Academic Centre
In the final stage of the grant competition, 10 teams competed and presented their business ideas to the judges. The abundance of ideas had no limits: following the festival's motto “Reinventing the Future”, the students had conceived environmentally friendly ideas that would make life easier for people and solve numerous problems.
The students also offered to develop the idea of menstrual underwear, which would be a very practical and ecological solution. The team Baltic Fungi presented the idea of an industrial indoor mushroom farm, which would allow a high yield regardless of the outdoor climate, but the team HeelMe came up with the idea of a specially printed heel in 3D technology to help people with leg length asymmetry.
Focus, confidence and creativity
The festival Icebreakers’21 could be attended in person and was held at the House of Science of the University of Latvia Academic Centre, as well as online. Throughout the day, the festival visitors had the opportunity to participate in creative workshops, listen to expert discussions on current issues of the contemporary world and the past year, including innovations in science, medicine and technology.
The festival was opened by Gundars Bērziņš, Dean of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia. “Entrepreneurs create, accept challenges and know how to control situations. If an opportunity is lost, the potential is lost. Take the opportunity, learn from those who have already achieved something in life. Create the future!” Gundars Bērziņš prompted the participants of the festival.
In her opening speech, Ieva Siliņa, External Science and Education Policy Adviser to the President of Latvia, emphasized that a good entrepreneur needs emotional intelligence, because there will be losses in business, yet the downturn will be followed by an upswing, therefore we must believe in success.
After the opening speeches, the festival continued with various discussions and expert keynotes. Local and foreign experts from the business and higher education institutions discussed issues important to entrepreneurs. The first steps in business are not easy at all, so business experts and young entrepreneurs shared their experience and advice.
Scientific research shows that a good entrepreneur needs three components: firstly, they must be convinced that it will be possible to cope with anything, secondly, they must always accept challenges and take risks, and thirdly, they must not waste time. G. Bērziņš outlined the recipe of this successful entrepreneur in the first discussion. It was augmented by Dāvids Svēte from Baltic Landlords, who emphasized that focus, confidence and creativity were required, likewise. Marija Ručevska from Helve noted that every entrepreneur must have a strong mission and even an obsession with their business idea.
In the age of teleworking and education, technologies have paved the way for new approaches to working and doing business, improving health services and providing safe conditions. Technology has forever changed human behaviour, thereby creating a whole new reality in all industries. The future will be determined by the bravest and most far-sighted entrepreneurs who will develop their technologies in step with the changes taking place in the world, said Stanislavs Hilčuks, Industry X Lead and Innovations Manager at Accenture, in his presentation.
In turn, one of the most important functions of the company – communication – was discussed by experienced Latvian communication specialists and journalists. When communicating with the target audience, appropriate communication channels must be selected. For example, if you need to reach young people, the Discord app is now a very popular platform among this target group.
It is important to inform the media about the news in your company, – yet, when creating press releases, they should include the story of your company, which will be of interest to the public, recommended Juris Jurāns from TVNET. “The first sentence is the key for the press to notice your message!” emphasized the journalist. Journalists receive a lot of e-mails daily, therefore you need to think about how to present the story to ensure that it is attractive to the journalist.
“You must know the audience and speak the language your consumer speaks,” emphasized Jānis Palkavnieks, a spokesman for Draugiem Group. “If your grandmother doesn't find the story boring, then it will also suit the public,” added J. Jurāns.
Festival of opportunity and inspiration
The range of topics discussed at Icebreakers’21 was very broad, with panellists discussing innovations that promote a sustainable and green society and create a better quality of life for themselves and future generations; how to know what, when and how to change in the organization so that it survives; what are the main strategies for obtaining funding; what is new in the digital world, what innovations and surprises await us in the future and, finally, what skills are needed to become an entrepreneur.
Along with the informative lectures, everyone had the opportunity to test their success in a contest. By correctly answering quiz questions about the University of Latvia and the Icebreakers festival, the festival visitors could spin the wheel of fortune and receive prizes. Visitors were also entertained by Improv Comedy Riga, who played improvised scenes of various life situations.
This autumn, the festival took place for the fourth time, this year becoming a hybrid event with some visitors participating in person and some – remotely. Since the first launch of the festival, it has become one of the most important international business events in Latvia and the Baltic region, offering an extensive programme for young business entrants.
Icebreakers’21 was organized by the University of Latvia Student Business Incubator in cooperation with the project implementation partners – Riga Technical University Design Factory, as well as the main partners of the event – Inbox.lv and LMT Retail & Logistics. Luminor also supported the creation of the festival this year: “We are happy to support young people with advice and promote the use of new financial solutions not only on a daily basis, but also in the long run. Therefore, we are happy to provide students and young professionals with information on how to acquire investment and savings skills that will contribute to their future financial well-being. We also invite young people to actively plan their finances on a daily basis, to take an interest and plan how to increase them in the future,” says Kerli Gabriloviča, Manager of Luminor in Latvia.
The event is organized with the support of ERDF co-financed project No. 1.1.1.3/18/A/007 “University of Latvia Innovation Grants for Students”. The project is implemented with the financial support of Latvian and foreign patrons, which is administered by the University of Latvia Foundation.
