Theme: The Future World

The economy and society are in flux. Change is happening – radically and rapidly. Technology has always redefined the world. But today the speed of innovation, the technological changes and the economic effects are enormous. Added to this is the huge flood of data in an increasingly connected world of intelligent products and infrastructures.

These are also conditions that offer companies and start-ups completely new opportunities and business models. But we are also facing new challenges. So we ask ourselves: Does work still have a future in the age of digital networking, robotics and artificial intelligence? How will climate change and ecological concerns make businesses more aware of sustainability? There are certainly also questions related to the coronavirus crisis and the lessons learned. Let’s dare to take a look into ‘The Future World’!

The pioneer class of the Executive MBA in Digital Leadership at the HWZ is organizing the first TEDx event at the HWZ. As digital leaders, we will run the event in a completely new format, with a ‘Digital First’ approach. We have already gained numerous top-class speakers with their very personal stories focusing on "The Future World." In addition to the live stream of the TEDx talks, you can use this opportunity to network and discuss trends and various topics. Let us surprise you and take active part online. Join this exciting virtual event on November 21, 2020 from 9 am to 3 pm CET.

HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich
Lagerstrasse 5
Zurich, Zürich (de), 8021
Switzerland

Barbara Bisko

Barbara has a passion for digital topics which she has pursued and explored over the last 10 years as a consultant in renowned digital agencies. Today she works on the corporate side and loves to share her profound knowledge through managing digital transformation projects, web platforms and mobile apps. Equally important topics to her are internal communication, culture and processes, as they are the foundations of teams that enjoy long-term success.

Bernhard Wolff

As a child, Bernhard Wolff discovered that he had the remarkable talent of speaking backwards. That inspired him to go on stage, become a comedy magician, keynote speaker and event moderator. As a “backwards speaker” he was invited to over 50 TV shows – and to the Arosa Humor Festival. His passion for performing on stage was massively attacked during the Corona crisis. By reinventing corporate events, he found a way to stay close turn the crisis into an opportunity. Bernhard lives in Berlin with his family. He loves the lakes around the capital in Brandenburg state; and bananas, for a special reason that he will tell you.

Claire Murigande

Biologist by education and training with degrees from the universities of Geneva (BSc & MSc) and Basel (PhD), Claire has been professionally active in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry for the last 12 years. She developed expertise, including leading roles, within Medical Affairs – a key function between Research & Development and the commercial organizations. Claire strives to constantly learn new subjects, find opportunities in challenges, inspire and innovate in every context. She supports sharing knowledge as well as experience to enhance creativity. Her mantra under pressure: stay calm, you’ll find solutions to any issue before you know it.

Emi Lorincz

Following various roles and functions in corporate finance, Emi Lorincz’s professional background has ranged from aircraft financing to commodity trading. Since 2017 her focus has been directed towards the ever evolving world of start-ups around digital assets and blockchain technology. Bringing a wealth of work experience from the traditional markets and the field of cryptocurrencies, she enjoys combining these two worlds to help companies benefit from both. Dedicated to increasing the usage and adoption of cryptocurrencies, Emi is engaged in rolling-out the enterprise-grade solution of the security company Ledger while serving on the council of the Bancor Foundation and on the board of the Crypto Valley Association.

Evelyn Eisenhauer

Evelyn Eisenhauer is passionate about the publishing and media industry. Strong brands and content have accompanied her for about 20 years, just like the digital transformation. People, technology and processes are central to her current job in the marketing of digital and print media when it comes to inspiring and motivating change. Besides her passion for media, she is fascinated with the topic of epigenetics. Although she didn’t know it at the time, she laid the foundation over 10 years ago, when she discovered the extraordinary effects of meditation and fasting on the body and mind. Today, a major concern of hers is creating awareness of the need to take responsibility for one’s own health and the fact that prevention starts with an individually optimized lifestyle.

Flavio Stragiotti

An international jack-of-all-trades, husband, father of three, coach of a highly talented kitesurfer, marketing director, trained electrical engineer and inventor, Flavio has a passion for making his visions come true. Professionally, Flavio has been working for international corporations for 25 years, mainly from the USA; for the last 16 years he worked in sales and marketing management positions in medical device companies. In addition, as a micro entrepreneur, he has realized some of his ideas in the form of several inventions. Flavio and his family have experienced and learned a great deal during his numerous stations in South, West and East Africa, Israel and Belgium, among others.

Florence Schelling

Florence is a four-time ice hockey Olympian, having participated in the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games, where she and her team placed 7th in 2006, 5th in 2010, 3rd in 2014 and 5th in 2018. At the Olympic Games in Sochi, she was named the tournament most valuable player (MVP). In addition to the Olympic Games, Florence represented Switzerland in 11 World Championships, and medaled (bronze) once, in 2012. After her professional playing career, she became the assistant coach and later the head coach of the Swiss U18 Women’s National Team. In addition to her athletic career, Florence graduated with a Master of Science in Business Administration and is currently the General Manager for SC Bern, Western Europe’s largest professional ice hockey organization.

Frank & Patrik Riklin

In 1999 the twin brothers Frank & Patrik Riklin founded the artistic enterprise ATELIER FÜR SONDERAUFGABEN (Atelier For Special Tasks) in St. Gallen, Switzerland, with the goal of producing independent and uncompromising art and identifying special tasks for which no one really feels responsible. In their work they are looking for ways to break free of the white cube and rely on social participation. Their art always has a relationship with other subsystems and therefore moves in a gray zone with lots of creative potential. Frank & Patrik say that art must have a function, and they invented the profession “artonomist”. They work with public institutions as well as businesses, and develop ideas that create new realities. This way, they not only enjoy independence from the classical art funding, but they are also free to provoke uncertainty about the characteristics of their profession. This allows them to open up new fields of interest. Both of the Riklin brothers completed an apprenticeship in architecture and afterwards studied art at various art universities. With projects like NULL STERN HOTEL (Zero Star Hotel), BIGNIK and FLIEGEN RETTEN IN DEPPENDORF (Saving Flies in Deppendorf) they have achieved international recognition as conceptual artists.

Kantarama Gahigiri

Kantarama Gahigiri is a Swiss and Rwandan filmmaker, a Fulbright Award recipient, and holds a Master’s degree in Cinema and International Relations. She is currently developing the feature film Tanzanite, a futuristic, eco-conscious odyssey that takes place in Kenya in 2045. As a writer-director, she is enjoying an intense research phase, immersed in near-future projections, for a better understanding of the needs of her film. Her previous film Tapis Rouge has been screened and received awards worldwide, including the TV5Monde Best Francophone Feature Film and Best Directing awards, followed by a theatrical release in Switzerland and in France (2017). Her latest project Ethereality is competing at the Oscar-qualifying Chicago International Film Festival (2020). Kantarama has been selected for the Realness Institute Residency (South Africa 2018), Artists in Residency (Australia 2019), La Fabrique Cinéma at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival (2019), Zurich Film Festival Masterclass (Switzerland 2019), 5x5x5 Residency at Kurzfilmtage Winterthur (Switzerland 2019), and Moulin d’Andé – CÉCI Residency (France 2020).

Schoscho Rufener

Schoscho is a devoted observer of trends in society and economics and has started building various ventures in the entertainment and coaching industries. His passion is bringing out the best in people. He started his career in entertainment, where he soon reached the top of the industry and was hailed as one of the most promising entrepreneurs in the event and entertainment space in Europe. An incident turned his career around: he changed his focus from business to people and started his new career in mindfulness practices and coaching.

Stefan Klöckl

Stefan’s drive is his deep belief that we need to rethink the way we treat each other as a society. If we think and act more humanely, we can create a more meaningful working environment. A meaningful working environment, where everyone has fun, grows beyond themselves and takes responsibility for their actions. Stefan is 55 years old, married and father of two children. He’s the founder and owner of the Sinnfabrik – www.sinnfabrik.ch. He wants a humane working environment in which we trust each other unconditionally, appreciate each other and everyone takes responsibility for their actions. Stefan wants a humane working environment where everyone is respected in their uniqueness, where individuality comes before conformity. Furthermore, he wants a humane working environment where everyone has the right to be happy..

Thomas Bosshard

Thomas has been in the eye care business (ophthalmology) for almost fifteen years. Heading an international family business specialized in the design and manufacturing of surgical devices and instruments for eye surgery, he gained thorough personal experience of the ophthalmic market as well as healthcare worldwide. While travelling the world for his company, he developed a fascination for cataract surgery, one of the most effective and efficient surgical procedures to prevent blindness. Since then, on a daily basis, Thomas and his team strive for better, safer and more economic surgical solutions to help blind and visually impaired people around the globe. Personally, Thomas is fascinated by the power and creativity which can be potentially found in every organization. He loves to enable and empower people and teams to create sustainable results together while giving sense and joy to people’s daily work lives.