SLUSH is coined as the largest gathering of investors in the world through an epic technology conference held in Finland with 25.000 attendees, including 4.000 startups and 2.000 investors. It all began as a student-driven, not-for-profit movement with a mission to create and help the next generation of groundbreaking entrepreneurs. SLUSH has grown from a single gathering in Helsinki to a series of events organized in Japan, China, USA, and Singapore!
The event itself is run by 2.000+ volunteers from over 50 countries. The staff’s biggest challenge? To train and equip volunteers with the necessary skills and knowledge to make the event a success year after year.
“With the platform we aim to enable our volunteers to make the most of the experience at SLUSH and give this information at a pace best suited for each individual…Collaboration with the staff has been incredibly smooth and easy. The most engaging part is co-creating both the goals and the content: building a shared understanding of how to reach the desired goals!”
– Antti Poikolainen, Head of Recruitment, SLUSH
In the summer of 2019, SLUSH partnered with CanopyLAB to create a series of pre-boarding and onboarding courses to support the training of such a large and global volunteer team. In the past, SLUSH volunteers arrive to Helsinki (often visiting the country for the very first time) only a couple of days before the actual event held on November 21-22. The courses cover topics ranging from the volunteer code of conduct, organizational values, compliance and even tips on how to make the most out of the volunteer experience.
“I like the interactive approach of this course to get people already ahead of the event itself into the SLUSH mindset of communicating with each other as well as sharing ideas for a better future we would all like to be part of!”
– Susanne Schick, Volunteer, SLUSH
By engaging on the platform six weeks before the event, volunteers are able to learn more about the vision of SLUSH, Finland’s startup ecosystem as well as crucial information about their roles and responsibilities. SLUSH staff are able to interact with and track volunteer’s progress through knowledge tags they acquired on growth mindset, environmental and social wellbeing, team building and entrepreneurship. In addition, Volunteers are able to connect with their future colleagues and have a space where they can ask questions as well as share their experiences before and after the conference.
“Really great and insightful as I got to know more about Helsinki’s startup ecosystem and see how ambitious the sector is in general. Useful information and good food for thought!”
– Oleksiy Kovalenko, Volunteer, SLUSH
At CanopyLAB we designed a simple and social platform for digital learning experiences.
