6 Inspiring Innovation Conferences You can Still Attend in 2018

We all know that great innovations don’t just happen. They require leadership from people who thrive on hard work and have a passion for finding that next breakthrough idea.

Innovation conferences can be one of the best sources of inspiration for anyone looking to hatch big ideas by being immersed in thought-provoking insights, deep dives into trends and unique networking opportunities. The good news is that even though we are now in the last quarter of 2018, there are still plenty of opportunities to catch some of the most inspiring innovation conferences of the year.

Here’s a look at 6 innovation conferences to check out before 2018 comes to an end.

Future London Academy: Design Thinking and Innovation Week (Sept 10-14) London, England

This five-day conference will share the latest approaches to innovation and design thinking. During this workshop, you’ll travel to some of the top agencies in London to learn firsthand about: proven processes and methodologies used to create new products; future forward trends on technologies; insights on how companies are creating corporate incubators; and how to build a culture of innovation.

Business Innovation Factory Collaborative Innovation Summit (Sept 13-14) Providence, Rhode Island

This two-day conference takes place in a historic theatre and features storytellers from many different industries who each present a 15-minute transformational tale about their creative processes, hurdles and where they’re heading next.

Future Festival(Sept 18-20) Toronto, Canada

This is billed as a place for the world’s top innovators to prototype the future. The festival is a three-day event hosted by Trend Hunter (a top trend firm) that feature engaging presentations, personalized innovation assessments and one-on-one consultations—plus the opportunity to engage in the same workshops that NASA used to prototype its mission to Mars.

Back End of Innovation(Oct 16-18) Scottsdale, AZ

The Back End of Innovation (BEI) conference is 100% focused on the execution of innovation. Roll up your sleeves and work together with leaders in innovation and marketing to solve the most daunting challenges that innovators confront on their journey to successful execution.

Harvest Summit(Oct 19) Sonoma County, California

Break out of industry silos and collaborate with a diverse group of leaders in technology, media, entertainment, food, wine and agriculture—all at one of the most beautiful places on the planet. This inspirational one-day conference brings innovators and influencers together with chefs, winemakers and artisans to discuss topics such as how to raise capital, how to ignite transformational change as well as how to make a social impact.

Fast Company Innovation Festival(Oct 22-26) New York City, New York

The Fast Company Innovation Festival features a full slate of talks by big-name speakers, immersive hands-on workshops and Fast Tracks field trips—intimate, behind-the-scenes tours of some of the most dynamic companies in NYC. The flexible format of this weeklong conference allows attendees to craft their own inspiring agendas, mixing creativity, design, leadership, social good, tech and more for a uniquely customized experience.

So, which of these innovation conferences sounds the most inspirational to you? Are there any others you think we should add to the list? I’d love to hear from you—comment below or connect with me on LinkedIn.

P.S. It’s never too early to start planning for next year. Check out our full list of the top ten inspiring innovation conferences from this year, so you can put them on your radar for 2019.

Jeff Johns is SVP, Creative at Seed Strategy where he consistently delivers breakthrough creative at lightning speed across a wide range of best-in-class design practices: packaging, branding, shelf aisle optimization and advertising.

As a member of Seed’s copywriting team, Matt Donahue marries his love for creative writing with a keen interest in product innovation, technology and science. He’s a graduate of Seton Hill University’s “Popular Fiction” master’s program and writes whenever he can.

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