Credit: The Dots
The European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL) in Luxembourg-Kirchberg hosted the TNT Symposium 2024 last week.
With the overarching "Back to the future" theme, this year’s edition, held on Tuesday 19 November 2024, brought together thought leaders, visionaries and enthusiasts to celebrate the journey of technology and envision its future, noted organisers The Dots.
The event began with a welcome from Kamel Amroune, CEO of The Dots, and Laurent Couturier, CIO of Armacell and THECIO24, and the Master of Ceremony. The latter welcomed the first two experts to the stage for a journey through the history of technology. Emmanuel Lazard, associate professor of computer science at Paris-Dauphine-PSL University, and Pierre Mounier-Kuhn, historian at CNRS and at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, offered insight into the evolution of technology, revisiting its early days and challenging common myths. They highlighted how innovation has continuously reshaped our world.
After this exploration of the past, Dr Maxime Derian, researcher, consultant, entrepreneur and co-founder of Technoréalisme.org, transported attendees into the future. Drawing on examples from science fiction such as Blade Runner, Mad Max and Terminator, he explored visions of the future and raised critical questions about the environment, resources and the technological challenges of tomorrow.
Maxime Derian was then joined by Emmanuel Lazard and Pierre Mounier-Kuhn for a roundtable, moderated by Laurent Couturier. Together, they explored how not all innovations become transformative, highlighting the potential of revisiting past ideas for solutions like enhanced internet security. They also discussed the unique position of the Grand Duchy, emphasising the importance of agility, collaboration and leveraging both past and future innovations to accelerate technological development, despite its size constraints. As Emmanuel Lazard said: "Today, we often look to the past, but too often with the intention of returning to it rather than using it as a source of inspiration to shape the future. I would be cautious about focusing too much on the past, even though Pierre and I hold it in high regard, not to draw ideas from it, but to better envision the future."
Also on the agenda was a "What if" session, led by students from Luxembourg Tech School (LTS). With their youthful creativity, they transported attendees to 2055, exploring today's hot tech trends through the lens of a future generation, sparking reflections on the responsible use of technology and its impact on human connections.
The day transitioned into an evening of networking and celebration, starting with a cocktail reception and followed by a seated dinner. During the dinner, the awards ceremony honored exceptional achievements in the tech world.
NTT Data was named Tech Firm of the Year, succeeding LuxProvide. According to The Dots, this recognition highlights NTT Data's role as a driving force of innovation, emobodying the four pillars of HITS: Human, Inspiration, Technology and Sustainability.
Dataspace4Health received the TechForLife award for its impactful use of technology to address sustainability and societal challenges. Last year's winner was Digital Learning Hub.
Moreover, Eric Mansuy, CIO of Quintet Private Bank was crowned THECIO2025, following in the footsteps of Vincent Arnal (2022), Laurent Pulinckx (2023) and Laurent Couturier (2024). This announcement was made during one of the three surprise shows performed by Les Frères Colle.
The celebration continued with a lively Proximus NXT after-party.
