TalTech economic vision conference: “The courage to be indispensable”

Estonia’s economic model is changing. For decades our growth rested on the ability to source resources from nearby markets, add value to them here at lower cost and sell the output to richer neighbouring markets. Rapid growth in wages and living standards, a changed geopolitical situation and technological upheaval mean that this model is no longer enough on its own.

A small open economy cannot win on the world market through size or low prices. Our next leap forward must come from the ability to offer something that is hard to replace: knowledge, technology, solutions and skills that others cannot do without if they want to move forward.

The conference theme “The courage to be indispensable” focuses on how Estonia can create such a role in the world economy. Which parts of the value chain could Estonian companies be irreplaceable in? How can artificial intelligence and other technologies be used to create high-value solutions based on our own knowledge and intellectual property, beyond efficient subcontracting? How can Estonia play a part on the world market so that it cannot be bypassed? And what choices do companies, science and the state have to make to get there?

PROGRAMME

09:30–10:00 Gathering and morning coffee, TalTech hall

10:00–10:20 Opening of the conference. Prof. Tiit Land, Rector of TalTech, and Prof. Mari Avarmaa, Dean of the TalTech School of Economics and Business Administration

Master of ceremonies: Paavo Siimann

10:15–11:00 In the middle of European change: Estonia’s strategic choice. Maive Rute, Deputy Director-General of the Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) of the European Commission, member of the TalTech Council.

What are Europe’s main tasks in order to stay competitive with the fast-growing Asia and the United States? What is Estonia’s place in European industrial and technology policy? Why does becoming “indispensable” have to be a strategic choice rather than a rhetorical one?

11:00–12:00 PANEL I: Where does growth really happen? European technology flows, investment and Estonia’s chances of becoming indispensable

Introductory presentation: Valeria Kiisk, head of capital markets and expert at Finance Estonia.

Panellists: Valeria Kiisk, head of capital markets and expert at Finance Estonia; Marek Tiits, founder and chair of the board of the Baltic Institute of Economic Research (BISS); Peeter Luikmel, head of the monetary policy and external economy department at the Bank of Estonia and lecturer at the TalTech Institute of Economic Research and Finance; Kadri Männasoo, professor at the TalTech Institute of Economic Research and Finance.

Moderator: Paavo Siimann, senior lecturer at the TalTech Institute of Business Administration, investor and mentor.

12:00–13:00 Lunch at the Student House

PANEL II: From obstacles to benefits: how the state and the rules create value from the technology boom

Panellists: Teet Tender, managing partner of PwC Estonia; Erkki Karo, professor and director of the TalTech Ragnar Nurkse Institute of Innovation and Governance; Sandra Särav-Tammus, deputy secretary-general for economic and industrial policy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, lecturer at the TalTech Institute of Law; Helery Tasane, researcher at the TalTech Institute of Business Administration and programme director of the “Artificial Intelligence in Business” curriculum.

Moderator: Kristjan Hirmo, doctoral student and junior researcher at the TalTech Institute of Business Administration.

14:00–14:15 Networking break

14:15–14:45 AI does not make a company indispensable, but the problem it solves can do so. Ken Tilk, co-founder of Triangel.ai, former global head of data and artificial intelligence at Nortal, and member of the advisory board of the “Artificial Intelligence in Business” curriculum.

14:45–15:30 PANEL III: People, skills and the labour market in the AI age

Panellists: Katrin Isotamm, adviser to the Estonian AI Initiative; Gert Jervan, professor and dean of the TalTech Faculty of Information Technology; Marina Järvis, associate professor at the TalTech Institute of Business Administration; Tõnn Talpsepp, professor at the TalTech Institute of Economic Research and Finance and programme director of “Applied Finance and Artificial Intelligence”.

Moderator: Silver Tambur, editor-in-chief of the TalTech research and entrepreneurship portal Trialoog.

15:30–15:40 Summary of the day