GUEST SPEAKER

Ashkan Fardost, Scientist & Advisor

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

ABOUT THE LECTURE
Digital technologies are transforming business models and industries at an ever-faster pace. As a response, every industry is catching up with a “digitalization” strategy. Yet, few of these strategies solve the actual problems. The problem is that we’ve completely misunderstood the concept of digitalization: we’ve mixed it up with digitization; the process of turning something analogue into a digital counterpart. Digitalization, on the other hand, is when you not only look at technology per se, but also at how technology affects human behavior on a massive scale. That’s when you start unraveling the insights that forces you to question your business models, your company culture, how you hire new colleagues, and last but not least, your purpose. That’s when you realize that digitalization is about a radically new mindset. A mindset more disruptive than a particular technology will ever be.

ABOUT ASHKAN
Ashkan began his digital journey in the late 2000’s: by producing music with software and hacking Napster, his music spread throughout the world and landed him a record deal with EMI and Armada Music—as a 17 year old. Since then he’s been involved in the world of innovation, both as a PhD in chemical catalysis and many years of involvement in the Stockholm startup scene. Today he’s a global speaker, digital advisor for Swedish companies, and partner at Tannak—a Swedish company that connects free-ranging animals to the internet, in extreme environments with no internet, cellular coverage or electricity.