Visionaries Connected: A Celebration of Entrepreneurial Spirit

Connecting Entrepreneurs for a Better Startup Environment

Consisting of a 2-day Entrepreneurship Conference and a Poly-preneurs Carnival, Visionaries Connected gathered aspiring entrepreneurs to explore ways to improve the regional startup ecosystem, while showcasing their entrepreneurial spirits of creativity, leadership, passion, tenacity, and ambition in a fiesta-like on-campus setup where participants, exhibitors, and visitors can interact and interconnect. The conference and carnival attracted 330 participants and over 5000 visitors respectively.

The conference featured talks, sharing, and discussions for seasoned entrepreneurs and community stakeholders. The themed carnival featured diverse activities, such as a Startup Exhibition, Hong Kong Enterprise Showcase, interactive workshops, performances, sport competitions, Social Enterprise Fair, House of Innovation Open Day, carnival games, 3D photo backdrops, free snack and drink tastings, bouncy buses, as well as pre-event goody bag promotion and post-event photo contest. Many of these components were presented or hosted by Poly-preneurs.

The event was held on 15-16 January 2016 at the campus of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Hong Kong. Despite the challenges of organizing and promoting a large-scale carnival with concurrent activities across the whole campus, the event was a great success. It received hearty support from 7 strategic partners, 15 in-kind sponsors, 30 supporting organizations, and around 80 onsite helpers. Participants and visitors included representatives from the commercial and industrial sectors, academia, governmental bodies, and the general public.

Visionaries Connected was awarded the Iron A' Design Award in the Event and Happening Design category in 2016. This prestigious award recognizes well-designed, practical, and innovative creations that meet professional and industrial requirements. The event was commended for integrating industry best practices and competent technical characteristics, providing fulfillment and positive experiences, and contributing to a better world.