Martin Zandonella – Chairman of the UBIT Expert Group (CoC)

“The dropouts in bachelor’s degrees are particularly painful because they are lost to IT,” warns Martin Zandonella. The lack of vacancies is reflected in an annual loss of added value of 4.2 billion euros – or 175,000 euros per vacant position. Even now, companies can only fill an average of 75 percent of their vacant IT positions.

“Education and high qualifications are the basic element for a career in IT. That’s exactly why it’s time to reform it and reduce the drop-out rates,” Zandonella demands. In addition, alternative ways into IT must be promoted quickly, such as other entry options. In Carinthia, these are, for example, an IT apprenticeship or the DUALE AKADEMIE for high school graduates and university dropouts.

Marc Gfrerer – SIC President und Spokesman of the IT Professional Group of the UBIT Expert Group (CoC)

Dual Academy

“With the Dual Academy, Carinthia offers a promising alternative for high school graduates and university dropouts for an uncomplicated entry into the IT industry,” says Marc Gfrerer. The new training format has also been offered in Carinthia since 2022 and in addition to Application Development / Coding, now also offers the trainee program for IT System Technology starting from autumn 2023. By the way, we are still looking for interested training companies!

Orientation Platform – IT CARINTHIA

“With initiatives such as the new orientation platform IT-KAERNTEN-AT, Carinthia now also offers a uniform guide for the various paths into the local IT industry and thus also makes a significant contribution to the promotion of new IT specialists at the business location,” Gfrerer continues.

Are you an ambitious startup with a scalable product? PODIM offers you the right spotlight and connects you with global and regional investors, business partners and companies. The main focus of this year’s PODIM is on Deep Tech Startups, typically in the areas of software or connected hardware.

In addition to a significant boost in visibility and numerous business opportunities, PODIM offers the opportunity to learn from successful entrepreneurs, investors and technology experts from all over the world and to exchange experiences.

… as an Entrepreneur / IT Specialist

Present your area of responsibility as an entrepreneur or employee in the IT industry and tell us why you value working in IT so much and why you chose this career.

… as an Apprentice / Trainee in the IT industry

Give us an insight into your instructive everyday work in the IT industry and tell us why you value your apprenticeship or training in IT so much and why you can advise others to do the same.

Cyber attack on the state of Carinthia 2022

Large-scale phishing attack. In spring 2022, cybercriminals attacked the IT systems of the state of Carinthia, encrypted data and demanded a ransom. In the course of our focus talk, our top-class experts will explain exactly how this happened, what lessons were learned from it and how to protect yourself against such attacks from the Internet in the future.

IT Security Expert Holger Schmitz will moderate the question and answer session. Learnings and fields of action are discussed together and examined more closely.

Focustalk – IT Security

When: Tuesday, 21st March 2023, 01:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Where: WIFI Klagenfurt, Europaplatz 1, EG, Raum B001 (Orangerie)
Moderation: Holger SCHMITZ, Head of the Focusgroup for  IT-Security in the Software Internet Cluster

Holger Schmitz – Head of the ExpertsGroup IT-Security and Head of the IT-Security Focusgroup in the Software Internet Cluster

Mag. Harald BRUNNER, Head of IT for the State of Carinthia

There are always different groups that carry out cyber attacks with the appropriate know-how and criminal energy and try to get money by extortion. These attacks occur on an almost daily basis with varying degrees of success, and there have been countless attacks and data thefts at government agencies, hospitals, communities – even agencies specializing in law enforcement in recent years.

In the IT security focus talk, our external expert Mag. Harald BRUNNER, head of IT for the State of Carinthia, reports on his experiences and gives recommendations for preventive measures: WHAT do you need to know to protect yourself? WHAT can be done if it does happen? WHO is responsible for what?

Experienced entrepreneur and SIC Startup spokeswoman Marion Kanalz, Co-Founder and COO of MOVEVO Technologies GmbH

As part of the initiative of our focus group with our new spokeswoman for startups and successful entrepreneur, Marion Kanalz, Co-Founder and COO of MOVEVO Technologies GmbH, we organized our regulars’ table for young entrepreneurs to incorporate ideas and suggestions from our future generation of entrepreneurs to share future paths with like-minded people.

“We are convinced that the best way to cope with the ups and downs of being a founder is through personal exchange in a strong network, useful information and perseverance.”

For this purpose, we met in the Augustin beer house, in a cozy atmosphere, informal dialogue and a refreshing after-work drink, to discuss common ideas, current pain points and opportunities for cooperation.

In addition to our participating SIC members, we were also joined by important representatives of the Carinthian startup scene, such as Alexander Mann, initiator of Startup Carinthia, Sandra Moschitz from build! Gründerzentrum and Florian Kornek-Goritschnig, startup representative of the Carinthia Chamber of Commerce’s start-up service.

build! Business Incubator

The Carinthian incubator acts as a competence, support and development center for technology-oriented, knowledge-based and scalable start-up projects, scale-up projects by young companies and offers support in the project development of regional opportunities with high potential for technology-oriented and knowledge-based start-ups or scale-up processes with regional added value.

Startup Carinthia

Startup Carinthia is a network of startups and alumni startups from the region. They pursue a common goal: to bring all the players from the Carinthian startup-ecosystem and the alps adriatic region together. With their principle „startups help startups“ the aim is to support new startups, provide connection to key players and stakeholders in the scene, share know-how with the community and contribute towards further developing the startup ecosystem.

CoC – Startup Service

In cooperation with numerous platforms, funding opportunities, online tools and start-up initiatives, the start-up service offers the necessary knowledge for entrepreneurial success.

see:PORT

see:PORT sees itself as a space for innovation, thought, work and co-creation. With around 500 m², it is the largest open and actively managed work and innovation space in southern Austria and is located directly on the beautiful Wörthersee lake. see:PORT offers a top infrastructure and organizes numerous events throughout the year – including formats such as the Start(up)-Friday, Entrepreneurship Evening, Think Time, Innovation Breakfast, expert workshops and investor circles.

Marc Gfrerer – SIC President und Spokesman of the IT Professional Group of the UBIT Expert Group (CoC)

Not just for IT professionals!

In general it is important to keep an eye on trends and future technologies, not only in the software and IT industry. In the course of our focus talk, we do not primarily deal with the practical implementation, but deal with the potential, possibilities and application scenarios of AI in Sales and Marketing.

“During our focus talks, we always try to discuss new and interesting topics with experts. Artificial intelligence is not the future, but the present! Aside from the large tech companies, SMEs can now also use this technology at low cost. It therefore pays off to take a closer look at the current possibilities in the field of AI and to seize the opportunities,” says Marc Gfrerer.

Missed our Focus Talk?

No problem, we got you covered. You can also find the recording of our focus talk with our experts in our Member Area.

DI Bernd Buchegger – Founder and Managing Director of trinitec IT Solutions & Consulting GmbH and Leader of our Focus Group Digital Sales

As an expert in Digital Sales, Bernd Buchegger deals with trends and innovations in Digital Sales and eCommerce and supports the implementation of professional automation solutions for digital business processes.

In order to create a common basis for our focus talk, Bernd Buchegger first explained the rapid growth in relation to technologies relating to performance (MOORE), storage (KRYDER) and networks (BUTTERS). These developments have made artificial intelligence possible in the first place and have produced successful projects such as openAI GPT-3, a natural language processor (NLP) for text creation, or DALL-E, an AI capable of generating images based on textual descriptions. One of the best-known AIs is the chatbot LaMDA, which is speculated to be able to develop its own AI.

Mag Livia Rainsberger is the Managing Director of WISSENCE, an experienced sales consultant, keynote speaker, FH lecturer at the FH Vienna and a successful author.

So how to use these technologies for business then? Our experienced expert for digital transformation supports sales organizations in their management and development of innovative sales models and new approaches with practical know-how, targeted analyzes and new sales methods.

“AI is not the future!
AI has long been part of our lives.”

As users and consumers, intelligent algorithms have already become an integral part of our everyday lives, although 63% of consumers are not aware of it. Then why not in our company? Regardless of the size of a company, everyone has the opportunity to benefit from the use of AI and build business models on it. Landscapes of Austrian AI solutions illustrate the range of tools and opportunities for companies in every industry. As a decision-maker in sales or as a manager, you do not need to understand how this technology works in detail. It is important to recognize the potential of AI for your own business.

At the entrance to MAKERSPACE Carinthia on November 15th at around 5:00 p.m. it became clear – safety is the top priority here. The participants were welcomed through a corridor consisting of numerous blue uniforms – well protected.

The event was opened by IT Security Expert Group spokesman and SIC Focus Group Leader Holger Schmitz, who also hosted the event as an IT expert. In the course of the opening ceremony, President of the Chamber of Commerce Jürgen Mandl, Provincial Councilor Sebastian Schuschnig and Chairman of the UBIT Expert Group Martin Zandonella shared their experiences and assessments of cybercrime in the technical and economic environment.

From 2020 to 2021 alone, incidents involving ransomware doubled in Austria. “This is an extremely challenging development for the economy and we have to learn how to deal with these new dangers,” says CoC President Jürgen Mandl. The Cyber Security Night creates awareness of the dangers and shows loopholes for hackers.

Major General Wolfgang Rauchegger from the Carinthian State Police Headquarters reported that in Carinthia a lot is being invested in crime prevention and in crime fighting and digital forensics.

Digitization has changed criminals and police work. Specially trained “Cybercops” take care of law enforcement and follow even the smallest digital traces.

f.l.: Chairman of the UBIT Expert Group Martin Zandonella, President of the Chamber of Commerce Jürgen Mandl, Major General Wolfgang Rauchegger and Provincial Councilor Sebastian Schuschnig

The size of the company is no longer relevant for hackers. One-person businesses and smaller businesses are now also being attacked. CI Christian Baumgartner from the Carinthia State Criminal Police Office, DI Christina Schindlauer from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, and Holger Schmitz and Markus Leeb from the Expert Group IT-Security shared tips on how to protect yourself and your business.

Funding model – “Start with Security”

As part of the low-threshold funding model, entrepreneurs have the opportunity, in cooperation with UBIT Service Providers and Consultants from the IT Security Expert Group, to apply for funding for investments, advice and training for employees in the field of IT security.

Cyber Security Hotline

Fast help if the worst comes to the worst: The Carinthian Chamber of Commerce has set up its own emergency hotline for companies affected by cybercrime and IT Security Experts are available with advice and action.

Online Advisory: IT-SAFE

Here you will find all information on SME cybersecurity funding, guides, checklists and current information on the subject of cybersecurity in companies.

Experienced entrepreneur and SIC Startup spokeswoman Marion Kanalz, Co-Founder and COO of MOVEVO Technologies GmbH

Our focus group spokeswoman Marion knows the beginnings and the challenging path as a young entrepreneur. In May 2021, Marion founded MOVEVO Technologies GmbH together with 4 other team members, which develops digital tools to playfully bring more movement into everyday life and was nominated for this year’s HR Award in the Newcomer of the Year category.

Marion has many years of practical experience in the startup and digital business environment, including the establishment and further development of the IT startup courseticket GmbH and co-organization of the first Entrepreneurship Avenue 2014. Marion gained international experience in the master’s program SIMC – Strategy, Innovation and Management Control at the WU Vienna, as well as in her semesters abroad in the USA and Japan.

“We are convinced that the best way to deal with the ups and downs of being a founder is through personal exchange in a strong network, useful information and to never give up!”

Hacker Attack: From Virtual Threat to Real Danger

This year, the ExpertsGroup IT Security and the KSÖ Kärnten, together with representatives of the LKA and BMI, have taken up the current topic of hacker attacks. The investigations focus on malware, police investigations after cyber attacks and weak points in the company. “We serve specific instructions on how to deal with cybercrime and show how you can best protect your company from attacks”, says Holger Schmitz.

Cyber Security Night VI

When: Tuesday, 15th November 2022, 5 p.m.
Where: Makerspace Carinthia, Lastenstraße 26, Klagenfurt a. W.
Moderation: Holger Schmitz, Head of UBIT Expert Group IT-Security of the Carinthian CoC

Holger Schmitz – speaker for the ExpertsGroup IT Security and head of the Focus Group for IT Security in the Software Internet Cluster

Patrick Struger, BSc – Assistant for International Affairs in the Software Internet Cluster

Our newly certified Assistant for International Affairs Patrick has been supporting SIC member companies since March 2021 when it comes to increasing internationalization activity and being present on the markets of the Alpe-Adria region, for example with the initiation of cross-border projects, connecting to important network partners or supporting business contacts. After a successful journey, there is now a short summary and impressions of the celebratory closing event.

SIC Chairman Ing. Marc Gfrerer and INTA Patrick Struger

As part of our internationalization offensive and increasing the visibility of our members, numerous new contacts were made with promising cooperations at home and abroad, new networking formats and events were co-designed, analyzes for successful market entries were developed as well as organizing theme trips.

The Coaching Program

In the course of the coaching program, our assistant was offered extensive training modules from the Carinthian Economic Development Fund (KWF), numerous opportunities for networking with regional, national and international entrepreneurs at home and abroad.

Various business locations such as Slovenia or Germany were also visited by the assistants, and discussions were held with business delegates from different countries in order to ensure the best possible basis for further and subsequent offensives.

Finally completed with a freshly printed certificate!

f.l.: Simone Kainz (Trigon), Patrick Struger, KWF Project Lead Lisa Smid, KWF Chairman Sandra Venus and Christine Kohlweg-Leidenberger (Trigon) at the award ceremony in MAKERSPACE Carinthia

Developing Personal Strengths

A lot has happened since the kick-off event in March last year at the Seepark Wörthersee Resort. The participants in the program were not only able to continue their education in theory and practice, especially in personal development, conscious perception of their own skills and strengths, the internationalization assistants were accompanied and actively supported and promoted by Trigon Development Consulting as well as by the respective companies.

SIC Chairman Ing. Marc Gfrerer and Patrick Struger at the Kick-Off Event in March 2021 at Seepark Wörthersee Resort