Huawei reach a high note with the FreeBuds Pro 2

I was at the launch of Huawei’s latest product unveiling in Berlin on June 29th of the year. Huawei gave us Journalists a sample of the Freebuds Pro 2, which is the subject of this review.

Given my frustrations around ear pods falling out of my ears whilst jogging and inner ear sensitivities that don’t respond well to inserts acting like plungers, I was wary of this new product from Huawei. Thankfully, my courage was rewarded with a surprising experience around the Freebuds Pro 2. The set is not only comfortable to wear for everyday life, but it’s also adjustable and sets firmly into your ears.

I had zero trouble with them over a month of jogging and was able to comfortably relax into my running cadence. Whilst cycling, I did see them fly out of my ears on two occasions. The stems caught in the helmet straps when in motion that pulled the unit out of my ears, so careful adjustment of the pods for your bike ride is advised.

The product comes with 1 stylish Freebuds case, 2 ear pods fitted with small-sized rubber plugs and a card of 3 sets of spares with 1 small-sized and 2 large-sized sets. This is in addition to a USB-2 to USB-C charging cable, and brief instructions on set up with warranties. On set up, the use of the stems comes with hand swipes that are very handy. I was at a loss as to how to control my set and reviewed the Huawei instructions.

It is a well-written instruction manual that surmises what you need to do to set up and control your Freebuds Pro 2. I found the swipe down and up on the Freebuds stem for volume control hard to master. A useful update would be a ridge on the Freebuds stem to guide the user in easier volume control. On stem control overall, the manual above provides insights into the wide range of actions available, which I find to be a real plus in using my set.

The hardware-based click by pinching either stem to turn on and off my iTunes library music is a real treat. On the Bluetooth dual connection feature between computer and phone, I note this works well in computers with Intel i7 chips. That said, machines with modern Ryzen chips like my Mac did see a slight delay going back to my iPhone XR so be patient. Give it a few seconds and the chip will catch up. I noted a near real-time switch in the same test but in a reverse direction.

Performance for me was in two areas, battery and sound quality. I compared both to my older Air Pod 2 setting a high bar. The initial sound was more treble in pitch, which I found was due to the default setting of awareness mode. Noise cancellation is turned off by default.

I registered the unit with my new Huawei app on my iPhone noting a subtle increase in sound quality over about 2 weeks. It was not long before noise cancelling mode enabled by a prolonged stem pinch offered a wonderful base sound. It easily rivals if not exceeds the sound quality of my Air Pod 2 set. Calls are comfortable to take indoors with no testing done by me on calling someone from a busy street. I am confident that it is good given my experience listening to music whilst out and about.

The big winner for the Freebuds is battery performance. I took notes over the month and noted Huawei’s claims of 8 hours for the stems and 18 hours for the case. Not only could I substantiate these claims, but I also noted 22 hours and 7 minutes of charging time over 4 days and 11 partial recharges of stems with 18% remaining on the case. I found the case recharges to a ‘green’ state within the hour.

The price of Eur199 for this product from July this year is what you will pay for your set. After testing it extensively over the past month, I think it’s a very reasonable price point given the obvious quality noted during this period. I was planning to use this set for jogging only given how my existing pods were falling out of my ears. A month later, I am using the Freebuds Pro 2 as my primary set for daily living.

John Mulhall @johnmlhll is a writer with Iri...

Here is the link to Amazon, we would have included the link to the publisher’s website, Pearson, but they don’t seem to be listing their own book, which seems a bit dozy surely?

Brilliant Selling, Tom Bird, Jeremy Cassell, reviewed

This book does pretty much what it says on the cover. It takes you through the nuts and bolts of what you need to do to actually make sales and get things over the line. We liked the illustrations, which did a good job of reinforcing the author’s points. Some good ones about dealing with pushback from employees who say they are busy with admin, when they need to be dealing with actually selling things. Humour can work sometimes to make your points.

The authors tackle the nitty gritty well and drill down into what it actually means to sell well, how to deal with problems, how to raise profile, and how to keep going until it is either a done deal or you at least know where you stand. There are good flow charts to walk you through the process, and keep you focussed too on what you are trying to achieve.

We would put this book into the hands of people who are tasked with making sales for your company. It might not be sexy, but it is vital to the continued livelihood of your business! Worth reading.

More about the book

The world has changed, and businesses need brilliant salespeople not just to survive but to thrive. The modern buyer has become even more sophisticated, intolerant and price sensitive. Today’s brilliant salespeople need to respond and not just react.

This updated edition of the best-selling book combines a focus on the core principles, skills and behaviours of brilliant salespeople as well as new content to meet today’s challenges, including:

How to influence more people more of the time

Discovering what your customer really wants

How to build relationships easily and effortlessly

How to sell authentically

Priorities in building your personal brand

The key principles and ‘how tos’ of social selling

Influencing in today’s hybrid world

– and much, much more.

If you apply what you learn in this new fully updated edition you will be able to differentiate yourself as well as improve your sales results.

See more reviews here.

Workhuman®, the company revolutionising the way employees celebrate, connect with, and appreciate each other in the workplace, has announced the results of a survey which highlights men and women’s perceived obligations when it comes to working remotely in Ireland, as well as the impact that their job has on their mental wellbeing.

The research found that more than half (57%) of women in Ireland feel obligated to work while sick when working remotely, compared with just a third (34%) of men. It also found that women in Irish workplaces (40%) are more likely than men (32%) to feel mentally exhausted and drained after the working day.

Despite these disparities, Workhuman’s survey found that women and men are equally likely to feel respected at work in Ireland. The research showed that 65% of women working in Ireland feel respected in their jobs, compared to 64% of men. Meanwhile, over half (55%) of both women and men are likely to feel appreciated for their work.

The survey was carried out by Dynata on behalf of Workhuman across 2,268 full-time employees in Ireland, the UK, the U.S., and Canada. The aim of the research was to explore the state of human connection at work. It found that while men and women are equally likely to feel respected and appreciated at work, women are more likely to value diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

When it comes to staying at their organisation, some 84% of women reported that diversity and inclusion is important to them, compared to 73% of men. Meanwhile, men working in Ireland (49%) are slightly more likely than women (42%) to see a clear path for growth within their organisation.

The research also provided insights into the experiences of parents working in Ireland. It found that parents are less likely to feel respected at work than parents in the UK, U.S., or Canada combined (64% vs 72%), while 60% were more likely to feel overworked in the last 12 months compared to 52% of their global counterparts and 40% of non-parents working in Ireland.

Niamh Graham, Senior Vice President Global Human Experience, Workhuman, said: “This research highlights work practices and sentiments in a post-pandemic world and allows us to observe how Irish workers fare against their global counterparts. Women working remotely in Ireland clearly feel significantly more pressure to work while they are unwell, compared to their male colleagues. Whether this is external or internal pressure, it is something that must be addressed by every organisation as they strive to create more human-led workforces.

“We know from our own research that gender bias still exists in Irish – and global – workplaces. Managers must not only ensure that they themselves are treating everyone equally, but they must also be aware of how their team members are perceiving and acting upon their roles and obligations, and make sure that the workload is not disproportionately distributed based on a person’s gender, race or otherwise.

“Despite the differing attitudes highlighted in our research, it is encouraging to see that both women and men feel equally respected and appreciated at work in Ireland. Showing appreciation and recognising employees is not only good for the human, but also good for business.

“It is clear that more needs to be done to support working parents in organisations across the board. Fostering a culture of belonging and taking the time to understand and get to know employees as people, who have rich lives outside of work, starts with putting wellbeing at the centre of your HR strategy. Employers need to continue to build a culture of recognition and appreciation, especially in the decentralised workplace where conscious efforts should be made to connect with employees.”

See more stories here.

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We look at this topical book by QuHarrison Terry and Scott “DJ Skee” Keeney. Foreword by Paris Hilton ISBN: 9781119892526 .Published June 2022 by Wiley in paperback and ebook, priced £21.99. See more about the book here.

The Metaverse Handbook: Innovating for the Internet’s Next Tectonic Shift, reviewed

We enjoyed the previous book by these authors, about NFTs. It makes sense that they then wrote this highly topical book about the metaverse too. They take you on a concise, clear headed and intelligent analysis of what the metaverse is, what it could be, and where and how it could, potentially add value. We liked all of this, and yet, and yet.

The authors also snagged a great introduction by Paris Hilton too, which makes sense and was a smart thing to do. However, to hone in on our ‘and yet’ concerns, when Hilton says she held a virtual party in the metaverse and that she had more fun than any real party she had ever been to, this truly felt like the moment to check who has been drinking deeply from the Koolaid.

Real life, real food, real people, real kisses, or a virtual simulation of all of this, which would you chose? Maybe, for some people, virtual trumps real, but how, really, does it, can it? Does the emperor have no clothes and yet no one is calling this one out.

As we read the book we tried to look around us, here, in the physical world, at the experience economy, and the things that people like to do with their time. Does the majority want to, or is even able to, drop all of this, and experience it all virtually instead? We have a batch of metaverse books to review, so it is clear that it is a hot and trending topic, but, as with the acclamations for Second Life all those years ago, is this actually going to take off anytime soon. And, why would people prefer it over doing many of these things for real.

To be fair to the authors they do a good job of discussing why we are so early into what the metaverse is or could turn out to be. They discuss the lack of compatibility between different metaverses – you can’t take or even wear your jet pack from one metaverse and bring it, with your avatar into another universe. They also discuss actions that some people have taken to make an investment and commitment into one metaverse even though it is still unclear what the value might be, and if it will ever pay off.

In terms of capturing the state of play currently, we found this book very useful and informative, but it does still feel that we are very early into exploring how and even if metaverses may come to influence our lives. An interesting read, but, for now, the appeal of the real world still feels stronger.

More about the book ->

More than just the hottest new trend in tech, the metaverse promises to fundamentally reshape the way we interact with machines and each other and in The Metaverse Handbook, authors QuHarrison Terry and Scott “DJ Skee” Keeney provide readers with a discussion of the technologies that make it possible, and the limitless potential it offers to companies and individuals who participate in it.

Readers will discover how Web3 development is shaking up traditional websites with blockchain-based innovations, and how digital asset creation through non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is revolutionising what it means to own something in the digital realm. The book also explores immersive gaming and social environments to help readers understand the building blocks of the metaverse, even as they’re still being created.

The authors highlight over 120 digital creators building new tools that are changing the way we look at the world and show readers how to harness these innovations in their commercial ventures, community-building efforts, and personal digital experiences. They also point out some of the pitfalls experienced by metaverse participants and demonstrate how to avoid these obstacles.

With a foreword by Paris Hilton, The Metaverse Handbook highlights dense, futuristic topics with easy-to-understand exampl...

According to a recent staff memo circulating across social media, Elon Musk recently made his stance on hybrid working clear, demanding the end of remote working for all Tesla employees or else they would face termination. As employees make decisions to return to the office there has been global concern that the gender imbalance will be stretched further.

The permanent switch to more home working following the pandemic will cause an increase in inclusivity issues within the workplace, according to experts, unless employers carefully monitor their new working policies to make sure everyone’s performance is recognised equally regardless of whether they work from the office or not.

There is a fear that those who receive more “face time” with management will benefit from more recognition and preferential treatment. Ronan talks to Aislinn Mahon, General Manager of Huckletree D2 about this and more.

Aislinn talks about her background, Elon Musk’s stance on hybrid working, the positives of co-working spaces, Zoom meetings, mental health and meditation. Aislinn also talks about the different types of companies based in Huckltree, the help companies can get in co-working spaces, and the best strategy that works for companies.

More about Aislinn:

Aislinn is expert in new market entry and identifying new opportunities for strategic growth, and helped launch Huckletree in Ireland in 2017. She’s also deeply passionate about the practice and teaching of yoga. Superpower: Building inner confidence.

See more podcasts here.

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Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

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FinTrU, a technologically-enabled Regulatory Solutions company, specialising in the areas of KYC, Compliance, Legal, Risk & Controls and Operations, has announced the establishment of a European Delivery Centre in Letterkenny and the creation of 300 jobs over the next five years.

Established in 2013 and headquartered in Belfast, FinTrU designs technology-enabled solutions for Investment Banks across the world. FinTrU currently employs more than 1,000 people worldwide with offices in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Dublin, London, Maastricht, and New York. In March 2022, FinTrU was named by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies for the second year in a row.

This project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said “FinTrU’s announcement that it’s creating 300 jobs, providing new opportunities in Letterkenny, Donegal and the North West is wonderful news. Ireland has established itself as a leading global financial services centre and we are committed to building on this success. The new positions announced today by FinTrU are testament to the company’s growth and achievements, as it invests in, and benefits from, skills and talent from across the whole island. I wish FinTrU many more years of continued success in their operations here.”

FinTrU Founder & CEO, Darragh McCarthy, said “We are extremely excited to announce the news of our North West regional expansion with the establishment of our Letterkenny site. FinTrU has enjoyed a great relationship with the North West region, having set up our Derry/Londonderry office in October 2018, with over 300 employees presently working at this site.

We already employ several people from Letterkenny and the wider County of Donegal, so it was a natural step for us to open an EU Delivery Office right here in Letterkenny. The highly educated and ambitious talent based here in Donegal was a major motivating factor in FinTrU choosing Letterkenny as the next EU base. This new location will further support FinTrU as we continue to work with the largest International Investment Banks across the world.

FinTrU has forged a great partnership with IDA Ireland, Donegal County Council, Donegal Education & Training Board (ETB) and the Atlantic Technological University over the years and we are delighted to be working with them in delivering this project over the years to come.”

FinTrU is currently recruiting in the areas of compliance, legal and operations. To explore these opportunities, visit here.

FinTrU has also launched a graduate recruitment program, the FinTrU Financial Services Academy, with applications now being accepted. Candidates will be considered from all degree disciplines.

IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said “Last week, IDA Ireland announced that 73 of the 155 investments won by the agency in the first half of 2022, went to regional locations, including here in Co. Donegal. The mid-year results announced last week and this announcement today, demonstrates IDA Ireland’s continued commitment to winning jobs and investments in regional locations This is, without doubt, a red-letter day for Letterkenny. This investment, creating 300 jobs in this region is hugely significant. It represents confidence by FinTrU in the North West and will be a substantial boost to the local economy. I wish FinTrU every success with this expansion.

FinTrU, a technologically-enabled Regulatory Solutions company, specialising in the areas of KYC, Compliance, Legal, Risk & Controls and Operations, has announced the establishment of a European Delivery Centre in Letterkenny and the creation of 300 jobs over the next five years.

Established in 2013 and headquartered in Belfast, FinTrU designs technology-enabled solutions for Investment Banks across the world. FinTrU currently employs more than 1,000 people worldwide with offices in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Dublin, London, Maastricht, and New York. In March 2022, FinTrU was named by the Financia...

Diligent welcomed Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, to officially open its new European hub at Bonham Quay in Galway today.

Since announcing Galway as its European hub in November 2020, Diligent has hired 275 people in the region, with an additional 50 open roles available. Located at the Galway docklands, the state-of-the-art office will be instrumental in supporting Diligent’s global operations and driving long-term business growth.

“Our European hub is an innovation engine for our company across Europe and beyond. We are delighted to expand our footprint in Galway,” said Brian Stafford, CEO of Diligent. “Our new office will enable us to continue to attract the best talent, putting us in a strong position to empower leaders with the technology, insights and connections they need to drive greater impact and lead with purpose.

Headquartered in New York and operating in more than 130 countries, Diligent empowers leaders to turn governance into a competitive advantage through unparalleled insight and highly secure, integrated SaaS applications. Its innovative software is used by one million users and more than 700,000 board members and leaders across the world.

Diligent will operate a flexible work approach for employees while also encouraging employees to avail of the new facilities at Bonham Quay. The 35,000 square foot space includes green spaces, breakout terraces and a unique roofscape with excellent views of the city and will be the first development in Ireland to adhere to the One Planet Living framework.

Speaking at the official opening of Diligent’s office at Bonham Quay, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, said: “This new facility and Diligent’s investment in the West is a testament to the company’s commitment to Ireland and the hard work of its growing team. Remote working is here to stay and I’m particularly happy to see Bonham Quay will offer flexible working options for its employees. Diligent currently employs 275 people and are currently filling 50 further jobs, offering fantastic opportunities for the rich talent pool we have in Galway and the surrounding area. Every success as you continue to grow!”

“Diligent has invested in this new state-of-the-art office to enhance employee engagement, attract and retain talent and showcase our commitment to Galway and the wider region,” added Ruairí Conroy, Diligent’s Galway Site Leader. “As a relatively new entrant to Galway’s growing tech ecosystem, we strive to promote a dynamic and enriching environment where collaboration, networking and learning is encouraged. I commend the IDA for their work in promoting the West as an excellent location for investment and look forward to continuing to expand the Diligent team here in Galway.”

Executive Director of IDA Ireland, Mary Buckley said: “Back in 2020, Diligent announced Galway as the location of its European hub. This confident commitment to the West region and indeed Ireland is paying off and it’s wonderful to celebrate the official opening at Bonham Quay. In the past two and half years, Diligent has grown its team here to 275 people. Diligent is a welcome addition to the West region’s growing Tech cluster. I wish Ruari and his team here continued success.”

Since establishing its European hub, Diligent has integrated itself into the local community through establishing partnerships with key stakeholders including Galway Chamber, Western Development Commission, NUIG, and COPE Galway. During the past 12 months, the company has also completed four major acquisitions, including Limerick-based sustainability and ESG reporting software company Accuvio, enabling it to add new capabilities and deepen its expertise and solutions that Diligent provides to its 25,000+ customers.

To find out more about careers at Diligent, please visit/

Underwater photography is popular for several reasons, the most common of which is a desire to share the extraordinary sights and experiences that can only be had by scuba divers with the rest of the world. For those who want to begin photographing the ocean, here are a few pointers to get you going.

Hone in on your diving skills

Underwater photography is an art. In order to be able to capture the perfect shot of a sea turtle, you need to get in the water and learn to manoeuvre around without kicking up sand or disturbing any marine life.

Due to the weight of water on a camera, it is important that you practice your buoyancy control before diving with your camera. This will allow you to maintain your position in the water so that you don’t have to worry about being pushed around by the currents or other divers. Maintaining a good position allows you to stay stationary without disrupting the reef or intimidating animals.

Choosing the right camera system

Camera: The first step to getting started in underwater photography is choosing the right camera equipment.

Compact cameras have come a long way since their inception, and today’s models can produce beautiful images that rival those from some DSLRs. With their ease of travel and affordable prices, they’re ideal for people who want to get into underwater photography on any budget.

Take a look at this range of the best rated underwater cameras this year to kickstart your new and exciting adventure in underwater photography.

Housing: With most camera models, you won’t get deeper than 10m without using some kind of housing. The majority of well-known camera manufacturers create a line of underwater housings on their own that are typically rated to 30 metres (100 feet).

Specialized underwater gear producers like Nauticam, Ikelite, Seacam, and others sell stronger models with higher depth ratings, although they are typically more expensive.

Lighting: A strobe, lights, or the camera’s flash are all options – The camera’s built-in flash is excellent for photographing small subjects like nudibranchs. A recommendation would be to start with the built-in flash of the camera and add additional lights once you’ve found what you want.

A strobe light is a wise investment. You can take pictures of bigger, farther-off subjects without worrying too much about blurring. Strobe lights are significantly more potent than the flash on a camera.

Video lights can be turned on and off and generate a constant light rather than a flash or strobe. You can observe the scene through the camera’s viewfinder before to shooting the picture when there is constant light. While being brighter than camera flashes, video lights are less powerful than strobes and are rather pricey.

Getting your camera ready for a dive

A camera is useless if it doesn’t photograph well! Before diving, thoroughly test and set up your equipment so that you know it is working properly. It is also important to become familiar with your camera so that you know what settings work best for certain environments and conditions. Some tips:

If you have long hair, tie it back. If a hair gets stuck between the O-ring and the housing, it might cause a camera to flood.

When removing the O-ring from the housing, use a “O-ring remover” tool or a blunt instrument such as a credit card. Never use a knife or other sharp object.

Always inspect and clean the O-ring. Examine the area for hair, salt residue, dust, fibres, and any other matter. Additionally, ensure that the O-ring is smooth and free of cracks.

Before replacing the O-ring, lubricate it with silicone grease.

Make sure that any silica gel you place within your housing are precisely positioned to avoid interfering with the housing’s seal or any of the buttons’ functionality.

Take your system to the wash tank before diving, hold it underwater while you look for any bubbles that might indicate a poor seal.

Applying fundamental underwater photography principles

Underwater photography comes wi...

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced findings from its TCS Risk & Cybersecurity Study, which reveals that cyber executives may not be sufficiently prioritising threats from vulnerabilities within the value chain, beyond the immediate boundaries of their own organisations.

When asked to rank where companies will see the greatest number of cyberattacks between now and 2025,ecosystem partners came in last place (10th). At a time when enterprises are increasingly banking on digital ecosystems for their growth strategies, TCS’ survey shows that only 16% of chief risk officers (CROs) and chief information security officers (CISOs) ranked digital ecosystems as a concern when assessing expected cyber targets, and only 14% listed the risks from such ecosystems as the top priority arising out of board-level discussions.

“Companies across the globe are increasingly turning to digital ecosystems of partners, vendors, and even competitors to reimagine and grow their business. Ignoring the threats originating from these ecosystems represents a blind spot which needs to be addressed urgently,” said Santha Subramoni, Global Head, Cybersecurity, TCS. “One way of reducing the probability of an attack within digital supply chains is to implement a ‘zero trust’ policy—a framework based on the principle of ‘never trust, always verify,’ applied not only to humans but also machines.”

When mapping out priorities between now and 2025, CISOs rank governance, strategy, and talent acquisition highly. Ranking highest is the prioritisation of the security posture of the company and defining the controls and standards. Ranked second is establishing a more robust cybersecurity strategy, followed by investing in security talent acquisition and development.

TCS’ study also finds that talent retention directly correlates with how a company stores its information. Cloud-positive organisations were found to have a slight advantage in retaining and recruiting talent with the notoriously hard-to-find cyber skills, compared to those companies who think that on-premises or traditional data centre security is preferable to what is available via the cloud. In fact, embracing cloud platforms gives companies a five-point advantage in recruiting and retaining talent with cyber risk and security skills.

“As businesses look to keep up with rapidly evolving complexities in cybersecurity, the talent gap is widening,” said Bob Scalise, Managing Partner, Risk and Cyber Strategy, TCS. “Demonstrating a serious commitment to cybersecurity by sustained attention from senior leadership, funding, and process changes will be vital to recruiting and retaining top talent.”

Among other findings, the study also highlights:

Some corporate boards may not be sufficiently focused on cyber risks.

One in six respondents reported that their corporate board of directors considers issues related to cyber risk and security only “occasionally, as necessary, or never.” Companies with higher-than-average revenue and profit growth are more likely to discuss cybersecurity at every board meeting.

Cloud platforms are considered more secure than on-premises and traditional data centers.

Sixty-two percent of companies are now as or more comfortable with the security provided by cloud platforms than that of on-premises and traditional data centres, suggesting that the common concern about the cloud in its early days is fading.

The TCS Risk & Cybersecurity Study, published by the TCS Thought Leadership Institute, highlights the most pressing cybersecurity issues facing senior business leaders across Europe and North America. The study is based on results of a survey of more than 600 CISOs and CROs, from companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue, across banking & financial services, utilities, media & information services, and manufacturing. Topics include global risk, cybersecurity, resilience, and ecosystem/cloud security.??The survey took place in February and March 2022.

To view the ...

Emilio Corchado serves as CEO of Startup OLÉ 2022, and a major entrepreneur on the European stage. We spoke to him about his work, the upcoming event, and any plans for the future.

Startup OLÉ insights with Emilio Corchado

What are you doing now?

At this moment, I’m working as a CEO at Startup OLÉ 2022 and as Project Coordinator of CYL-HUB. Startup Olé is one of the most important tech-entrepreneurial events in the European and International ecosystem. It is a great entrepreneurial event that connects startups and scaleups with corporates, investors, accelerators, universities, public administrations and the media.

This connection happens through the organization of forums with renowned speakers and unicorns in their fields such as Vincent Rosso, Co-founder of Blablacar and Consentio; Mrs. Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth from the European Commission or Jans Bormans, CEO of the European Startup Network, among others. Also speaking about forums, as a novelty, my team and I are focused working on supporting rural innovation and startup villages (REInA) and in a forum about Impact and Sustainability with a focus on the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets (SDGs).

Meanwhile, CYL-HUB is a project dedicated to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in our region, Castile and Leon supported by Next Generation FUNDS through the Recovery, Transformation and Residency Plan and channeled through The Junta de Castilla y León. This is a transnational project developing a battery of initiatives from the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship of the self-employed, innovative SMEs and startups in order to promote reforms in the area and accelerate the economic and social recovery of the region of Castile and Leon (largest EU region) based on five transversal axes: job creation, ecological transition, social and territorial cohesion, digitalisation and gender equality.

How was last year, what worked well, what didn’t move as quickly as you would have liked? How have you adapted to the current times?

In what concerns our adaptation to the current times, my team and I have always implemented the regulations imposed by the government in terms of health safety within our own possibilities. In addition to that and thanks to great technologies, we have implanted a live stream on Youtube to follow the event from whenever the followers are and also in case someone wants to participate in Startup OLÉ from a distance, we do have the possibility to do networking based on a great networking tool allowing to the attendees during the event to connect through video calls also.

As regards to last year I will say it was interesting for us to develop such an hybrid event as it was, the first two days were completely online and the last three days were fully on site, but as interesting as it was, we are really excited and happy to be celebrating an on-site event only, because we do believe that this type of event should be a in person experience where you can feel the excitement, the joy and the passion of those who will be talking to the attendees and experiment and enjoy the propositions made by startups on their stands.

What are your plans for the future?

We would like to continue to grow the community of Startup OLÉ, and to keep spreading at an international level this environment of innovation and entrepreneurship in the years to come, captivating each time more investors, corporates, accelerators, universities, public administrations and of course more media.

Meanwhile, we will continue to create the economic ecosystem of Castile and Leon, celebrating new events related to CYL-HUB in conjunction with The Junta de Castilla y León, such as CYL-HUB Burgos in november 30th and december 1st, where we will be dedicated to promote local innovation and entrepreneurship of the self-employed, innovative SMEs, startups and scaleups from the Province of Burgos. After that , within the next months, we wil...