The most important annual event in the mobile industry –the Mobile World Congress– came to a close this week in Barcelona. The Congress provided in-depth coverage of the current and future mobile industry, with a special focus on technological developments, next generation services and growth strategies. As a cornerstone of the industry, the event attracted more than 100,000 attendees with keynote speakers including Reed Hastings (Founder and CEO, Netflix), Xu Zhijun (Deputy Chairman of the Board & Rotating CEO, Huawei), Rajeev Suri (President & CEO, Nokia) and Bob Moritz (Global Chairman, PwC).
Within the event, the 4YFN (4 Years from Now) has established itself as the international platform devoted to connect the best mobile startups with investors, corporations, incubators, accelerators to discover, create and launch new ventures together. The platform also closed its 4th edition with success records with over 600 startups, +19000 attendees from all over the world and a great variety of keynote speeches and workshops that were developed under 3 main categories: “Disrupted by Mobile”, “Internet of Things” and “Digital Media”.
EADA AND THE WORLD MOBILE CONGRESS
Given the significance of the MWC and 4YFN, EADA participants from both the MBA and Master programmes were provided with the opportunity to access both events. Their motivations to attend varied from grasping the occasion to to increase international networking opportunities,finding inspiration and resources for their own entrepreneurial projects, learning the latest trends on corporate innovation and even seizing business opportunities to bring back to their home countries.
During the second day of the event, EADA organized a Networking Meetup event within the 4YFN to bring together participants, alumni, professors and staff that were participating in the MWC and 4YFN.
Some of EADA’s researchers and professors have also taken an active participation during the event. During the 2016 edition professor Boyd Cohen moderated a round table focused on the impact and future of Sharing Economy that included the participation industry leaders such as Airbnb, Drivy and the renowned Barcelona startup Wallapop.