Featured Workshops and Panels at Synapse Summit 2020 Return to Tampa in February

While Synapse Summit’s keynote speakers attract most of the limelight, panels and workshops remain the innovative and creative force pushing the conference to new horizons each year. These are where ordinary consumers and industry veterans alike can stand shoulder-to-shoulder and brainstorm tomorrow’s solutions to today’s issues. Each panel, exhibitor, or workshop brings something new and fresh to the conference -- thanks in no small part to the innovative business professionals leading the groups -- drawing interest from all across the tech-biz industry. All of this will happen February 11-12, when Synapse Summit 2020 returns to Amalie Arena n Downtown Tampa.

Featured Workshops & Panels Day 1

Part of the first round of panels and workshops is the “Intrapreneurship: What It Is and Why Your Business Will Benefit From It” panel, focusing on a not-so-well-known occupation -- intrapreneur; individuals within a company who promotes growth and innovation from the bottom-up. The panel is headed by: Ioulia Kachirskaia, Innovative Director at GuideWell; Jeff Stamp, Chief Content Officer at Grey Group; Chuck Papageorgiou, Co-founder and CEO of WorldWatch Plus & Int’l Screening Solutions; Jamie Egasti, on the Board of Directors at PathFactory and an investor at MyArea Network; and Joy Randels, CEO of New Market Partners. All of these panelists have deep histories of creating a sort of grassroots percolation of ideas and solutions ripe for the picking within their department or organization as a whole. What makes them leaders in their respective businesses is their generally unmatched ability to cultivate a corporate environment in which a healthy back-and-forth of ideas can flow; a staple characteristic of intrapreneurship. A full schedule of events for Day 1 has been announced and ends with a tour of the new University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine building. Space is limited, reservations are required.

Featured Workshops & Panels Day 2

One of the most prevalent and divisive phenomena in society today is fake news. On the second day of Summit, a few brave souls will face this factual fiction head on and come up with possible ways AI and modern tech are contributing to the dilemma. The panel-workshop "Fake News, Fact or AI? How Technology is Impacting Today's Media" is organized and led by: Aaron Sharockman, Executive Director at PolitiFact and Deputy Editor of Tampa Bay Times’ Politics and Government section; Hiwot Hailu, a reporter for MediaWise and social media coordinator; and Kelly McBride, Senior Vice President of the Poynter Institute. Journalism has always been a bastion of free thought and objective reporting of current events, as far back as Gutenberg’s printing press, up until now. Technology has advanced so incredibly far and so incredulously fast that it threatens to undermine our institutions that are struggling to keep up. This panel aims to explain what exactly the dangers of cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence and advanced cyber-wares are. There are many more speakers on the agenda for Day 2. Get your tickets now!

Synapse Summit 2020 will be hosted at Amalie Arena in beautiful downtown Tampa on February 11th and 12th. Tickets are on sale now. While you’re here on 813area, check out our sections on restaurants, events, and other things to do in Tampa to make the most of your Summit experience!

Cover photo from 813area