What is the best treat you can get in -20?
Exactly, chase the sun somewhere, for me it was an adventurous chase starting by planning the whole trip just 2~3 days before.
It all started with an obsession with international fairs and events, so I was trying my best to get there for a meaningful reason, not just to watch so I thought maybe I can represent TalTech and get some traction and insights for my projects.
Managing to submit all assignments and projects before getting to the plane was a priority, so I squeezed myself for a week, fortunately, I got great support from my department and postponed a project defense until January.
The marketing team of TalTech provided me with all the necessary equipment and access to Dubai Expo so I can create meaningful contact and content.
Flying to Dubai was a 24h trip as I like to explore places on the way, more importantly, to do an exam within transit time, so studying onboard, then examine at the next airport.
Stopping by Milan and Catania was a great food experience on the way, also it’s great to capture Christmas vibes on the way.
Arriving to Dubai was smooth, with the tiredness of sleepless stops and the original plan was to interview TalTech’s Rector but getting to Expo was a bit challenging in the morning however I managed to get my company of awesome people to make sure we speak 4 languages (Arabic/ English/ Estonian/ Chinese) in case we encountered more internationals at the pavilion.
I found out many old friends were in Dubai at the time so we met over there and got them to explore the Estonian pavilion and show how TalTech is leading the Estonian technology sector.
Also went through an Estonian education seminar where I enjoyed talking and interviewing regional government officials and international decision-makers and sharing my personal story in Estonia and TalTech.
Little after, we went through some more pavilions to see more breakthroughs such as Ireland and Portugal where they adopted the pure artistic approach of their vision towards the future.
I was certainly excited to visit my country’s pavilion as I have seen plenty of critiques of the way it represents Egypt, surprisingly it was an overwhelming experience with intensive use of visual and physical shows, also a 4D cinematic roller coaster through history to the future of Egypt.
Worth to say, American pavilion has so many interesting quirks with a full-scale Space X rocket, Mars vehicle, even moonstone, and the very first iPhone displayed in a glass box.
Food choices were challenging as time is so limited, but I couldn’t resist Portuguese sweets with the signature coffee, I also invited my family to try an Estonian famous coleslaw burger.
The first day was a bit of an exploration day trying to fit as much content in the one-day takeover, fortunately, it wasn’t enough so the next day I decided to explore the Estonian pavilion thoroughly, starting by hanging cloud bulbs that represent the future of digitalization where everything is in the cloud then meditation capsule made by famous Estonian app (Synctuition), an awesome installation of the smart garden by (Click n Grow) show’s the Estonian green theme and nature preservation approach.
TalTech’s presence is important to demonstrate the importance of the technical institutions of enduring the greatest innovation of Estonia.
Visitors were impressed by the pavilion but could not figure out the relationship of TalTech with enrolling academic innovations into the market and working closely with innovative enterprises to use academic labs and facilities to develop valuable products and solutions.
Will I do that again?
Absolutely, representing TalTech was a memorable experience especially in an international event like the Dubai expo, and here are my reflections:
- I have encountered many visitors with absolutely no Idea about Estonia, especially local nationals, and They were so curious to tryouts more Estonian inventions, many of them actually asked about the smart garden (Click n Grow)
- - Networking couldn’t be easier in such a place, everything is supporting communication and engagement, especially keynotes networking sessions.
- - A miss leading stereotype is that Estonia has nothing but IT, it’s partially true but many talents are intimidated by intensive IT campaigning, unfortunately, the pavilion doesn’t help to show other aspects.
- - It is great to spread the word about different Estonian experiences, as it is not easy to find relatable experiences for mid-eastern nationalities. so I think It was important to speak to more Arabs.
Currently, the expo is planned to close its doors by March 2022, however, the easiest way to wander around and to attend zillion events and talks is to immerse yourself into the virtual tour here: https://virtualexpodubai.com/mobility-district/estonia but nothing as being there with all immersive experiences.
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