BNEW: technology, innovation and business to understand the economy of tomorrow

New economy. It is a concept that still sounds like something from the future. But in reality, many of the characteristics defining this new economy are already here. Artificial intelligence has already entered the workplace, redefining the way we work and do business. Humanoid robots and robot-assisted surgery are no longer the stuff of science fiction. And beyond technology, changes are also taking place in the way energy is produced and consumed, in scientific research, food and an increasingly boundary-pushing video game industry.

All these developments are already part of the present while also shaping what the economy of the coming years will look like. These transformations will be at the heart of the seventh edition of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW), taking place from October 5 to 7 at DFactory Barcelona.

Organized by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), BNEW has established itself as a global platform for identifying change, anticipating trends, creating business opportunities and connecting the key players shaping the new economy. As Pere Navarro, executive president of the CZFB, puts it, BNEW is “a living event, capable of adapting to change and reflecting the trends transforming the global economy.” This philosophy is also reflected in the event’s format, which combines live sessions, professional networking and in-person experiences.

This year's edition expands its areas with five new verticals —AI, Energy, Agrofood, Science and Gaming— which join the already consolidated ones of Talent, Aviation & Space and Health. With these verticals, the program will put on the table some of the transformations that will mark the coming years: from the impact of artificial intelligence on employment to the energy transition, automation in the health sector, the food of the future or the evolution of a video game industry that goes far beyond entertainment. It will do so with the help of 270 national and international speakers who will participate in more than 50 panels, debates and sessions. 

The different areas of the program will feature prominent voices from the business, technological, and institutional worlds. In artificial intelligence, technology, and business, participants will include Fernando de Santos, AION coordinator at Ibercaja; Alfonso Cossío, Director of Applications Iberia at Oracle; Diego Perino, Director of the AI Factory at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Antoni Paz, Executive Director of KIMBCN; and Olga Escriu, Director of Business and Corporate Banking Solutions in Catalonia at BBVA.

In the field of science and health, the program will feature Jorge Juan Fernández, Chief Innovation Manager at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; Antoni Gilabert, Innovation Director at Hospital del Mar; Gemma Marfany, Professor of Genetics at the University of Barcelona; and Susana Jiménez-Murcia, Head of Clinical Psychology Service and Professor of Psychology at Hospital de Bellvitge.

Talent and people management will also play a prominent role with Consuelo Rebolledo, Talent Manager at the Mobile World Congress, and Laia Parellada, HR Manager Spain and Portugal at EasyJet, among others. In agri-food, professionals such as Olga Martínez, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Bimbo EMEA, will participate, while the gaming sector will feature names such as Joan Francesc Bañó, Executive Director at GameBCN, among other speakers.

When innovation can also be experienced

But BNEW will not only talk about the new economy, but attendees will also be able to "touch it and experience it live," as Blanca Sorigué, general director of the CZFB, points out. BNEW Experience will offer more than 40 activities and experiences that will allow attendees to get closer to some of the technologies that are part of this new scenario: from the cockpit of an F-18 to a surgical robot, humanoid robots, autonomous surveillance robots, or autonomous mobility solutions.

Technology will share space with creativity and culture. Fashion, design, architecture, art, and dance will be part of a program that will include immersive exhibitions, 3D printing in ceramics, robot-assisted art, and painting with cobots. Gastronomy and leisure proposals will complete an experience that also highlights the cultural richness of Barcelona and the possibilities of generating professional connections.

And just as BNEW expands the experience beyond conferences with live innovation, it also extends the event beyond the venue. The first edition of BNEW, held in the midst of the pandemic, already opted for a hybrid format that combined in-person activity with online connection. In its seventh edition, this format is maintained and consolidated as one of the ways to bring the event to an international audience. Thus, sessions can be followed via streaming from anywhere in the world. Only prior registration is required to attend live or follow the online broadcast, which will be possible thanks to a large audiovisual deployment with three television studios, cameras, and screens.

This vocation to connect people and content will also extend to networking, with tools to exchange contacts, organize meetings, and prepare an agenda of encounters, as well as to BBot, BNEW's virtual assistant, which will help participants navigate the program and take advantage of the event's possibilities.

All of this will once again take place at DFactory Barcelona, the leading Industry 4.0 ecosystem in Europe, which for three days will bring together companies, startups, institutions, investors, research centers, and professionals to share knowledge, generate connections, and explore the opportunities of a new economy that is already taking shape.