Silcon Valley & Global Inspiration Tours PROGRAM 2022

YOUR INNOVATION RETREAT
Program 2022
Silicon Valley
Dubai

I am actually most worried about
successful organizations.
They are convinced they are doing it right.
But too often, they don‘t even know,
why they are successful...
Niki Skene, Co-Founder at Silicon Valley Inspiration Tours

"We did not do anything
wrong.
But somehow we lost."
Stephen Elop
Former Nokia CEO
source: Luca Sartoni "Stephen Elop meets the bloggers"

My mission is to help you understand some underlying principles of a world
where technology and grand global challenges are both growing at exponential
pace.
Silicon Valley will not be the one-size-fits-all blueprint for your roadmap to
success, but I will introduce to some of the most interesting people in the world
to have a set of conversation that will positively impact your narrative.
If at the end of the program this is not what will happen to you and your
company, I have not done my job.
Niki Skene, Co-Founder at Silicon Valley Inspiration Tours

THE INNOVATION RETREAT
This is an invitation to „inhale“ the Spirit of Silicon Valley – the birthplace of various disruptive
business models that have shaped our todays world.
The way markets have changed, is radical.
"The next big..." –everyone wants to know or even better: create
While the rest of the world is trying to duplicate „Silicon Valleys“, the original remains the original.
If you want to reach out for Firsts in the industry, San Francisco Bay Area is the place to be.
Enjoy riveting talks, remarkable conversation and lifechanging insight.
Take it back home, with a handful of priceless connections,
shape, create and live your own journey into disruptive innovation.

100% CUSTOMIZED for YOU
In 2012 we launched the program in Silicon Valley to inspire leaders of organizations of all sizes and
industrial backgrounds about the future(s) of their industry.
From day one, the uniqueness of this program is that every single tour is customized:
Two weeks before all the participants meet in San Francisco, everyone is invited to join the welcome-
meeting to share individual expectations, hopes, desires, fears, visions about the program with the
curator. With this information, the schedule of perfectly fitting conversations, meetups, talks,
workshops and visits will be put together.
Would you like to talk about the program with the curator, personally?
You can reach out any time: Just self serve in his calendar to schedule a chat:
www.calendly.com/iacy
The DNA of Silicon Valley Inspiration Tours

EVERY TOUR is:
a highly exclusive and intense experience for a group of max 10 participants.
a complete taylor-made experience: every tour is customized around the participants backgrounds,
questions, visions, concerns and hopes.
scheduled with up to 5 activities per day – conversations, meetups, talks, workshops and company
visits (inside the company meetings).
a dive deep into the Anatomy of Innovation which is a combination of Forecast Thinking, Exponential
Growth Strategies, Design Thinking 3.0, Growth Hacking and the Skills of Social Intelligence.

SILICON VALLEY, flipped conference style
Visit the shapers and designers of our future:
In a one week program, we visit some of the most exciting people in the Silicon Valley,
people who usually share their ideas at a conference about innovation and disruptive strategies.
We will spend one hour with them – in their natural environment in an intimate setting. Up to 5 per
day. Enjoy great conversations, build bridging connections and unlearn to be ready for a new era.

TECHNOLOGY vs PROBLEM
People come to Silicon Valley to get a glimpse into the future: where is technology going? Whats the next big
thing. Companies in SV live „5 years ahead of technology“ – what you can see in the shelf, is actually 5 year
old technology.
Hence it does not make sense to take technology as a standard to wrap your mind around it for possible
business models. And further to this, most of this is high level security, so even if you come to Silicon Valley
in person: you will not see it.
What Silicon Valley is good at is identifying problems and having technology solve them. In our program, you
will have both: you will see some outlook, and its exciting. But even more to that, we will help you
understand the momentum of exponentially growing technology to solve grand global challenges. Security
definitely is one big momentum, here.

FLIPPED CONFERENCE
A conference is a curated event where inspiring ideas are shared in front of an audience in a theatre
setting: selected speakers are on a stage, talking to a room full of people. Sometimes, their talks are
recorded on video to share them to an even broader audience who can watch and listen to these
speakers from anywhere in the world.
One of the worlds most renowned conferences & conference networks is TED & TEDx.
The founder and host of the Silicon Valley Inspiration Tours, Niki Ernst, worked together with TED and
the global TEDx community as one of their Global TEDxAmbassadors, for many years.
Niki invented the flipped conference format. Instead of watching a talk from the audience, we will
visit Speaker-Calibers in their environment to have a conversation about their ideas, visions and
roadmap of the future. The audience becomes part of "the stage".

YOUR HOST: NIKI SKENE
My professional roots are in branding and advertising. I worked at BBDO, McCann-
Erickson and ran my own design-agency, planetsisa. When I stumbled across TED
in 2006, my professional carreer changed dramatically: I got excited about
amplifying ideas, changing peoples perception about the(ir) futures. In 2011, TED
assigned me global TEDx Ambassador and in 2015, I joined Singularity University
as faculty coach.
Connecting visionary ideas, exponentially growing technology, grand global
challenges with the very personal issues people have, when they think about the
future, I founded the Innovationagency (IACy) with programs like the Silicon Valley
Inspiration Tours, my School of Talk and the Moonshot Business Ninja. 2020, I
joined Moonshot Pirates, a new education program for 16-18yr old future
entrepreneurs. In 2021 in launched EXO-ONE - an online community to connect the
fabric of human desires in the world.
I help people and
companies explore and
identify what their future
could look like – designing,
creating and shaping next
businesses.

PROGRAM 2022
The first post covid inspiration tour in December 2021 was a great success. With the
highest respect of the endemic and individual fear and worries, we PCR test, twice a
week and antigen test, every day. If you decide to cancel because of covid, you will
receive a full refund.
Silicon Valley Inspiration Tours
April Apr 18 – 24
August Aug 15 – 19
October Oct 17 – 21
Golf & Innovation Oct 31 – Nov 04
Global Inspiration Tours
Dubai Apr 27.–May 01.
Tel Aviv, London, New York, Mumbai
& Hongkong are not scheduled, yet.

GLOBAL TOUR: DUBAI
Dubai is thinking big and thinking ahead as it aims to become the world’s most innovative city -
building on its credentials as one of the fastest-growing technology hubs. In 2017, the executive
chairman at Cisco Systems, John Chambers, labelled Dubai “arguably one of the most technologically
advanced cities in the world”, with digitization initiatives capable of generating nearly US$5 billion in
value by 2019. After the delay, the Dubai EXPO opened its doors in October 2021.
Through 3 days of meetings and conversations we will ensure you learn the most from this unique
and seemingly unstoppable innovation force. Through tailor-made interactions with entrepreneurs,
venture capitalists and founders, you'll have a tough time to retain all the knowledge.
We will spend three days at the EXPO and two days in DUBAI DOWNTOWN
Participation fee: EUR: 2.500,–
(includes curation, transport during the program,
excludes travel to/from DXB, accommodation in Dubai, food/beverages during the program)

YOU COULD BE PART OF THIS…
Draft Program DUBAI EXPO INSPIRATION TOUR
Monday: 09am–06pm
Meetings at:
Future Accelerators
Youth HubX
Ministry of Possibilities
Ministry of Artificial Intelligence
Centre of the 4th Industrial Revolution
Free Evening

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 09am–05pm
EXPO Visits
Designed by the British architecture practice Grimshaw
Architects to highlight ingenuity and different strategies in
the field of sustainability, this pavilion loosely resembles
flowers or leaves turned up towards the sun. Indeed, the
design team drew inspiration from natural processes, such
as photosynthesis, to compose their piece. And the approach
is not only reflected in its looks. The pavilion captures energy
from sunlight ,and fresh water from humid air, aiming
to demonstrate a new way of living sustainably.
Alif
Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion
Photos: Dubai EXPO
From Earth-bound vehicles to space exploration, this is the
pavilion dedicated to all things mobile. Transport and
technology on all levels come together in a space designed
by Foster + Partners – a pavilion named Alif (after the first
letter of the Arabic alphabet, symbolising new beginnings,
explain the architects). ‘This is the third World Expo that we
have been involved in; the two previous were in Shanghai and
Milan. These events are incredible opportunities to showcase
innovation from around the world. Similarly, Alif – The
Mobility Pavilion conveys new ideas of mobility in a simple,
yet thought-provoking and engaging manner, as we look
towards the future of Dubai and the UAE in its aspirations, its
technology and its investment,’ says Gerard Evenden, head of
studio at Foster + Partners.
Alif – The Mobility Pavilion
Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea and Nasser Abulhasan, principals
and founding partners of AGi Architects, led the design of the
Opportunity Pavilion, which is fittingly named ‘Mission
Possible’. While other pavilions focus on strategies, systems
and objects that can help us change our future for the better,
this district’s mission is more orientated towards the human
element. Celebrating the role that young people and
communities have to play in making positive change, the
structure is designed as a place of gathering, a public space
for everybody to come together, focusing on collaboration
and coexistence.
Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion

EXPO Visits
Bringing together the three main pavilions detailed above, as
well as their wider sections and the national pavilions, the
Thematic District has been masterplanned by Hopkins
Architects. More of a wider landscape than a pavilion itself,
this design was inspired by the traditional architecture of
the Al Fahidi District in old Dubai, also drawing on the region’s
climate and colours. Around it, Mobility, Opportunity and
Sustainability fan out in petal-shaped succession at the very
heart of the Expo site.
Thematic District
Photos: Dubai EXPO
Santiago Calatrava also designed the UAE Pavilion. ‘We are
honoured to unveil the UAE Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020. The
design emulates a falcon in flight, symbolic to the country,
and is rooted in UAE’s local rich history and cultural
heritage,’ says the architect. The falcon is the national bird of
the UAE, and the design pays homage to the region’s heritage
and traditions. The pavilion’s wing-like roof elements seem to
defy gravity.
UAE Pavilion
Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea and Nasser Abulhasan, principals
and founding partners of AGi Architects, led the design of the
Opportunity Pavilion, which is fittingly named ‘Mission
Possible’. While other pavilions focus on strategies, systems
and objects that can help us change our future for the better,
this district’s mission is more orientated towards the human
element. Celebrating the role that young people and
communities have to play in making positive change, the
structure is designed as a place of gathering, a public space
for everybody to come together, focusing on collaboration
and coexistence.
Dutch Pavilion

EXPO Visits
The UK Pavilion, titled Poem Pavilion, was created by leading
artist and designer Es Devlin. Working closely with structural
engineers Atelier One, environmental design consultants
Atelier Ten, executive architects Veretec and creative agency
Avantgarde, Devlin became the first woman to design the UK
Pavilion since the Expo’s inception. The design offers a take
on machine-generated poetry, in architectural form.
‘Algorithms are among us, they are an ever-growing part of
our culture, their output is based on what they are trained on
and who trains them,’ says Devlin. ‘The pavilion is at once an
expression of the ideal of a culturally diverse Britain that I
grew up with, tempered with our growing awareness of the
part algorithms play in shaping the future of our culture.’
UK Pavilion
Photos: Dubai EXPO
For the first time in more than 50 years, a World Expo will
have a standalone pavilion dedicated to women. Expo 2020
Dubai’s Women’s Pavilion will demonstrate that the only path
to peace, prosperity, and sustainability is through the full and
equal participation of women.
It’s set to celebrate the important roles that women, both
known and unknown, have played throughout history, under
the guiding belief that when they thrive, humanity thrives.
“We believe that women and girls are essential to the
resolution of humanity’s most pressing challenges, which is
why we have placed them at the heart of everything we do.
By placing women in key positions at Expo 2020, we will
deliver an experience that not only surpasses expectations,
but that is also truly inclusive and speaks to policymakers as
well as the public’s hearts and minds.”
Women’s Pavilion
Another highlight is set to be the outdoor night-time light
festival Kaleidoscope, which will bring the site to life and to
light for 182 nights; the entirety of its six-month span.
Thanks to the beauty of photography and special lighting
effects, visitors can admire the breathtaking architecture and
design of stars such as Asif Khan, Foster + Partners,
Grimshaw, and Hopkins Architects, throughout the expo’s
landscaped public areas. In addition, Kaleidoscope will
connect guests with a multitude of multicultural holidays,
including Diwali and Christmas, revealing their stories
through displays of architecture, light, and design.
Night-time light festival Kaleidoscope

SILICON VALLEY INSPIRATION TOUR
The flagship tour in the program.
Up to a max of 10 participants will enjoy a highly intense week of 4-5 activities per
day. We will have inspiring conversations and private talks (flipped conference),
workshops on Exponential Strategies (“Moonshot Business Ninja”, The Skills of
Social Intelligence, Growth Hacking and the Anatomy of Innovation and participate at
local meetups.
You will dive into Silicon Valley life for a week, which can be highly addictive, but
also intense: by the end of the program, your brain might explode but you will love it!
Ticket Silicon Valley Inspiration Tour 5 days: USD/EUR 3.000
(includes curation, transport during the program
excludes travel to/from SFO, accommodation in SF,
food/beverages during the program)

Sample program Silicon Valley Inspiration Tour
Monday (San Francisco)
Kick Off
Briefing Exponential Organization
Autodesk Gallery (3D, 4D Printing)
Businessmodels Inc (Design Thinking)
WeWork (CoWorking)
Intelygenz (Artificial Intelligence)
amazon go
Tuesday (Silicon Valley)
Briefing: The Art of Experiment
Stanford University
SAP APP Haus (Corporate Design Thinking)
Mozilla (Firefox)
Growth Hackers
Wednesday (Silicon Valley)
Briefing: The Mindset of a Datacompany
Meta
Plug and Play Center
Founder Meetings & Venture Capital (Investors)
Singularity University
Talks & Interaction
Scenic Tour
Evening Program: Meetup
Thursday (Silicon Valley)
Briefing: Future Scenarios Health, Energy, Retail, Money, Cars
Apple Park
B8ta (Future of Retail)
Amazon books
Tesla
Google
Cogswell College (Future of Education)
Friday (San Francisco)
Briefing: The Skills of Social Intelligence
Future of Work Meetings
Amazon Web Services
Propelland (Rapid Prototyping)
Farewell Lunch
This is how your week could look like...

CUSTOM TOURS
Book your own Money-cant-buy-Experience. We go to places and will meet people you can‘t „book“ for
a visit. This is the exclusive network of the Silicon Valley Inspiration Program curator, Niki Skene.
Each flight will be set around your industry and spefically around the participants backgrounds. Rate
starts at $ 1.500 per person per day.*
Most of the people we visit are either founders, CEOs, Chairmen, execs or leading managers. Some
visits have a general content that is relevant for most of the industries: methodology, community,
workspace environment, culture & community.
These are the industries, for which we can curate a private/corporate program:
Automotive Financial Technology Biomed
Food Healthcare & Medical Energy
Tech-related content spans across industries:
Artificial Intelligence Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality
Robotics Big Data
Internet of Things/Wearables
* covers curation and transport during the program.
excluded: travel to SFO/accommodation in SF/Food & Beverages during the program.

HEALTHCARE & MEDICAL INNOVATION
The spectrum spans from hospitals to innovation outposts of global pharma companies,
including some breathtaking views into nanotechnology/biomed and the progress of crispr.
We will look into the healthcare system in the us and how the Silicon Valley in coming up with
solutions to a regional problem that actually has global relevance.
In the past, we have visited the UC Davis, several CRISPR/Cas9 experts, UCSF Hospital,
23andme, Stanford Medical, Exponential Medicine Founder Daniel Kraft, SingularityU
BioScience Raymond McCauley, met TED speakers like Andrew Hessel, and amazing startups
like Nutrigene or Healthtap.

FINTECH & INSURTECH
A fact finding mission, we will meet Startups, Serial Entrepreneurs, experts on Artificial
Intelligence and Big Data, explore the world of Blockchain and the cryptocurrency race.
We will hear from established companies, how they see their future and talk to Design Thinkers
and exponential minds about where the future might be going but even more: HOW the
transformation will be shaped be old and new players.
Past flights visited Intuit, Wells Fargo, Singularity University, Stanford University, Square,
Paypal, 500 Startups, Plug&Play Center, Autodesk, earn.org, Earnest.

RETAIL
Retail is looking into a very interesting future.
Some belief retail is „dead“, has lost the war against online.
Others belief, retail has a bright future – capitalizing the strengths of a brick and mortar – real
life experience. In this three days experience, we will look into some next-chapter szenarios of
the retail business, learn about exponential organizations and community management – some
of the core skills, required to run a future fit company.
With up to 5 activities per day, wrap ups, workshops and personal mentoring and coaching in a
small group of max 10 participants, it is very likely that future strategies of our participants
companies/backgrounds will become clear.

DEEP TECH
Explore Exponential Technologies and their applications in the near future.
Artificial Intelligence – the last invention of mankind?
What does it mean to act like a datacompany, even though your product has nothing to do with
data?
Why does dealing with a lof of data does not necessarily mean that you are a data company?
How do AI, BD and IoT act together in this technological blackbox?
In the past, we have met AI Gurus like DeKai, learned from AI companies like Inteligenz, how to
transform to datasmart, met Huami, the worldmarket leader in IoT and Wearables, underwent
exponential growth strategy workshops and much more.

AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION
Quo vadis, carmakers?
A whole industry on the brink of change.
Which conversation are we having? Engine, Driverless, Platform, Energy, Data,...?
There are so many possible future szenarios.
Over 1000 registered vehicles of ~80 companies are running their experiments in Silicon
Valley.
Thats worth a visit. This tour is all about the future of cars, mobility, energy, retail and urban
infrastructure.

YOUR INNOVATION RETREAT
Program 2022
Silicon Valley
Dubai
Every flight has the potential to change each participants life.
(c) 2022, Silicon Valley Inspiration Tours/Global Inspiration Tours
an initative of the IACy – the Innovation Agency

Silcon Valley & Global Inspiration Tours PROGRAM 2022

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