The Programme in 2026
Day 0: Side events
To add a little sprinkle on top there is a number of different side events to choose from the day before the main programme
From hiking to Preikestolen to a chill meet-up at a local pub; there is something for every taste!
Day 1: Conference at Fiskepiren
One day, two stages.
For the visionary inspiration seeker to the practical junky looking for best practices and new tools. The Nordic Edge Expo program will be an arena for you to connect with new people, learn and challenge your perspectives. We promise you one thing - this is the place to be for leaders who want to recalibrate their strategies for a rapidly changing future.
09:45
In this opening address, Dedichen maps the new threat picture: from traditional military risks to sabotage and cyber attacks — and asks what it truly means to take responsibility in turbulent times. Not just for governments and armed forces, but for cities, businesses and individuals. Because in an era where the lines between peace and conflict are increasingly blurred, understanding your role is no longer optional.
This is where the big picture meets the call to action.
This future can be fantastic! The talk is positive and optimistic and addresses the major issues in the world. Maybe we have eradicated poverty, eliminated hunger, got rid of environmental problems, and maybe even disease is a thing of the past, all with the help of artificial intelligence and exponential technology? It is actually possible, and Lars shows how it can happen.
Lars is the host of the podcast «The World in 2029», where he interviews the tech founders and researchers creating the technology that will transform the world. The similarly titled book will be published in 2026.
11:15
Drawing inspiration from the New European Bauhaus's core values of sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion, presentation will call for a transformational change across multiple sectors and reflect on the following:
How can the city of the future strengthen the bond between citizens and Nature, to sustain cultural and environmental identities, and enhance social and individual health and well-being?
Emily breaks down a practical toolkit to embed diversity and inclusion into the DNA of infrastructure and experience. From auditing and mapping to identify barriers before adjustments, to engaging with lived experience users at critical project moments. This is a quick-fire, practical roadmap for creating cities that are more functional, inclusive, and human-centered.
12:45
The Nordics have strong policy frameworks, emerging technologies and high ambitions for the green transition. Yet too many impact-driven solutions remain stuck in the pilot zone, and too little capital reaches full deployment. This is not only a funding challenge — it is a system challenge.
Bringing together Nordic innovation agencies, investors and industry leaders, this session explores the gap between where solutions emerge, where markets are slow to adopt, and where capital requires predictability and scale — and asks what it will actually take to close it.
14:15
We will get to know fascinating stories about how to embrace experimentation and ambiguity — and how to accept the discomfort that comes with real change. It is about bold moves that disrupt established ways of working and create space for new solutions to emerge.
15:15
Day 1: Nordic Fund Day
Nordic Fund Day connects promising, purpose-driven Nordic startups, particularly those focused on sustainable solutions, with a global network of investors for potential funding and strategic partnerships, emphasizing quality matchmaking and real-world impact.
When arranging Nordic Fund Day for the eleventh time during Nordic Edge Expo in 2026, it will be our biggest ever made, and it all takes place as the grand finale of day 1.
Day 1: Afterparty 19:00
To end day one in the only right way possible we will gather everyone for a afterparty at Fiskepiren 19:00
with drinks and a few surprises.
Day 2: Workshops
Day two of the event will consist of curated workshops to choose from for the participants. Ranging from testbeds in urban context, digitalization, climate-neutral cities, discussions about what's making innovation great. And that's just a small part of all the important topics that will be covered throughout the day. The key component to all the workshops is interaction and creating spaces for meaningful conversations and actions – not just listening to someone and then leave.
WORKSHOP
BRUK AV OVERSKUDDSVARME
FRA DATASENTRE
08:00 - 11:00
Vil du bidra i en workshop om bruk av overskuddsvarme fra datasentre til matproduksjon?
Målet er å utforske om – og hvordan – dette
kan støtte Norges datasenterstrategi.
Strategien legger vekt på klima, miljø, natur
og samfunn.
Vi ser også på mulige gevinster. Kan bedre samspill mellom datasentre, energisystem og matproduksjon redusere konflikter og øke
aksept for både datasentre og ny kraftproduksjon?
WORKSHOP
FROM CLIMATE RISK TO COLLECTIVE
ACTION
09:00 - 11:00
Unfortunately, we have had to cancel this workshop. We will notify everyone who has registered.
WORKSHOP
AI and AGENTIC DEVELOPMENT - TURNING AMBITION INTO REAL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
08:45 - 13:00
AI is moving fast. Most organisations are not. The question is no longer what technology can do but how ready we are to use it.
Doors open at 08:45 with a smoothie and freshly baked croissant.
Begin the day with Lars Rinnan's full keynote. The World 2029, followed by a thought-provoking Q&A. A forward-looking perspective on how exponential AI is reshaping competitiveness, leadership and the pace of change. Then move from insight to action in a hands-on AI Build session, designed to kickstart your journey from AI ambition to a functional business app.
WORKSHOP
ARE WE READY? SHAPING EUROPE'S SMART COMMUNITIES SKILLS STRATEGY FROM LOCAL NEEDS
09:00 - 11:30
Smart city ambitions are accelerating — but are our organisations equipped with the right skills to deliver? Without the right competencies in procurement, planning and engineering, innovation stalls.
In this workshop, participants will engage directly with the proposed priorities,
training pathways and partnership models.
Your insights will form the further
development of the Blueprint and its implementation across Europe.
WORKSHOP
Accelerating Urban Decarbonisation through City–Business Collaboration
09:00 - 11:30
The session identifies where aligned city
demand, industry readiness, and national
enablers can accelerate emission reductions
across freight, maritime, construction, buildings, and local energy systems.
Participants will codevelop practical demand signals, system enablers, and collaboration pathways to deliver faster, deeper urban decarbonisation.
WORKSHOP
From Urban Experimentation to Transformation — Insights from ULALABs
10:00 - 12:00
Urban testbeds and living labs are important
arenas for developing new approaches to sustainable development. But moving from individual experiments to broader change
remains a challenge.
In this workshop, the EU project ULALABS presents insights from work in four European regions, showing how different
types of experimentation spaces function and
how learning can be shared across them.
WORKSHOP
NEIGHBOURHOODS OF RESILIENCE: LOCAL ACTION FOR FOOD SECURITY AND PREPAREDNESS
12:00 - 15:00
What would it take — practically, technically, socially — to turn rooftops, courtyards, vacant lots and underused buildings in a single Stavanger neighbourhood into a working local food system? This three-hour, hands-on workshop brings together architects, urban planners, horticulturalists, real-estate developers, civil servants and engaged citizens to do exactly that: collaboratively sketch a neighbourhood-scale urban food system masterplan for Stavanger — grounded in real maps, real regulations and real local capacity.
WORKSHOP
Wicked Problems to Bold Collaboration
12:30 - 14:30
This workshop explores how public and private actors can work together to turn complex societal challenges into shared innovation efforts with
real momentum.
Building on cases and insights from the
conference, we will examine how to move from broad ambition to practical action:
identifying the real challenge, understanding the barriers, and shaping concrete next steps that
can be carried forward across sectors. an era
of geopolitical uncertainty and climate change,
food security and national self-sufficiency have become critical pillars of civil preparedness.
WORKSHOP
dRIVE AUTONOMOUS BUS WITHOUT DRIVER BEHIND THE WHEEL
12:00 - 14:30
While early European pilots with first-generation 'slow-moving' autonomous shuttles provided valuable insights into legislation and system logic, they often fell short of operational requirements. Autonomous transport without a driver is now widely used in China and in the US.
This tour is combined with a presentation and is designed to move beyond those initial inspirations, providing the concrete steps necessary to deploy scalable, high-performance autonomous solutions without a driver behind the wheel on public roads.
You will get the opportunity to drive a KARSAN autonomous e-ATAK automated by ADASTEC and get a presentation from Applied Autonomy who deliver the fleet management and remote control.
