Join us as we celebrate the 10th edition of Industry meets Makers.
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Best of IMM | May 7, 2026 | 4:00 p.m. | Vienna City Hall
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After five months of intensive collaboration, Industry meets Makers reaches an important milestone: its 10th anniversary edition. Best of IMM brings together representatives from cities, established companies, startups and the wider innovation community to reflect on this year’s projects, share practical lessons learned, and explore how meaningful collaboration can create real-world impact.
The event takes place at Vienna City Hall (Rathaus)
Lichtenfelsgasse 2, 1010 Vienna, staircase 2, 1st floor | main rooms: “Wappensaalgruppe”
(If you'd like to take the elevator, please use staircase 8 instead.)
Best of IMM is organized by the City of Vienna – Department of Economic Affairs, Labour and Statistics, EIT Manufacturing East, Industry meets Makers, SAPIE, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Platform Industry 4.0 Austria, accent Incubator and Vienna Business Agency within the Twin City Hub, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg Slovakia–Austria program + the strong support of many further partners (see below).
We warmly welcome everyone interested in innovation, cross-sector collaboration and shaping the future together!
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What to expect
Insights from the 10th edition of Industry meets Makers
Practical lessons from cross-sector collaboration
Direct exchange with industry partners and makers
Drinks, snacks and inspiring conversations
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Program at a glance
4:00 - 4:15 p.m.: Arrival and welcome
4:15 - 4:30 p.m.: Opening remarks by organizers and partners
4:30 - 5:45 p.m.: Project result pitches
5:45 - 9:00 p.m.: Networking and community exchange
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Good to know
Admission is free, so we encourage early registration!
A shuttle service from Bratislava to Vienna will be available for guests traveling from Slovakia starting at 1:30 p.m. from the Slovak University of Technology’s Rectorate, Vazovova 5, 811 07 Bratislava
The nearest subway station is the “U2 Rathaus” (2 min. walk)
The nearest parking options are ”Tiefgarage Rathausquartier”, Rathausstraße 1, 1010 Vienna and ”BOE Garage Rathauspark”, Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna
Speakers
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Moderators, Initiators & Supporters
Thom Kunz
Smile-IT & IoT Austria
The “Voice of IMM”
LinkedIn
Markus Kleinfercher
EIT Manufacturing East
Senior Project Manager
LinkedIn
Sandra Stromberger
Industry meets Makers
Founder & CEO
LinkedIn
Dominik Karner
City of Vienna – Economy, Labor, and Statistics
Advisor on Economic and Innovation Strategy 2030
LinkedIn
Michael Schwantzer
Vienna Business Agency
Technology Expert for Production and Manufacturing Technologies
LinkedIn
Prof. Franz Fidler
University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
Head of Faculty
LinkedIn
Nilufar Mokhtari
EU Förderagentur
Program Coordinator & Program Manager
Interreg Slovakia Austria
LinkedIn
Miloš Blaščák, PhD
Chilli Muffin
CEO
LinkedIn
Team
Emma Tóthová, Marcela Šuvadová, Peter Bernát, Adam Mäsiar, Kristína Magurová, Barbora Moravíková, Romana Prokešová, Pavol Salaj, David Smolinský
Marek Drnzík
BeKa Software
Branch Manager Slovakia LinkedIn
Srdjan Kupresanin
Blockstruct
Founder
LinkedIn
Nikola Zrnić
Blockstruct
Full Stack Developer
LinkedIn
Michal Šaštinský
BatteryCheck
CEO
LinkedIn
Team
Lukas Kirmann, Markus Fink, Toni Inurean, Henry Pfeiffer and Ahmad Alsayad
Susanne Formanek
GRÜNSTATTGRAU and RENOWAVE
Board of Directors and
Co-Founder
LinkedIn
Elisabeth Leitner
GRÜNSTATTGRAU and RENOWAVE
Project Management
LinkedIn
Michelle Jane Dote
University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
Elena Hausner
IMC Krems
Elin Holmqvist
University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
Johannes Spitzer
Science UAS Burgenland
Patrick Awart
IoT Austria & Mariahilfer i
President
LinkedIn
Clemens Mayer
smander.com
Founder and Manager
LinkedIn
Assoc. Prof. Katarína Remeňová
Ekonomická Univerzita v Bratislave
Vice-Dean of the Faculty for International Accreditation and Public Relations
LinkedIn
Daniel Fock
University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
Michael Maier
City of Vienna – Wien Digital
GPC1 – Innovation Lab
IoT Expert and Business Analyst
Team
Laila Gruber, Magdalena Schreivogl, Dominik Steurer, Hubert Eßletzbichler, Bernhard Radakovits and Ralf Hörhager
Team
Sviatoslav Sarov and Danylo Yaryna
Jona Jožef Zeichen
University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
Lukas Pesendorfer
University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
Team
Fatih Simsek, Mathias Holzinger, Emre Kaygisiz and Tobias Schuster
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Upcoming
Héctor Villeda
LeveX Robotics
Founder & CEO
LinkedIn
Gerald Thorsten Pögl
Hunter ID MemoryBlock
Founder
LinkedIn
Organizers
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Bernhard Schmid
Vienna Business Agency
Team Lead Digital Economy
LinkedIn
Peter Kuen
EIT Manufacturing East
Manager Austria & Government Relations
LinkedIn
Katarina Bendikova
EIT Manufacturing East
Project Management
LinkedIn
Daniel Paunovic
EIT Manufacturing East
Business Development and Innovation Manager
LinkedIn
Jaroslav Bukovina
SAPIE - Slovak Alliance for Innovation Economy
Innovation Policy Expert
LinkedIn
Michal Číž,
SAPIE - Slovak Alliance for Innovation Economy
Program Director
LinkedIn
Assoc. Prof. Milan Husar, PhD
Spectra Centre of Excellence of the EU, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava
LinkedIn
Assoc prof. Matej Jaššo, PhD, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava
LinkedIn
Réka Dancsecs
accent Incubator
Project Manager
LinkedIn
Julia Maria Bauer
accent Incubator
Project Manager
LinkedIn
Denise Branz
Platform Industry 4.0
Senior Project Manager
LinkedIn
Our #IMM2025/26 partners
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TWIN CITY HUB Project Partners
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Supporters & Network Partners
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Maker Brands
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Briefing Partners
As of July 1, 2024, Industry meets Makers has become part of the Twin City Future Innovation Manufacturing Hub (2C FIMH) – a cross-border initiative aimed at driving innovation, fostering collaboration, and promoting sustainable growth in the manufacturing sector across Austria and Slovakia. The project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the Interreg Slovakia-Austria program. Learn more