THiNK BIG forum to have new format, direction

Posted on  19/10/2011  |  Media Centre

YING CHIA
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Wednesday, October 19, 2011

THE THiNK BIG Innovate Forum 2011 will kick off tomorrow with organisers hoping its new direction and format will provide an inspiring platform for attendees.

In a statement, forum co-organiser Asia Inc Forum said that The THiNK BIG Innovate Forum 2011’s new format would have multi-track sessions, a Technology, Education and Design (TED)-style presentation and a networking lunch.

“The topics at the forum include opportunities in ICT entrepreneurship, business innovation, digital marketing and social media,” stated the release.

Themed “Innovation- Inspiring and Driving Change”, the forum will explore how innovation-driven technology has inspired change and how entrepreneurs have used these innovations to bring value to business and society both in the global and local perspectives.

Foreign speakers include Derek Sivers, founder of CD BABY, USA, and a renowned TED speaker who is a professional musician-turned-entrepreneur and philanthropist; Hew Joon Yeng, the 24-year-old co-founder of PigeonLab Pte Ltd from Singapore, whose conference technology will be put to use at the forum; and Ann Burgraff, a mentor advisor at NUS Enterprise, who spent over 15 years as marketing executive at several innovative start-ups in Silicon Valley.

Neil Jackson, regional education director of Microsoft Asia Pacific, will also take the stage to bring fresh views to the discussion.

The forum is expected to bring together 250 delegates from the local ICT industry, government ministries, business community, educational institutions, students, aspiring entrepreneurs and several delegates from Malaysia.

Burgraff, who will be presenting, believes that in order for a small country like Brunei to foster an environment of innovation successfully, “we have to be able to nurture creativity at a young age and create an environment where failing is okay”.

This year’s THiNK BIG Innovate Forum boasts a fresh outlook that will encourage people who are less tech-savvy to attend and benefit from it, stated the release.

Hadi Shafie (pictured), centre director of co-organiser iCentre, said: “Innovate 2011 is a platform for inspiration, for learning and for ideas in building better businesses, markets, a stronger industry, a firmer framework for encouraging entrepreneurship, and understanding how the world is moving towards different emerging technologies.”

The fourth annual technology and entrepreneurship forum in Brunei co-organised by iCentre and Asia Inc Forum will be held at the Grand Hall of The Empire Hotel & Country Club.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, the minister of Communications will deliver a keynote address at the opening session of the forum.

The forum is also organised in partnership with Microsoft, BIBD and DST.

The Brunei Times

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