The first Bermuda Innovation Sprint raced through October with a series of events hosted by Hub Culture and the wider community. The aim was to create a 'sprint' of activity to engage Bermuda residents and attract global technology businesses to experience new forms of collaboration.

The Sprint kicked off with an opening party at the recently rebranded Utopia. Located in a prime spot on Front Street, Hub Culture Social Rosé was flowing and delicious canapes were served showing off the new health inspired menu. Conversations flowed about what the month had in store, and excitement for the sprint grew.

To set the tone for the kick-off week, Dina Kaplan lead a group meditation in a wonderful waterfront setting. Dina is the founder of The Path, a leading meditation company based in New York which hosts weekly meditations, teacher training courses, and 5 star retreats. Check out their next adventure coming up in February in Tulum. https://www.thepath.com/mela apply/

Ven World was Hub culture’s first unconference, where the topics of the day are mapped out by the participants. We had the pleasure of welcoming the Premier Hon. David Burt along with the Hon. Wayne Caines and Head of the Fintech Unit Wayne Smith, where they discussed Bermuda's fintech plans and the focus on e-identity with the IBM Hyperledger team and local and international developers. 5 world pillars emerged out of the day, centred on e-id, payments, cybersecurity, insurance and education.

Following days of “cross-laterals” (influencer meetings and meet-ups around the island hosted by numerous companies), everyone gathered for The Liquidity Summit on New Finance with highlighted Seaside Chats from Bermuda's Premier, David Burt, and Sir John Swan, the former Premier and a global statesman.

Liquidity is focused on leading and emerging trends across the world of finance. The series presents an annual one day conference and a rolling series of Salon dinners, events, and workshops devoted to the emerging people, trends and companies in this rapidly evolving space.

Speakers from all around the world joined to talk about key trends such as crypto, blockchain, digital identity and digital assets. Ripple, AlphaPoint, XBTO International, Dropp TV, Viva Network, iCash, Athena Bitcoin, Distilled Anayltics, COALA Foundation and Mimir Blockchain Solutions were just some of the companies involved. You can find all of the discussions throughout the day on hublive.tv, as well as a series of tutorials on blockchain attributes from thought leaders like Hunter Prendergast and Constance Choi.

Lastly, Connectech co-hosted a hackathon which brought local students together to help integrate an API, testing their problem solving, code writing and software development skills to the max. Winning teams received VEN awards - and this series is set to continue as a monthly meetup in Bermuda.

The sprint concluded with closing drinks at the place where it all started, Utopia. We can't wait to grow on the foundation created this year and run faster and bigger in the next one.

To get involved in the 2019 Innovation Sprint, contact [email protected] and continue the conversation.

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