The full programme for Women in Tech Forum 2026 is here. On 22 October at Wanha Satama in Helsinki, we’re expecting more than 1,000 attendees, with 20+ speakers and 15+ partners coming together around this year’s theme: Tech Horizons: Impacting our Future.

Technology is developing quickly, and the ability to build something is moving faster than our understanding of its consequences. What deserves our attention, and how do we make thoughtful decisions about the technologies we develop, use and lead? What kind of future are we building?

We’ve curated the day around these questions, bringing together people who understand how technology works, how it reaches markets and how it changes society. There will be space to examine the details, question assumptions, build something and meet people working on different parts of the same wicked challenges.

What’s on the horizon—and what will actually matter?

WiT co-founder Anne Stenros opens the main-stage programme by looking ahead to an ageing society in 2050, followed by perspectives from IQM, AWS and ICEYE.

IQM’s Emilia Stuart follows with From qubits to confidence: reading, making and owning claims in tech, a plain-language look at quantum computing and what overpromising costs in any tech field.

AWS Finland’s Marianna Saarinen will explore the move from automation to autonomy: what happens when AI starts taking actions, and what leading teams of people and AI requires.

ICEYE’s Shay Strong brings experience spanning astrophysics, satellite analytics and defence applications to Impact Radius: When Speed Outruns Judgment. As AI tools make it easier to develop and deploy technology, her keynote asks how teams can match the care they take to the consequences of what they build.

The discussion then widens in The Next Tech Frontier: What Will Actually Matter?, moderated by Mercs founder Josefiina Kotilainen, with Jarmo Sareva, Finland’s Ambassador for Creative Industries, and Infosys’s Mona Dash. Technical capability is one part of the picture; investment, regulation, geopolitics and viable business models also determine which developments change industries. The panel will examine the signals worth watching over the next few years, including where Finland and Europe could lead.

The pace of progress, seen through our work

The afternoon approaches technological change through the work of building businesses, making decisions and leading through uncertainty—questions that concern students, founders, employees and executives alike. It opens with a short UNICEF Finland film, Skills for Tomorrow: Girls Shaping the Future.

Accenture’s Neeta Nagar and Vivicta CEO Satu Kiiskinen bring decades of experience in technology and business transformation. Neeta’s keynote, What if keeping up with AI is the wrong goal?, looks at how individuals, leaders and organisations can prepare for continuous change, and why readiness starts with getting the foundations right. In Ambition has no straight path, Satu shares why an unconventional route into tech leadership can become a superpower in the age of AI.

In Showcasing the Next Wave, founders Taina Pereenniemi (PremiumOps.ai) and Nea Harjanne (Kreia) will share what they’re building, in a session moderated by Epicenter’s Joey Bayer.

Joey will also moderate FOBO and Technostress: Performance Under Constant Change, with Knowit’s Elina Ojala and Accenture’s Mari Laukkanen and Google’s Carina Hedberg. The discussion examines how fear of becoming obsolete and sustained mental overload affect decisions, innovation and performance. How do we create room for experimentation without exhausting people? How can organisations build adaptability without making employees feel permanently replaceable?

These questions reach beyond job titles. We all make choices that influence how technology is used and how people experience change.

Room to connect

The deep dives give participants different ways to engage with the day’s themes.

Tieto and Flow Festival will explore inclusive AI and design through a practical case. Knowit will invite participants to challenge assumptions shaping technology’s future, while Infosys will examine AI’s uneven impact in a virtual session.

Later, TEK will bring research and discussion on equal pay, working rights and job negotiations. Femcode Collective will guide participants from an idea to a prototype in Learn to Vibe Code in 45 Minutes.

We’ve also made time for lunch, partner booths and conversations between sessions. With people from across disciplines, companies and career stages in the room, there will be plenty to ask each other.

Explore the full programme and registration details. The Forum takes place on 22 October 2026 at Wanha Satama, Helsinki, and is free for WiT community members. The main-stage programme will also be livestreamed.