Coworking Europe Conference 2013

After Brussels, Berlin and Paris, the 4th Coworking Europe Conference will be held in Barcelona in just a couple of weeks, and we hope to see you all there!

Who will be there?

The Coworking Europe Conference will bring together over 300 coworking space managers in one location over the course of 3 days to discuss topics such as the rise of corporations in the coworking world, marketing or management topics, and different business models that can fit into the broader coworking philosophy.

Around 50 speakers and panelists will drive the discussion and share their experiences. They come from different countries in Europe, and some of them will join us all the way from America. Do names like Ramón Suárez, Alex Hillman or Liz Elam ring the bell? You have probably heard of Mutinerie, Utopic_US or Betahaus. In addition, there are many other lesser known names that will add great value to the conference such as Ashley Proctor, Cristina Martinez-Sandoval, or Nicolas Berge.

What will be discussed?

The results of the Coworking Survey are already a traditional part of coworking conferences, so Carsten will get us all started on the first day of the conference. The Global Coworking Survey is conducted by Deskmag every year, and collects data on how the coworking network is growing, how spaces expand, and what is most valued by coworkers. You can check the results of previous years here. Don’t forget that Deskmag is looking for support to keep operating and it’s worth mentioning that you can get a Cobot reward for contributing to their crowdfunding campaign ;).

Following the presentation of the Global Coworking Survey, there will be some shorter talks on the impact of specific coworking spaces such as Gracia Work Center, Foundery and Work Station in their cities. Moreover, you can also hear how more traditional real estate offerings, incubators, and big corporations are embracing the coworking philosophy. In addition, discussions will be held on topics like alternative business models, such as coworking spaces offering additional, non-coworking services (e.g. child care or surf lessons), incubating and accelerating programs, fab labs, makerspaces, etc. Yours truly will be moderating the discussion on alternative coworking models at 16:10h, so be sure to stop by!

To finish off the day, there will be panels on revenue diversification, collaboration among coworking spaces, and profiles that fit into coworking; the latter of which I will again be moderating at 17:05h and I’m expecting to hear lots of great ideas on how to reach potential coworkers.

This is only day one — days 2 and 3 will be community-driven, which means YOU decide what we talk about! We’re holding the Unconference day on day 2, while day 3 will be centred around workshops on growth, community building or conflict management, followed by a tour along some of the wonderful coworking spaces in Barcelona. If you missed out on this tour at the Coworking Spain conference, be sure to check them out this time round!

Work hard, party hard

If it’s not your first conference, you already know that we work hard and play hard. If this is your first time, beware! Each day, after the day program ends, several drinks, dinners, and parties are organised. Be sure not to miss them (or join some of the unofficial get-togethers) as they are the best way to engage in informal conversations and put faces to names.

This year we are supporting the conference, and the whole Cobot team — Alex, Thilo, Aleks and myself — will be there.

Ping us if you want to discuss coworking space management, see a demo of Cobot or simply say ‘hi’ or eat some tapas.

See you in Barcelona!!

PS: Pics in this post were made by Stefano Borghi