Open innovation & open data seminar – video now available

Last week we hosted a terrific seminar on open innovation and open data at Inspace.  Here is the video capture courtesy of the lovely people at Envirodigital

http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/envirodigital?layout=4&clip=flv_d6ce869d-38c5-4438-a04d-b9126bdd03af&color=0xe7e7e7&autoPlay=false&mute=false&iconColorOver=0×888888&iconColor=0×777777&allowchat=true

And here are the slides that Roland Harwood, our main speaker used:

http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=getambition-rolandharwood-110302121608-phpapp01&stripped_title=get-ambition-roland-harwood&userName=rolandharwood 

We’re hosting a seminar on Open Innovation & Open Data – Feb 23rd

festivalslab is formally part of the AmbITion Scotland programme and as such we are delighted to announce the first in a series of learning seminars and workshops based on the successful formats already used by the AmbITion programme.  

The first such seminar is called Open Innovation, Open Data: What it is & Why it Matters with the main speaker being Roland Harwood, one of the UK’s leading open innovation thinkers & do-ers.  And he will be joined by our own Ben Werdmuller who will be talking about Open Data.

The session is at 1.30pm on Feb 23rd at Inspace in Edinburgh and is open to all and will be suitable for all levels.  Places are going fast and so for full details and to register to attend either in person or online visit this Eventbrite page

http://getambitionopendata.eventbrite.com/

Launch48 Edinburgh: an inspiring start

I spent last weekend acting as a mentor at Launch48 Edinburgh over at the University of Edinburgh Business School:

I was invited to attend Launch48 Edinburgh as both a speaker and a mentor, and can’t imagine a more inspiring way to spend a weekend. My talk – on creating a startup from scratch with no budget and a two-person team, and the lessons I’ve taken away from that experience – was recorded, and I’ll try and post it here when it appears online. However, what I really want to talk about is the event itself, and the incredible teams that participated.

Launch48 has a simple, if daunting, premise: build a technology business, including model, marketing plan and prototype, in two days. Four ideas were picked out of a set of quick-fire pitches; the resulting teams were kept lean by the sheer speed of the event, and an array of mentors kept them on their toes, often encouraging them point-blank to reassess their ideas.

I’m enormously impressed with the results. Even when the teams didn’t manage to create a viable prototype, the talent on display was unquestionable. These are motivated, smart people who deserve to go places.

I talk about the individual teams over on the main post. I’ve spoken to quite a few of the participants since the event, and continue to be hugely impressed. I’m looking forward to seeing great things from them.

Image by Dan Monsieurle, released under a Creative Commons license.

Ben at TechMeetup

Ben was at last week’s TechMeetup to talk about festivalslab to start a conversations about how best to engage with the local developer and start-up community here in Edinburgh with our work.  Apologies that it’s a bit dark but here’s the video from the event.

[vimeo 15877176 w=400 h=300]<p>

Back at the lab …

It’s been almost a week since the Edinburgh Festivals Innovation Lab announced that I was to be their first Geek in Residence. It’s an honour to be asked to participate in the festivals ecosystem here in Edinburgh, and I’ve been truly delighted by the warm welcome I’ve received.

But gardens aren’t made by sitting in the grass. I’m pleased to announce our new Projects site, on which we’ll be showcasing a series of digital projects and experiments around the festivals and Edinburgh itself. The first set of these are going to appear very soon, so keep checking back – and let us know if you have any great ideas for the kinds of things we should be building and providing. As part of my Geek in Residence role, I’ll be curating these projects, and actively engaging with both the digital and arts communities.

I come from an open source background, having co-founded Elgg, a popular social networking platform. More recently, I’ve written about the festivals for Central Station, co-organized a series of conferences on the future of publishing, and served as tech team leader for Latakoo. More than anything, I’m about creating technology that serves real, human needs, and bridging technology to new sectors. Edinburgh’s arts community is second to none; its digital community is going from strength to strength. I’m looking forward to working with both.

Photo: Vibration isolation system by Andra Mihali. Shared under a Creative Commons license.