Our Ideathon will help you design and sharpen your innovative ideas, while creating synergies among participants, with the ultimate goal of facilitating the formation of strong interdisciplinary teams and prepare them for submission into the MITdesignX Venice program. (Submissions are open  until July 31, 2023)

The working Language is English.

The goal of World Café method is to connect a diverse group of participants so they can share new ideas with one another.   It’s a form of collective brainstorming. Participants who don’t have a clear startup idea or are not already part of a team will be able to forge collaborations for joint ventures.

We are looking for ideas(*) dedicated to solving problems experienced in Venice as well as other coastal and historical cities. To each of the following themes there will be a discussion table assigned and cohordinated by a facilitator:  

• Protection & Enhancement of Artistic-Cultural Heritage 

• Tourism of the future: fair accommodations and sustainable mobility 

• Water, Energy and Environment 

• Tools & services for cities and citizens (of all ages)

Participants who have a well-shaped idea are invited to fill out this form (preview here) in advance (by May 25). The best ideas will be assigned a private corner open for discussions with other participants throughout the event.

All the other participants will be able to join rounds of discussion at each corner. Idea promoters  and facilitators stay at their corners throughout.  Every 30’ participants move to another corner. After 6 rounds (3 hours) all participants come back to plenary. Idea proponents (individuals or teams) & facilitators summarize reshaped ideas and lessons learnt.

SerenDPT will award the best startup idea with a prize: free Full tickets for We Make Future Innovation Festival, June 15-17, 2023 in Rimini.

There are some practical rules that World Café participants must adhere to ensure the success of the event. Our facilitators will be on hand to help guide the entire process.

(*) At MITdesignX Venice, Intellectual Property (IP) is considered the property of the individuals and/or teams. MIT and SerenDPT will not stake IP or patent claims to new ideas developed at MITdesignX Venice.