Creative Economies Forum 2025

CEF Worshop 25

Zeughausareal Uster, 2 October 2025
Creative entrepreneurship – navigating between market realities and visions for tomorrow
For the first time, the CEF is organising an external workshop. CEF Workshop 25 brings together the established market experience of innovative SMEs and the agile creative power of entrepreneurial creative minds. In an interactive afternoon workshop in Uster, we overcome the boundaries between industries and create a space for hybrid innovation.
With us, you will experience how new, sustainable business models emerge from different perspectives.
This will be the first time that CEF has hosted an external workshop. Moving away from academia, CEF Workshop 25 will bring together entrepreneurs, research and creativity at the Zeughausareal Uster. How can market requirements be balanced with visions for the future? How can creative ideas be transformed into tangible value and viable strategies? The approaches of creative entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial creatives are closer than you might think.

Why sould you attand?

- Practical tools instead of lectures: Learn about three effective strategic models and apply them directly to your own challenges in interactive workshops.
- Concrete solutions for your business: Whether it's clearly articulating the value of your idea, strategically planning for the future, or analysing your partner ecosystem, you'll develop tangible results.
- Unique networking: Meet like-minded people and potential cooperation partners from the ‘other world’. Expand your network beyond the usual industry boundaries.
- Gain new perspectives: Break out of your routine and benefit from the market experience of SMEs and the unconventional thinking of the creative scene.

What you can expect:
An afternoon full of inspiration. Our programme takes you from inspiration to practical application:
- Inspiring keynote speech: A leading expert in ‘strategic creativity’ will provide you with three essential tools for the afternoon.
- Interactive themed workshops: At the heart of the event, you can choose one of three practical workshops that best suits your needs:
- Creating value: How does a good idea become a compelling business model? Build a bridge between creative ambition and market logic.
- Three time horizons: How do we synchronise day-to-day business with a bold vision for the future? Develop a common language for planning tomorrow.
- Creative Core & Spheres: Which invisible partnerships are the key to your success? Visualise and activate your ecosystem.
- High-calibre closing panel: Leading figures from the business and creative scenes synthesise the day's insights and outline the future of the regional innovation landscape.
- Apéro riche & networking: During the subsequent apéro, we deepen the discussions, forge plans and make valuable contacts in a relaxed atmosphere.

Registration:

Get your seat at CEF 25 in Uster!
→ Verbindliche Anmeldung / Registration

Detailled Program

In this interactive half-day session, the CEF will address these questions from various angles:
13.30-14.00 Welcome Coffee & first exchanges
14:00–14:15 Welcome: Christoph Weckerle, Head of ZCCE; Barbara Thalmann, Mayor City of Uster.
14:15–14:45 Z-Kubator: ‘What’s Next_Projects’ Three entrepreneurial creative projects from Z-Kubator. As part of the ZCCE, the Z-Kubator supports artists, designers and mediators at ZHdK who work at the interface between artistic or creative ideas and entrepreneurial thinking & action. The three current programme participants present their projects: Simona Boscardin, Tabea Wschiansky und Dzhuliia Kolodko.
14:45-15:00 Research insights: What do the data say? Roman Page, Data analyst ZCCE
15:00-15:40 Interactive keynote: ‘Answering smart questions in concrete terms: what can we learn from creative companies?’ Strategic creativity and its significance for the future of creative entrepreneurs. Simon Grand, Permanent Research Fellow ZCCE
15:40-16:00 Coffee break and workshop briefing
16:00-17:30 Parallel themed workshops: Co-creation, transfer of ways of thinking and working, development of new ideas based on concrete case studies.
17:30-18:00 Break & exchange
18:00-19:00 Closing panel: Synthesis and future scenarios
From 19:00 Apéro riche & networking: Opportunity for exchange, networking and initiating new collaborations.

Participants

CEF25 is aimed at:
– Entrepreneurial individuals looking to break new ground at the intersection of creativity, strategy, and innovation.
– SME executives
– Innovation managers
– Start-ups and founders
– Students, researchers and lecturers in the field of entrepreneurship and higher art education.