On 3 October, 60 corporates and 25 international and national startups came together to drive open innovation. Startups meet Industry – an inspiring event brought together young founders from all over Europe with local industry and business to present their innovative companies, products and services.
The welcome words were given by Stefan Koch, Rector of Johannes Kepler University, and Jochen Borenich, Managing Director of K-Businesscom (a member of the Cancom Group). Provincial Minister for Economic Affairs Achleitner emphasized that "Upper Austria is the location where research, teaching and innovation are combined and where companies emerge from them" and opened the event.
The panel discussions offered insights from Reinhard Schwendtbauer (Board Member of RLB Upper Austria), Stefanie Lindstaedt (Founding President of the Institute of Digital Sciences Austria) and Michael Wimmer (Young Economy) about the flourishing startup ecosystem in Upper Austria and the contribution of their institutions to the promotion of the startup scene.
Hannes Hunschovsky, Managing Director of EIT Manufacturing, and Werner Pamminger, Managing Director of Business Upper Austria, shared their perspectives in another round of discussions, moderated by Sara Grasel, Press Spokesperson of the Federation of Austrian Industries.
The international pitching session in the morning enabled fourteen international startups to present their innovative products and services. During the lunch break, intensive matchmaking took place in the meeting zone, where corporates and startups made valuable contacts.
The afternoon began with a captivating panel discussion, moderated by Tanja Spennlingwimmer, Head of Business Unit for Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property and Deep Technologies. Alice Godderidge (CEO Poloplast GmbH) and Daniel Höller (Co-Founder qapture) gave insights into the successful cooperation between corporates and startups, and Raphael Friedl (Managing Director tech2b) explained the dos and don'ts for startups when cooperating with corporates.
This outstanding event was organized by tech2b, PIER 4, Business Upper Austria in cooperation with EIT Manufacturing, K-Businesscom (member of the Cancom Group), and the JKU Open Innovation Center.
Upper Austria is growing as an innovation hub in Europe and offers a fruitful platform for valuable partnerships between startups and established companies. Open innovation is the key to fostering growth and competitiveness.
You can find more photos at: Cityfoto.at
Photos: (c) Richard Haidinger / Cityfoto
