Attending Synapse Summit 2023 – My Thoughts On This Event

This past Tuesday February14 I had the opportunity to participate in the annual innovation conference Synapse Summit 2023 (Synapse Summit 2023 - Synapse Florida).  The event was held in the Amelia Arena in Tampa, Florida.  Our Tampa Program Lead, Dr. Genevieve Dobson, also attended the conference.

Synapse Summit is a hub for all major players in business, commerce, technology, research, technology, innovation, leadership, and management.  It is great place for networking, pitching new ideas, get connected with business incubators and show case your own talent.

I have attended this conference for the third time, and every time I learn more and more.  This is a type of conference I believe our students would benefit from.

This year I had the chance to attend various amazing talks such as the ones listed below.

• Clash of Cultures: How Academic and Commerce can Create New Markets. Speakers: Randy Avent/ President @Florida Polytechnic University & Adrian Muhammad/Managing Partner @ Jackson Shah & Company. 
  
  This presentation had a special connection to my area of expertise, Library & Information Sciences. Speakers were talking about “use inspired research” led by various industries and “curiosity focused research” mostly led by academia, and how they can complement each other.
• Executive Leadership: Practical Wisdom from Proven Leaders. Speakers: Bob Dixon/President and Senior Leadership Coach @5 Eagles Leadership (Moderator) – Qualenta Kivett/ Executive Vice President @n Tampa General Hospital (Panelist) – Bruce Lucas/Founder & CEO @Slide Insurance (Panelist) – Michael Tschanz/Director of Engineering Technology and Analysis at the Walt Disney Company (Panelist).
  
  This amazing panel provided great insight into leadership and the importance of company culture to be presented from the top-down. Leaders, from the highest to the lowest levels including the CEO,  must practice the tenants of their company culture and employees most likely will follow.

I have also learned about various research funding providers via The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA panelists. In addition, it was great to hear ongoing questions and concerns on copyright and trademarks issues being raised duo to AI content production.

In summary, the Synapse Summit Conference is the place to visit if you are in the fields of Business, Research & Information Sciences, Technology & Innovation.