Shaping the Future

The final research phase focused in particular on the question of which standards and processes in the business event ecosystem will remain in the future, which will disappear and which will emerge.  As a global hub for business, science and the creative industry, London offers ideal conditions for this: The city is not only home to leading companies and universities, but also a melting pot for ground-breaking developments in the fields of artificial intelligence, sustainable entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary collaboration. The trip led to leading players from business, science and technology to find answers to these crucial questions for the future.

To kick off the trip, Orson Francescone, Managing Director of FT Live, impressively demonstrated how the Financial Times is successful with a strategic combination of face-to-face events and digital technologies. Credibility, excellent content and targeted personalization are crucial. The crisis of confidence caused by AI is seen as an opportunity to position high-quality events even more strongly. The future belongs to events that enable networking, deliver personalized content and use technology for efficiency and reach.  

Top takeaway: Successful business events rely on quality, authenticity and a well thought-out combination of digital and physical presence. 

The Innovation Center at University College London (UCL) promotes entrepreneurship during the course. Here, students are encouraged to think entrepreneurially - with or without the goal of founding a company. The focus is on problem solving, impact and the megatrend of artificial intelligence (AI). AI shows great potential in the area of personalization in particular. However, sustainability is also an issue: while students are very interested in ESG, the profitability of corresponding start-ups is often lacking. Another learning: innovation thrives best through real, personal networks - spontaneous encounters can generate groundbreaking ideas. 

Top takeaway: Successful innovation is created at the intersection of technology, personal networking and sustainable impact. 

London's Knowledge Quarter (KQ) also shows how location-based innovation can break down industry silos. Companies such as Google, DeepMind and AstraZeneca are locating there to benefit from the close proximity to talent and other knowledge institutions. The biggest growth areas are in life sciences, data science, AI and quantum computing. Interdisciplinary networking, low-threshold experiments and an inclusive approach to innovation are key to success. 

Top takeaway: Physical proximity promotes interdisciplinary innovation and accelerates the transfer of knowledge between companies, research and talent.

The Impact Hub London, on the other hand, places particular emphasis on start-ups with a social mission and offers a unique ecosystem for this. The focus here is on community and collaboration. Support for underrepresented groups is particularly important, for example through entrepreneurship programs for migrants and refugees. The key to successful social innovation? Solving problems from the inside out - preferably by people who have experienced them themselves. 

Top takeaway: Sustainable social innovation is best achieved through empowerment and genuine participation of the affected communities. 

At Globetrender, Jenny Southan emphasizes that innovation is often not linear - trends move forwards and backwards. The future of business events lies in small, high-quality formats with a strong sense of community. Soft productivity - conscious experiences instead of overloaded programs - and a “sense of belonging” are becoming increasingly important. Physical encounters remain essential: a personal handshake counts for more than a virtual avatar. It is also clear that events need to have a lasting impact: Real trust-building does not happen in one day, but over several shared experiences. 

Top takeaway: The future of business events lies in small, high-quality formats with a strong sense of community and a lasting impact. 

Whether business events, entrepreneurship or knowledge clusters - a key learning from the Future Meeting Space research trip 2024 is that physical proximity and real encounters remain essential. Technology can support, but not replace them. Successful future strategies rely on authenticity, excellent content, personalization and a strong sense of community. Those who combine these elements wisely will also be successful in an increasingly digital world.