Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences
14th annual Entrepreneurship and Innovation Conference (EIC)

Future DRIVE

1st October 2026

Öpiku Conference Center, Ülemiste City, Tallinn, Estonia

Register

The International Conference
Aims and Objectives

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Conference “Future DRIVE” explores the skills, knowledge, and mindsets that will shape tomorrow’s world — a world driven by Development, Research, Innovation, Venture, and Entrepreneurship (DRIVE). The conference aims to foster collaboration between science and business, generate practical research-based solutions, and build partnerships that contribute to meaningful and sustainable impact in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Important Dates

Abstracts Submission Deadline: August 30, 2026

Notification of Acceptance/Rejection: September 13, 2026

Final Presentation Submission: September 20, 2026

Conference Date: October 01, 2026

REGISTER

SPEAKERS

KRISTEL OITMAA
KRISTEL OITMAA

Head of Brussels Office, Enterprise Estonia (EIS); Industrial Doctoral Researcher, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) (Estonia)

GEA ASHILEVI
GEA ASHILEVI

Psychologist, trainer, and a collaborator at Peaasi.ee; Doctoral Researcher, Tallinn University (Estonia)

MARIT KANNELMÄE-GEERTS
MARIT KANNELMÄE-GEERTS

Head of Education at Peaasi.ee and Lecturer at Tallinn University (Estonia)

VIMALA PALANISWAMY
VIMALA PALANISWAMY

Consultant, strateegist and educator, MIT Open Learning (J-WEL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States)

JOSÉ MACHADO
JOSÉ MACHADO

Deputy Director of the MEtRICs Research Center and Associate Professor with Habilitation at the University of Minho (Portugal)

KALEV KAARNA
KALEV KAARNA

Business Development Manager at Metrosert`s Autonomous Vehicles Unit (Estonia)

PROGRAM

Moderator Johannes Tralla

9.00–10.00 Registration, morning coffee
10.00–10.15

Conference welcome words

Sigrid Rajalo, Director of Innovation and Technology at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia
10.15–12.30

Keynote Speakers on the topics as follow:

  • Kristel Oitmaa, Head of Brussels Office, Enterprise Estonia (EIS); Industrial Doctoral Researcher, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) – “What Is Driving Europe’s Innovation Future?”
  • Marit Kannelmäe-Geerts, Head of Education at Peaasi.ee; lecturer at Tallinn University – “The future is human: rethinking the value of social-emotional skills”
12.30–13.00 Lunch
13.00–14.30

Presentations of scientific papers:

  • José Machado – “Driving Innovation from Research to Industrial Impact”, University of Minho, Minho (Portugal)
  • Gea Ashilevi – “Evidence Based Practice or Practice Based Evidence?”, Peaasi.ee, Tallinn (Estonia)
14.30–15.00 Coffee break
15.00–16.00

Keynote Speakers on the topic as follows / Case study presentations:

  • Vimala Palaniswamy, consultant, strateegist and educator, MIT Open Learning (J-WEL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology – “The Building Blocks of Organizational Innovation Pipelines”
  • Kalev Kaarna, Business Development Manager at Metrosert’s Autonomous Vehicles Unit – “Finding Super Happy Customers for Deep Tech Products in the AI Era”
16.00–17.00

PANEL DISCUSSION

“Future Driven or Future Driving?”
Panel of elected representatives from companies and universities
17.00 Closing of the Conference

 

VENUE

The Conference will be held at Öpiku Conference Centre (Valukoja 8), Ülemiste City, Tallinn, Estonia.

Ülemiste City is The Place where future happens. It’s the largest Smart City in the Baltics and the biggest privately-owned business campus in Northern Europe.

The airport is a 10-minute walk, and the bus stop is a 15-minute walk from the venue. The nearest hotel, Tallinn by Mercure, is just 10 minutes away on foot. Downtown and the Medieval Old Town are a 15-minute drive away. Ülemiste City is accessible by buses 7, 13, 15, 45, 49 and 64, as well as by trams T2 and T4. Interactive transportation and parking guides are available online.