen and especially to the participants – thank you all for joining and building new connections within the alumni community! You’ve managed to create an amazing atmosphere and an unforgettable experience.
Are you already excited about attending the next Annual Meeting? It will most likely take place in May 2022, and we can’t wait to meet you there!
EIT Digital Alumni and EIT Digital are supported by the EIT, a body of the European Union