For volunteers

We cannot do this all on our own so we need all the extra hands we can get, without all our volunteers, there would be no festival!

Iceland Innovation Week is a festival celebrating and showcasing innovation in all sectors, startups, investors, scaleups, innovative corporates & public institutions.

The festival is two-fold:

  1. Partner side events: so it is decentralised, so our partners host their own side events that can take place anywhere, from a startup office to Harpa to Nauthólsvík 🎉

  2. IIW official program: And then we curate our own Iceland Innovation Week official program that will take place in Kolaportid 12-16th May 2025 ✨

Volunteer perks:

  • Get to know the innovation scene in Iceland 🤝🏽

  • 1 festival pass that gives access to the full Iceland Innovation Week program 🎉

  • Free food while volunteering from:

  • Opportunity to connect with lots of interesting people, the startup ecosystem, corporates, investors both Icelandic and international 🔓

  • Work experience 💼

  • Possibility for a recommendation letter📝

Volunteer stories

Nathalia Bardales

My name is Nathalia Bardales I volunteered at the Innovation week to meet new people and be involved in tech industry events 💻

After volunteering for Iceland Innovation Week, my self esteem increase as I gained exposure among tech corporations but also expanded my connection circle. Not to mention that I developed deep friendships 💜

Humair Kazi

I am delighted to share my positive experience volunteering during Iceland Innovation Week 2023. Being a part of IIW 2023 was truly enriching. I had the opportunity to actively engage with participants, assisting in event coordination, and, most importantly, experience firsthand innovative ideas while establishing strong connections with organizers, fellow volunteers, and creative innovators 🤝

In sharing my thanks, I want to express genuine and deep appreciation to Karitas and Guðfinna for their invaluable support and guidance, significantly enhancing my volunteering experience. I eagerly look forward to collaborating with them again in 2024 🎉

Michelle Spinei

I volunteered for Iceland Innovation Week in 2022 because I attended the Slush conference in Helsinki a few years ago and it was an incredible experience. I was excited that Iceland had its own international startup conference and wanted to help out.

The team at Iceland Innovation Week was so welcoming and gave me room to pick and choose parts of the festival to work on. It was a week of meeting exciting people, listening to presentations by leaders in business, and being  inspired by the creativity and innovation on display. The highlight was attending the after party with the other volunteers, standing on a rooftop in Grandi watching the sun set and feeling like after a week of activity that we all accomplished something great 🙌

FAQs

  • Iceland Innovation Week is a festival that celebrates and showcases innovation, taking place at the end of May every year.

    Events ranging from panel discussions and company visits to happy hours and an icy ocean dip are held in locations in Reykjavík throughout the week.

    That means that not only founders and startups but also larger companies and public institutions participate. Our aim is to increase the visibility of the innovation sector, create a platform where knowledge can be shared, and become a vibrant, international marketing window.

  • We take your interests and strengths into account but we are a small team so we need all hands on deck during the week as on-site event management.

  • As much as we want to fly all of you over and accommodate you, we simply can’t. But if you are coming from abroad we cover the transport from the airport via flybus.

  • Since we are a small team we are always happy to have extra hands on deck helping us make Iceland Innovation Week the best it can be.

    It is simple.. Each day is 3 slots and the festival runs for 5 days, sign-up for 3 slots and get a festival pass to attend IIW Takeover day, Ok, bye climate summit, Silicon Vikings and Final party!

  • To find out if you need a visa, click here.

  • Of course you can!

    Below you can see which of us you need to stay in contact with.

If you have any thoughts or questions don’t hesitate to reach out to:

karitas@innovationweek.is - The Event Manager

gudfinna@innovationweek.is - The Marketing Manager