What’s NEXT? Global Entrepreneurship Week concludes with futurist, technologist conference

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Registration is now open for NEXT 2918, a dynamic program that is once again part of Global Entrepreneurship Week in Syracuse.  Boasting two world-class keynotes as well as interactive workshops on Law & Commercialization, Manufacturing Excellence and Biotech Innovation, this is also an opportunity to get a look at NEXT generation opportunities, discoveries and products at our Technology Showcase.

The conference is Thursday, November 15, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, 441 Electronics Parkway, Liverpool, NY.  Add to Calendar

Thanks to generous partners and sponsors, this full day event is only $25.  Visit next-syr.com for program details.

 Agenda:
Morning Keynote

The Human Touch: How Bio-inspired Design and Advanced Fabrication Are Revolutionizing Robotics
Society’s technological progress has always been defined by materials. We have advanced through the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages, into the current “Age of Silicon.” The next stage of human technological evolution will begin when we gain precise control over the three-dimensional arrangement of elements within a composite architecture. This talk will reveal how that future has already begun, with the advent of 3D printing for multifunctional composite materials. Learn about cutting-edge innovation happening today in the Organic Robotics Laboratory at Cornell University, where Prof. Shepherd and his team use 3D printing to fabricate mechanical, optical, electrical, and energy functional materials and structures that are enabling the next generation of automation. The Lab is exploring the use of advanced materials to produce revolutionary new “soft” robots that can feel, change color, and interact safely with humans. See what will soon be possible for prosthetic hands, robot end effectors—even touch interfaces for virtual reality simulations. 

10:15 – 11:15 am
Morning Workshops
Biotech Innovation

Targeted Collaboration Equates to Increased Opportunities
The Harvard Business Review reported earlier this year about the importance and success of industry clusters which are positioned near major research universities, such as Silicon Valley, Minneapolis and Boston and that this movement has accelerated. However, rather than “monitoring early stage research and pouncing when something of interest emerges, smart companies increasingly seed (invest) in areas of interest to them.” Targets to successful partnerships include flexible patent licensing, good faith negotiation, cultivated shared long-term programs within the institution and seeding early-stage research.

This panel of university, industry and business development representatives will discuss how corporations partner in translating discovery to practice, how universities attract industry partnership, and how these relationships positively impact the corporate partner, the university and regional economic development.

Panel Lead

Speakers

Manufacturing Excellence

Journey to Oz, the Land of the Future Manufacturing Company
Dorothy knew she wasn’t in Kansas anymore when she emerged from her tornado blown house into Oz. The manufacturing company of the future will see changes almost as radical. Wonders will abound, as will lions and tigers and bears. Oh, my! Like the Munchkins, the main inhabitants will be different from what we have been used to. By 2020, just 2 years away, almost 50% of the workforce will be millennials and by 2025 that percentage is expected to reach 75%.  Fortunately, millennials were born to live in manufacturing’s Oz, a wondrous technology-enabled world filled with collaborative robots, automation, gamification, artificial intelligence, and limitless connectivity.  Discover what these changes will mean for companies trying to navigate the new landscape and arrive in Oz… without the tornado.

Panel Lead

Technology & the Law

 Innovation and Intellectual Property – Decision Points for Startups
The importance of IP protection is well-accepted. The panel will address issues such as patent filing strategy, making decisions about international filings, trade secret protection as an alternative to patenting, and the post grant options offered by the American Invents Act.

11:30 am – 1 pm
Luncheon Keynote
Luncheon Keynote

The Future of Technology, Cybersecurity, Innovation and Our Digital World
As a kid growing up in Silicon Valley, Chris Kelly knows first-hand how technology has changed the world. Now as an angel investor, Kelly has an inside view of where technology is heading. What are the newest ideas and how are innovators planning to change the world? Based on his own experience and research, Kelly paints a picture of the future of technology and our digital world.

1:15 – 2:15 pm
Afternoon Workshop
Biotech Innovation

Blockchain and Web 3.0: A New Landscape for Healthcare Data
With growing concerns around data privacy, information systems in the healthcare industry are prime for disruption. This presentation will explain how blockchain and distributed ledger technologies could play a key role in catalyzing these changes.

Manufacturing Excellence

There’s a Crowd in the Cloud!
Is your future “cloudy”? Learn how services and capabilities provided by industry giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and IBM as well as a host of other enablers are changing how companies leverage computing power and data for customer-facing and operational needs. If you don’t know your Azure from your elbow, you might want to attend. Explore the opportunities and challenges of the industrial Internet of Things and what that means to your business’ future.

Technology & the Law

Key Legal Issues for Technology Companies: Startup and Finance – Practitioners Discuss Best Practices for Founding and Financing Early Stage Companies
Setting up a new company to bring a product to market involves a myriad of legal issues. Practitioners discuss strategies to manage the issues confronted by startups, such as choice of business entity, managing equity, and issues with licensing technology.

Panel Lead

Speakers

2:30 – 3:30 pm
Mid-Afternoon Workshops
Manufacturing Excellence

Supporting the Changing Workplace
The workforce of the future will be inclined towards continuous learning. They will certainly need a lot of it to replace the vast amounts of knowledge and experience that will be lost when the “Boomers” exit the workforce. Add to this the rapid rate of adoption of the new technologies required to remain competitive and the need becomes clear. We must have the capability as an interconnected community and as individual organizations to develop the workforce and enable them to support increasingly complex technology and processes. Join us for a panel discussion featuring leaders who have insight into how we meet those needs.

Biotech Innovation and Technology & the Law

Finding the Funds: New Venture Assistance for Innovation and Capitalization
How to obtain funding is foremost in the minds of many entrepreneurs. The panel will discuss the availability and pitfalls of various types of funding, how funding options can influence the structure of a company, which fund sources have the best long run perspectives, the evolution of different financing structures and tips on best approaches for success.

Panel Lead

Speakers

CNY Drone Industry Update

Latest Developments in UAS/UAV/drone technology and how it is impacting the CNY region
Central New York has established itself as a major center for the development of unmanned systems technology, particularly for unmanned aircraft systems or UAS. Many of the companies that helped to establish operations at the Griffiss International Airport FAA Test site have developed technology solutions right here in CNY. Other companies have moved into the area to help enable the growth and development of the UAS traffic management (UTM) corridor being funded and implemented by New York State. It is widely agreed that there is a unique ecosystem here that can help establish a roadmap for the rest of the world to follow. Our panel will seek to extract from each panelist how their company/organization is playing a unique role in the local ecosystem and what technologies and approaches are they bringing to advance UAS integration either alone or through various partnerships locally. 

Panel Lead

Speakers

3:30 – 5:00 pm
Reception and Networking in Technology Showcase