Polish-American Innovation Bridge 2016 (PAMI), Krakow

There is nothing better than exchanging creative ideas, bouncing them off each other, getting some advice from those who know more about innovation and business. Polish-American Innovation Bridge (PAMI for short) was organized to foster precisely that! 2017 was the 3rd edition of a two-day event promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as a tech transfer from universities to business.
Aiming to translate knowledge and theory into practice, there were two main parts: the conference, and workshops/mentoring sessions with top leaders in the field of business and science.

The mission of PAMI is to establish a platform for knowledge and experience exchange, where young people can learn from and be inspired by experts from USA and Poland so that they will become the future leaders of innovation.

As a design thinking whiz, the workshop I was in leading was an entryway to design thinking from the perspective of new businesses. The plan was crafted around the basic, 5-stage process from IDEO, the design company behind the popularization of design thinking. During the workshop, the following tools were explained and used: creating a persona, using empathy map, defining problem statement, 5 Whys, Ishikawa diagram, brainstorming and lotus sorting, silent show.

Conferences such as PAMI are a highly needed tool to create a new type of innovation environment: a connection between fresh look and new ideas, and experience. The more we talk about design tools and methodologies, the more it’s going to prepare young entrepreneurs for new challenges. Design thinking is a great tool to make sure that the right audience is address and the correct problems tackled. Knowing both is essential to a successful business.