In cooperation with the Silicon Austria Labs, the Silicon Alps Cluster opened the gates to EBSCON – the matchmaking event for the EBS and ICT industry in Congress Graz. The Software Internet Cluster organized a joint bus trip to the top-class event on November 3rd, which offered numerous opportunities to network within the tech industry and to listen to exciting keynotes.
On Wednesday, November 3rd at 6:45 am, the SIC Crew started their trip to the EBSCON in Graz. When they arrived in Graz, the first welcome coffee was served in the Congress House and the top-class B2Match event of the Silicon Alps Cluster in cooperation with the Silicon Austria Labs could start.
EBSCON 2021
The opening was held in the Steiermark-Saal in the Congress, where Andreas Starzacher, Managing Director of the SAC, opened the event and at the same time announced his successor, Robert Gfrerer, and asked him to take the stage. Among other things, Regional Councilor Barbara Eibinger-Miedl and KWF Board Member Erhard Juritsch were an integral part of the opening ceremony and shared their experiences and assessments of the development of the regional technical branch with the audience.
Trend researcher and book author (Our Fucking Future) Tristan Horx about megatrends and future perspectives
Tristan Horx started as the first keynote speaker followed by an interview about future trends and how technology will guide our future society. He shared his vision of upcoming megatrends, sustainability models, the generation and talent gap and the interplay between technology and society. He also appealed to companies in particular to devote more attention to climate change and gave impetus for sustainable technology concepts.
Society 5.0
f.l.: Michael Jerne, Horst Pfluegl, Stefan Finkbeiner, Verena Vescoli and Markus Pistauer about Society 5.0
The first TECH-TALK went a little deeper into the subject of Society 5.0. Experienced entrepreneurs such as Stefan Finkbeiner (EPOSS), Verena Vescoli (ams AG), SIC Advisory Board member Markus Pistauer (CISC), Michael Jerne and Horst Pfluegl (AVL) took part in the discussion on how EBS technologies can become intelligent, sustainable and networked social condition of the future. The audience was also included in the discussion via Feedbackr.
Lunch and B2B-Meeting Sessions
After the first half time of the event all participants were invited to the lavish buffet and the B2Match matchmaking sessions, supported by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). At the B2B meetings, slots for the Silicon Austria Lounge could be booked for 20 minutes per conversation partner in advance when registering.
Tech 4 Green, AI and Cyber Security
In the second half, high-level panels also raised questions about how green transformation can be achieved using EBS, intelligent systems and edge AI can help win the sustainability game for our future and how we can better protect our future with electronic and secure systems can.
Bright Future and Young Talents
The shortage of skilled workers was then briefly discussed and the opportunities that need to be offered to young talents in order to better face the situation. In the final discussion round, Markus Tomaschitz (HR AVL), Martin Neubauer (WIFI Steiermark), Almina Besic (JKU Linz) and Simon Löwy (Skilltree) asked what skills are needed for a bright future with young talents for the EBS industry needs and how they can get excited about it.
Cozy Conclusion
Afterwards, all SIC members were invited to a cozy end with food and drinks in the Landhauskeller Graz, in order to talk in a well-known and closer circle about the various topics and of course to revive the network factor within the cluster.
We would like to thank our members and of course the organizers and cooperation partners for the great networking opportunity and keynotes. We look forward to our next visit.
With cross-border greetings from the SIC!
