CREATIVITY - TRANSCENDING TRADITIONAL IDEAS
In 2019, Aarhus Symposium explored the theme Mastering Creativity.
Creativity is a concept spurring a vast amount of different opinions and associations. In the professional sense, creativity is a tool used to generate innovative ideas which support the process of further development. On the contrary, creativity can also be a more erratic process, when creating something new.
There is no doubt that creativity is a fascinating concept, and one thing is certain; creativity is important for everyone. By mastering their creative abilities, nations, organisations, and individuals will be able to create solutions that fit any challenge they may face.
As a small nation, Denmark depends on innovation and creativity as a mean of problem solving. Through knowledge sharing with other nations, Denmark can create an endless amount of initiatives to solve worldwide problems and work towards a brighter future.
Aarhus Symposium 2019 showed leaders of tomorrow how creativity can be used to develop new and exciting ideas, which are becoming the foundation for both individuals and organisations. The speakers gave the students their perspective on how they transform challenges into innovation by mastering and utilising their creative capabilities.
You can watch the full sessions here.
AARHUS SYMPOSIUM 2019
MASTERING CREATIVITY
SPEAKERS AT AARHUS SYMPOSIUM 2019
SUSANNE MØRCH KOCH
CEO, Danske Spil
CHRISTOFFER BAK
Co-Founder, SHAPING NEW TOMORROW
ANDRÉ ROGCZEWSKI
CEO & Co-Founder, Netcompany
CHRISTIAN AACHMANN
Co-Founder, SHAPING NEW TOMORROW
HENRIK ANDERSEN
CEO, VESTAS
KASPER ULRICH
Co-Founder, SHAPING NEW TOMORROW
NANA BULE
CEO, MICROSOFT DANMARK
KASPER HOLTEN
DIRECTOR, THE DANISH ROYAL THEATRE
NINA BJERRING
CHIEF TRANSFORMATION OFFICER, ARLA FOODS
HENRIK LUND
CEO, NATURLI’ FOODS
FINN POULSEN
CEO, CO-FOUNDER & PARTNER, BESTSELLER RETAIL EUROPE
SIGNE LOPDRUP
CEO, ROSKILDE FESTIVAL
MIKKEL GRENE
CEO, SØSTRENE GRENE
CHRISTIAN STADIL
CEO & CO-FOUNDER, THORNICO
AARHUS SYMPOSIUM FOCUS 2019
DENMARK AS A CREATIVE SUPERPOWER
How can Denmark unlock and utilise its creative skills to ensure continued growth and prosperity?
In a world with constant technological development, creativity becomes an increasingly important part of all aspects of business life. Therefore, creative thinking is key for organisations to stay competitive, both when developing individuals, but also when making organisation-wide decisions.
Denmark is one of the few countries that continuously ranks among the topmost creative nations in the world. However, with the rapidly developing technology, the Danish labour market will need people with creative minds and skills to a greater extent than ever before in order to utilise its full potential.
Therefore, the theme of Aarhus Symposium Focus 2019 was Denmark as a Creative Superpower.
A panel consisting of four speakers with different experiences gave their diverse insights on the topic. Through research and empirical evidence, the audience was introduced to new ways of fostering and applying creativity. Combining the research with professional experiences, the audience was shown how Danish organisations combine expertise and experience to generate creative initiatives.
SPEAKERS AT AARHUS SYMPOSUM FOCUS 2019
lene tanggaard
Professor, Department of Communication & Psychology, Aalborg University
bo linnemann
owner and founding partner, kontrakpunkt
ELISABETTA LAZZARO
Professor of Creative Economy, HKU University of the Arts Utrecht
BETINA HAGERUP
Director, The Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv)
AARHUS SYMPOSIUM CHALLENGE 2019
Aarhus Symposium Challenge is the students’ opportunity to secure their seats for Aarhus Symposium and Aarhus Symposium Focus. Furthermore, the students submitting the most inspiring essays are invited to participate in Leaders’ Forum: an exclusive session with the leader whose challenge the student addressed.
As in 2018, all the seats at Aarhus Symposium 2019 were secured through Aarhus Symposium Challenge.
The students were asked to share their thoughts in an essay on one of three challenges. For each challenge, a speaker presented a topic in relation to the overall theme. The speakers participating in Aarhus Symposium Challenge 2019 were:
André Rogaczewski, CEO & Co-founder, Netcompany with the challenge: How a specific industry can be radically changed by introducing a creative technology.
Susanne Mørch Koch, CEO, Danske Spil with the challenge: How established companies can uncover their entrepreneurial potential and reinvent themselves.
Henrik Andersen, CEO, Vestas with the challenge: A way for businesses or governments to combat climate change and the benefits of doing so.
LEADERS FORUM 2019
On the day of Aarhus Symposium 2019, the twelve ambitious students with the most inspiring essays were invited to participate in Leaders’ Forum 2019. The students met with the speakers to discuss their essays and engage in debates about the challenges presented by the speakers.
The winner of the Aarhus Symposium Award 2019 was Morten Thinggaard Pedersen, an Economics and Business Administration student at Aarhus University. His essay addressed Henrik Andersen’s challenge and gave an original and inspiring view on the topic. Morten’s essay focused on the sharing economy of rarely-used products, and how it can be utilised to lower the overconsumption seen today.
When asked about the experience of being on stage with Henrik Andersen, Morten said the following:
“It was both terrifying at first, but also really fun and an enjoyable experience.”
SPEAKERS PARTICIPATING IN AARHUS SYMPOSIUM CHALLENGE 2019
ANDRÉ ROGCZEWSKI
CEO & Co-Founder, Netcompany
SUSANNE MØRCH KOCH
CEO, Danske Spil
HENRIK ANDERSEN
CEO, VESTAS
THANK YOU TO ALL THE PARTNERS WHO HELPED US MAKE
AARHUS SYMPOSIUM 2019 POSSIBLE
MEET THE ORGANISERS OF AARHUS SYMPOSIUM 2019
STEERING COMMITTEE
Morten Hvidbak Holst
Anne Sofie Andersen
BUSINESS RELATIONS
Lasse Dahlstrøm Jensen
(Head of Group)
Oliver Nielsen
Emma Petersen Winterberg
Amalie Guldmann
Matthew Lodahl
Magnus Tschenka Jensen
FINANCE
Kristian Højmark Jakobsen
(Head of Group)
Anders Max Rasmussen
David Klejs Hemmingsen
PROGRAMME
Emil Elholm
(Head of Group)
Maria Buus-Andersen
Kasper Juulsgaard
Sebastian Grube Østergaard
Kristian Brandt Sørensen
Sune Viberg
Nikolas Behrendt Wilki
Jonas Eisner
UNIVERSITY ALLIANCES
Magnus Kærgaard Hansen
(Head of Group)
Sara Amnitzbøll
Frederikke Flyvbjerg Andersen
IT
Jens Pelegrino
(Head of Group)
Nikolaj Bjørn
MARKETING
Frederik Secher
(Co-Head of Group)
Maja Fløjstrup Petersen
(Co-Head of Group)
Kasper Zysek
Helene Sylvester
Emil Dam Samuelsen
Frederikke Bøge Stærmose
Anna Agerskov Gabedov
Nicoline Nicolajsen
ESSENTIALS
Daniel Astrup Hansen
(Head of Group)
Line Christensen
Jakob Rohde Sørensen
Stine Staal Axelsen
Frederik Hother Sørensen
Jøren Høegh Jensen
Emma Dengsøe