Europe’s largest, decentralized start-up festival is in the starting blocks again this year: ViennaUP’23 starts on May 30th and runs until June 7th. This is not just a single major event, but a whole series of exciting events. Here visitors can get to know a number of promising topics better. This includes the latest developments in Smart City, FinTech, Investors, Creative Industries, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Female Entrepreneurship, Crypto and Diversity & Inclusion. The Smart City topic is particularly important for the future of the city. We show which events the ViennaUP’23 offers in this area.
“Vienna is considered a global pioneer when it comes to smart cities. We have a clear strategy in which the concerns and ideas of the city dwellers, but also the impulses from business, technology and research are brought under a common goal. The Smart City Vienna wants to become a ‘digitization capital’ in Europe! With openness and interest in new technologies that provide valuable services to all people in our city and at the same time help us to protect the environment and climate. To this end, we are developing our infrastructures with foresight. We also need smart solutions that really make life easier for everyone,” explains Vienna Mayor and Governor Michael Ludwig.
Vienna has the chance to become the ideal example for the Smart City of tomorrow. After all, the metropolis is repeatedly declared the city with the highest quality of life in the world. Vienna also regularly receives top marks as a smart city, for example in the Smart City Strategy Index, where the city even took first place in 2019. In the future, the city intends to maintain this status through innovative concepts. An important aspect of this is sustainability. Modern solutions, especially in the areas of digitization and automation, are in demand.
>> The ViennaUP program can already be found online, individual events can already be booked at
viennaup.com/programme <<<
Smart City SuMMit: First point of contact on the subject of Smart City
The Smart City SuMMit is traditionally the number one contact point for Smart City issues at the ViennaUP. This event, which takes place on Tuesday, June 6th at the Climate Lab Vienna, is all about sustainability and smart city concepts. The Vienna Business Agency event offers visitors a valuable opportunity to learn more about these topics and to network with political decision-makers and experts.
The City of Vienna, Wiener Stadtwerke, Wien Holding, Aspern Smart City Research, Climate Lab and the Vienna Business Agency invite everyone who is interested in shaping the cities of the future to engage in dialogue. Participants can get to know lighthouse projects from Vienna and be inspired by pioneers from all over the world.
More information at: https://viennabusinessagency.at/events/smart-city-summit-2023-1584/
Travel & Smart Cities EXPO 4
Another important Smart City event is the Travel & Smart Cities EXPO 4, which will take place on Thursday 1 June at the AirportCity Space in Schwechat. The organizer is the global innovation platform Plug and Play, whose goal is to bring together large companies, world-class startups and investors.
At the Travel & Smart Cities EXPO 4, visitors can experience how companies, start-ups and experts are changing the future of Travel & Smart Cities in Europe and beyond. You can see impressive presentations of pilot projects, reports on technical trends, panel discussions and much more.
More information at: https://viennaup.com/programme/expo-day-travel-smart-cities-i-plug-and-play-vienna
1MillionStartups: The SDG road in Metaverse
Smart cities must of course be strongly digitally networked. A major future technology is the Metaverse, and the ViennaUP’23 doesn’t sleep with this trend. The 1MillionStartups Global Conference on Tuesday 6th June will offer a virtual experience for entrepreneurs and innovators committed to sustainable development goals. In the virtual world, everything revolves around the “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs).
At the Metaverse conference, attendees will find capacity-building sessions for impact entrepreneurs while connecting virtually like never before. No matter where in the world interested people are located, they can participate in the 1MillionStartups experience. Sessions will include topics such as Gender Equality (in partnership with Womentor), Impact Investing and more.
More information at: https://www.1millionstartups.com/
Salon Future: Connecting Startup Ecosystems
Of course, a smart city needs innovations – which often come from promising startups. Cities must therefore offer a good climate for young companies in order to continue to prove themselves as real start-up and innovation hubs in the future. The Vienna Business Agency also knows this and is therefore organizing the Salon Future on Wednesday, June 7th. It is a platform for city officials, experts and organizations dedicated to building and supporting startup ecosystems in their cities.
Visitors can share their experiences, challenges and solutions with like-minded people from other cities. During the event, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in panel discussions, breakout sessions, and networking. Among other things, this involves the establishment of entrepreneurial communities, the settlement of international startups and the implementation of measures to promote the growth of startups. Speakers will include experienced ecosystem developers and policy makers who have successfully built thriving startup communities in their regions.
More information at: https://viennabusinessagency.at/events/salon-future-1582/
Mobility in Action
Modern mobility is also an essential part of a sustainable and smart city. This is the topic of Mobility in Action, an event that will take place on Tuesday, June 6th in the ÖBB Open Innovation Factory. In the middle of the new co-creation space of the Austrian Federal Railways, visitors can present their mobility ideas and get feedback from established companies, startups, representatives of the public sector, scientists and other participants.
The organizer Community creates Mobility will provide the broad knowledge of its community in order to design future-oriented mobility solutions. The event promises valuable discussions at eye level, important feedback from different perspectives and the opportunity for new partnerships.
More information at: https://viennaup.com/programme/mobility-in-action