EIT Manufacturing brings Manufacturing Day 2023 to Vienna

News

09/06/2023

Manufacturing

The next 10 years will bring more change than the previous 100 years. For the third time, “Manufacturing Day” brought important representatives of the industry to discuss this evolution as an integral part of ViennaUP’23.

Manufacturing Day was once again held in Vienna as part of ViennaUP’23. The third edition of the EIT Manufacturing ecosystem event provided a networking platform for the European manufacturing industry. The aim was not only to promote the domestic industry, but also to bring international players from the sector to Vienna. Under the theme “Green is the new black – From Smokestacks to Sustainability”, more than 200 people came to the Austrian capital for panel discussions, matchmaking, and keynotes.

Three revolutions for the manufacturing industry

The two keynotes by futurist Gerd Leonhard and economist Mariana Mazzucato were highlights of the event. In his opening speech, Leonhard presented his thesis that the next ten years will bring more change than the past 100 years. The reason for this, he said, are the three revolutions currently taking place: the digital, the sustainability, and the purpose revolutions. These transformations affect the whole of society and by extension the manufacturing sector. “Especially the further development of manufacturing technologies will move into this direction. Sustainability is the biggest factor here,” Leonhard explained.

Innovation as a key driver of the green transformation

Mariana Mazzucato virtually joined the event to speak about the green transformation of the manufacturing industry, how innovation needs to be encouraged and promoted, and how the collaboration between the private and the public sector needs to be re-designed to achieve this goal. After her speech, Mazzucato joined the panel discussion with Michael Friedl (Advantage Austria) and Werner Wutscher (New Venture Scouting).

Innovative start-ups pitch for cash prizes and business support

A total of nine international start-ups from the manufacturing industry were introduced on the Manufacturing Day stage. They competed in front on an expert jury in the BoostUp! East 2023 pitching competition. In addition to cash prizes, the Vienna Business Agency also sponsored a special award for the start-up with the most sustainable solution. The winners of the competition were also awarded business support and mentoring, receiving a coaching session in business development and networking.

EIT Manufacturing proudly presents the winners of BoostUp! East 2023:

1st Place: 7LYTIX

2nd Place: Inovec Technology

3rd Place: Holloid

Special award for the most sustainable solution by the Vienna Business Agency: Holloid

Other participating startups:

- CYRKL

At the same time, the Discover Vienna: Manufacturing Edition 2023 programme took place in the first week of ViennaUP’23. The programme, organised by EIT Manufacturing East and the Vienna Business Agency, aims to bring international start-ups to Vienna to connect them with the local ecosystem. Over the course of the week, 14 start-ups were introduced to corporations and participated in networking events like Connect Day and Manufacturing Day.