Partners, expo, podcast box: innovation you can touch

Away from the stages, Open-i became a walk-through map of the innovation ecosystem.

In the Expo Zone, robots, hardware, AI applications and sustainable solutions were not just presented, but tested, discussed and further developed. In the podcast box, in-depth conversations were recorded live, complementing the stage programme. In the comfortably designed working and matchmaking zone, people were working, networking and forging new collaborations.

The partner sessions and deep-dive formats showed just how broad the field has become – and how concrete innovation looks in practice today:

Innosuisse brought Jean-Philippe Hagmann on stage with the image of a tree instead of the classic funnel: innovation as a living system with many branches and offshoots, in which experiments are consciously allowed and nurtured rather than selected out early.
Helbling translated its role as a bridge-builder between engineering, consulting and the market into principles for innovation in a VUCA world – from clear goals and iterative development to interdisciplinary teams that see uncertainty as the norm.
The Office for Economy Division of Business and Economic Development of the Canton of Zurich offered insights into the use of AI in medicine: how hospitals, industry and authorities can jointly set up pilot projects without losing sight of patient protection, safety and jobs.
The Bern Economic Development Agency focused, under the title ‘Unleashing Industry 5.0’, on the next era of production: the interplay of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cognitive robotics and vertical manufacturing, which could enable sustainable, flexible and highly personalised production – with far-reaching implications for factories, supply chains and economic and social models.
Swisscom demonstrated that cybersecurity is no longer an add-on, but part of the value chain: anyone building digital products must think about resilience, attack scenarios and crisis plans from the outset, not only after an incident.
Isolutions, together with Partners Group, provided insight into the company’s AI programme: from strategy, governance, security and adoption through a deep dive into M365 Copilot to concrete use cases, rollout experiences, change management and the learnings that are now accelerating Copilot’s impact across the organisation.
VNTR, together with corporate partners, showed how companies can remain capable of innovation even in difficult times – with portfolios of experiments instead of isolated projects and with clear structures that create space for the new.
Creaholic invited participants to use future thinking to play through different possible futures – not as a parlour game, but as a tool to make today’s decisions more robust.
MYI used playful software modding to show how low-threshold experiments can lead to unexpected solutions and how much creativity is unleashed when people are allowed to repurpose things.

Different perspectives, one common denominator: innovation is not a buzzword, but a craft. It succeeds when we experiment together, connect and are prepared to think differently.

Open-i

The Swiss Innovation Platform