Why you must join TWINKLE 2017

TWINKLE 2017 is kicking off in less than three months with creative workshops, inspirational speeches and great networking spanning over two days. The theme of this year is “Creativity and Innovation through Diversity”, and with the incredible talent pool available in Tampere, it would be a bit weird to not enhance the skills, competencies and know-how up for grabs.

Whether you’re a professional interested in expanding your network of contacts or a business curious how diversity can benefit your workplace culture, you might have the same question on your mind: why should I join TWINKLE 2017? To give you a better insight on what you can gain from joining the event, we asked one volunteer and one company representative who took part in the 2015 event to recall their experiences with us. Here’s what they had to say:

I was in the process of moving back to Finland after living abroad for a long time. The feelings and experiences of life in another country were so strong and vivid to me that I wanted to make Tampere and Finland more international. Besides that, I had no idea how my skills would transfer to the new job market, and I came to understand there was no better place than Twinkle to find out. By joining the event, I ended up with lots of connections and also met my future employer during one of the networking events.

All volunteers worked very hard to make the event happen, and it was amazing to see the level of creativity, passion and positive energy during those two days. I would have never thought it was possible to develop lifelong relationships with people so creative and energetic!

Twinkle is a chance to get creative and showcase your talents and skills. Whether you’re studying, looking for a job or currently employed, there’s most definitely something you can gain from volunteering for Twinkle!

-Mauno Ahlgren, Business Architect at Eficode

VTT decided to join TWINKLE2015 because the concept was fresh and inviting, and we had also launched our new cooperation SMACC (Smart Machines and Manufacturing Competence Centre) together with TUT (Tampere University of Technology). So we hosted a workshop (Twinkle Bright shop) based on crowdsourcing with the theme “Smart Future”.

 It was a very nice event where we had lively discussions and got some new ideas. We’ve also been working with international talents afterwards in different events such as Tampere Kasvu Open and others.

Internationalization is important, and I think the city of Tampere should set up a task force to ideate, organise gatherings and employ international talents to advertise Tampere as an innovative brand.

-Päivi Mikkonen, Senior Specialist, Industrial SMEs at VTT

In today’s fast-moving business world, diversity is a key driver of innovation and a critical component of being successful on a global scale. Companies and organizations looking to advertise and sell products and services worldwide need to escape the groupthink trap and accept that it takes a broad spectrum of diverse minds, cultures and experiences to connect with different audiences effectively. It’s easy to hire and promote people like you, but if you want outstanding results, it’s time to take the challenge and invest in diversity. Some of the benefits of diversity in a workplace are: increase in productivity, creativity and employee engagement, drive innovation, reduce employee turnover and better performances. Diversity also creates an environment where employees, given an atmosphere where they can be their authentic self, are likely to demonstrate their full value regardless of gender, age, disability or nationality.

So why not reap the benefits and take your business to the next level with investing in diversity and inclusion in the workplace?

“Any time you bring together diverse perspectives, it just creates a bunch of potential that you weren’t really expecting.”

— Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter