Two days filled with innovation and collaboration

The 29 and 30 November mark the days when we held our annual conference Ignite Sweden Days. This year we managed to host over 80 professional and innovative people under one roof. Of course, digital life is fantastic, but there is something extra remarkable about meeting in real life.

The event took place during the coldest days of this fall season. Regardless, we shared many interesting discussions and contacts, and we got to listen to some incredible and inspirational people on stage, people that are at the forefront when it comes to working innovatively.

The speakers that took to the stage to share their knowledge and experiences regarding innovation and collaboration included Denise Norström (Region Västmanland), Erik Ronne (Boliden), Liam Hardey (Cellfion), Robin Jägestedt (Rinkeby-Kista stadsdelsförvaltning), Karl Sund (Parlametric), Anders Nyander (Alfa Laval), Malin Alpsten (Bright Day Graphene), Richard Larsson (Uminova Innovation), Per Fransson (The Fine Arc Nordic AB), Tingting Xiao (Ingka), Regina Summer (Vinnova), Martin Svensson (Energimyndigheten), Navratan Katariya (NASSCOM Centre of Excellence IoT & AI), Nicklas Friberg (Lindab), Tilda Sander (Mavenoid), Linnéa Nedar (Uppsala kommun), Jonas Thyni (Tvinn), Örjan Jansson & Johan Söderblom (WWF), Catharina Sandberg (LEAD Business Incubator), Marie Wall (Ministry of Enterprise of Sweden), Magnus Lundin (Scania), and Liselott Johansson (Greater Than).

Takeaways from the Conference

One of the key takeaways from the two days, and something to work on for 2022, was the need for more tools to effectively measure environmental impact at different levels. Organizations need to start doing impact measurements and start putting numbers on them.

We also got to listen to great tips to startups from Liselott Johansson, founder of Greater Than, a company that has made the journey from startup to scaleup:

• Act as if you have already achieved your goal: Have a clear vision/target and act as if you are already on your way 
• Aim for the best companies to partner with for you: You need to work with the largest leaders to gain the credibility to work with everyone else 
• Connecting with others can have a huge impact
• Have a clear business model: it needs to be as accessible as possible and it will make things easier for your customers
• Think big and be a part of big awards; these will give you credibility

Another takeaway that came up during the days was that Ignite creates a sense of community for those who work within startup collaboration at corporates and public sector organizations. Intrapreneurs within these organizations can be lonely, but these types of conferences provide a place to find a network and the strength to continue on your mission.  

The Collaboration Heroes of 2021

The annual Ignite Awards ceremony also took place during the event. The Ignite Awards celebrated the success stories of 2021 and recognized startups, corporates and public sector organizations for their collaborative and innovative work.

These are the winners of the Ignite Awards 2021:

Ignite Startup Engagement (Private Sector): IBM
Ignite Startup Engagement (Public Sector): Digitaliseringsinitiativet, Sveriges Allmännytta
Ignite B2B Engagement: Viking Analytics
Ignite International Engagement: IHI Corporation
Ignite Global Collaborator: L’Oréal
Ignite Master of B2B Collaboration (Private Sector): Parlametric
Ignite Master of B2B Collaboration (Private Sector): Thermaiscan
Ignite Master of Startups (Private Sector): Alfa Laval
Ignite Master of Startups (Public Sector): Rinkeby-Kista stadsdelsförvaltning, Stockholm stad
Ignite Rapid Rollout: Lindab & Mavenoid
Ignite Startup Hack (Public Sector): Uppsala Municipality & Parlametric
Ignite Startup Hack (Private Sector): Boliden & Cellfion
Ignite Sustainability Heroes: Uppsala Municipality & Tvinn