Spin Off Austria
Spin Off Austria

Conference 23. Nov 2021

This year’s Spin-off Austria Conference invites prominent guests to give inspirational key notes, highlights successful founders of Austrian university spin-offs as well as unicorns with close ties to the academia and gives room to the discussions of different stakeholders like investors, university leaders or legal experts to let the audience deep dive into the dos and don’ts of tech transfer. The program will be rounded off by awarding the most entrepreneurial institutions of higher education in Austria.

The Spin-off Initiative invites you to discuss the status quo of the Austrian spin-off landscape. Each year, a different core theme is selected to serve as the focus of the discussions.

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Schedule

morning session
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09:30 am - 09:40 am
Welcome by
Welcome by

Moderated by
Dr. Hermann Hauser (Amadeus Capital Partners)
Mag. Jasmin Güngör (Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH)
Mag. Dejan Jovicevic (Der Brutkasten)

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09:40 am - 10:00 am
Introductory Keynote
Introductory Keynote

Dr. Özlem Türeci (Co-Founder & CMO of BioNTech SE)

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10:00 am - 10:10 am
Q&A-Session: Introductory Keynote
Q&A-Session: Introductory Keynote

Moderator / Özlem Türeci / Audience

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10:10 am - 10:12 am
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Dr. Margarete Schramböck
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Dr. Margarete Schramböck

Federal  Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs

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10:12 am - 10:57 am
Keynotes "Austrian Unicorn Founders"
Keynotes "Austrian Unicorn Founders"

Founder Presentations: 3 Presentations á 15min

Mag. Georg Kopetz (Co-Founder & Member of the Executive Board (CEO) of TTTech Auto AG

Erich Tauber (Founder & CEO of Themis Bioscience)

Wolfgang Platz, MA (Founder & CEO of TRICENTIS)

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10:57 am - 11:12 pm
Q&A-Session: "Austrian Unicorn Founders"
Q&A-Session: "Austrian Unicorn Founders"

Moderator / Founder "Austrian Unicorn Founders" / Audience

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11:12 am - 11:17 am
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler, BA
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler, BA

Federal Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology

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11:17 am - 12:17 pm
Keynotes "Austrian Founder Stories"
Keynotes "Austrian Founder Stories"

Dr. Christian Timmerer (Co-Founder of Bitmovin)

Thomas Fürstner (Founder & CTO of Riddle & Code)

Chiara Greganti, PhD (Co-Founder & Managing Director of VitreaLab)

Dr. med. univ. Jama Nateqi (Founder & CEO of Symptoma)

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12:17 pm - 12:37 pm
Q&A-Session: "Austrian Founder Stories"
Q&A-Session: "Austrian Founder Stories"

Moderator / Founder "Austrian Founder Stories" / Audience

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12:37 pm - 12:43 pm
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinz Fassmann
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinz Fassmann

Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research

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01:15 pm - 01:20 pm
Overview of afternoon sessions & competition of "Spin-Off Austria Klimatickets"
Overview of afternoon sessions & competition of "Spin-Off Austria Klimatickets"

Moderated by
Mag. Jasmin Güngör (Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH)
Mag. Dejan Jovicevic (Der Brutkasten)

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01:20 pm - 01:25 pm
Video Contribution of Dr. Harald Mahrer
Video Contribution of Dr. Harald Mahrer

Dr. Harald Mahrer (President of of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber)

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01:25 pm - 02.10 pm
Panel "Venture Capital for Spin-offs"
Panel "Venture Capital for Spin-offs"

Moderated by Nina Wöss, MSc. (AVCO)
Dr. Hermann Hauser (Co-Founder Amadeus Capital Partners, Vice-Chair EIC  Pilot Advisory Board)
DI Herbert Gartner (Co-Founder & CEO of eQventure)
Lucian Wagner, BSc, MBA (General Partner at Privilege Ventures AG,  Zurich)
Mag. Markus Wanko, MBA, MSc. (Managing Partner at IST cube)

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02:10 pm - 02.20 pm
Slido
Slido

Moderated by
Mag. Jasmin Güngör (Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH)
Mag. Dejan Jovicevic (Der Brutkasten)

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02:20 pm - 02.40 pm
Panel "International Best Practice Examples on Tech Transfer: Boosters & Challenges"
Panel "International Best Practice Examples on Tech Transfer: Boosters & Challenges"

Moderated by Klara Brandstätter, MSc (I.E.C.T. – Hermann Hauser)
Prof. Irit Sagi (The Weizmann Institute of Science)
Ilona Gulchak, MA, MBA (Commercialization Reactor, Latvia)

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02:40 pm - 02:50 pm
Q&A-Session: Panel "International Best Practice Examples on Tech Transfer: Boosters & Challenges"
Q&A-Session: Panel "International Best Practice Examples on Tech Transfer: Boosters & Challenges"

Moderated by Klara Brandstätter, MSc (I.E.C.T. – Hermann Hauser)
Prof. Irit Sagi (The Weizmann Institute of Science)
Ilona Gulchak, MA, MBA (Commercialization Reactor, Latvia)

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02:50 pm - 03:10 pm
Fireside Chat - "The California Way: Turn on, tune in, spin out"
Fireside Chat - "The California Way: Turn on, tune in, spin out"

John Cumbers, Ph.D. (Founder and CEO of SynBioBeta)
Karl Handelsman, MBA, MS (Founder & General Partner of Codon Capital)

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03:10 pm - 03:20pm
Q&A-Session: "The California Way: Turn on, tune in, spin out"
Q&A-Session: "The California Way: Turn on, tune in, spin out"

John  Cumbers, Ph.D. (Founder and CEO of SynBioBeta)
Karl Handelsman, MBA, MS (Founder & General Partner of Codon Capital)

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03:20 pm - 03:50 pm
Panel "Austrian Tech Transfer in Practice"
Panel "Austrian Tech Transfer in Practice"

Moderated by Dr. Sara Matt, RTTP (University of Innsbruck)
Dr. Bernhard Astner  (hba)
Dr. MMag. Jörg Schönbacher (BDO)
Mag. Elmar Pichl (Ministry of Education, Science and Research)

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03:50 pm - 04.30 pm
Panel "Corporate Collaboration with Spin-Offs and Start-Ups"
Panel "Corporate Collaboration with Spin-Offs and Start-Ups"

Moderated by Carina Margreiter, MSc. (aws)
DI Georg List, MBA (AVL)
Clemens Müller (Erste Bank & Sparkasse)
MMag. Daniela Pak-Graf (Merkur Innovation Lab GmbH)

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04:30 pm - 04:40 pm
Presentation: Spin-Off Dashboard Austria
Presentation: Spin-Off Dashboard Austria

Moderated by DI Dr. Ludovit Garzik (Austrian Council)

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04:40 pm - 05:10 pm
Nomination: Leading Austrian Institutions
Nomination: Leading Austrian Institutions

Moderated and awarded by DI Dr. Ludovit Garzik (Austrian Council)

Prior to this conference the most compelling concepts had been nominated by the expert jury consisting of:
Prof. Dr. Carolin Häussler, MBR (University of Passau)
Dipl-Ing. Dr. Sabine Herlitschka, MBA (Infineon Technologies Austria)
Dr. Hermann Hauser (Amadeus Capital Partners)
DI Herbert Gartner (eQventure)

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05:10 pm - 05:20 pm
Final Words
Final Words

Prof. Dr. Christoph Huber (BioNTech)

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afternoon session
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powered by

AVL
BDO Austria Holding Wirtschaftsprüfung GmbH
Erste Bank und Sparkasse
Held Berdnik Astner & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH
Industriellen-Vereinigung
Merkur Versicherung
Wirtschaftskammer Österreich

supported by

Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development
Federal Ministry Republic of Austria Education, Science and Research
Federal Ministry Republic of Austria Digital and Economic Affairs
Federal Ministry Republic of Austria Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology
Erste Bank und Sparkasse
Female Founders
Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft
FWF - Die Wissenschaftsfonds
Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft
Austrian Universities of Technology
Österreichische Universitätenkonferenz
Wiener Boerse
Wirtschaftskammer Österreich
Wissenstransferzentrum

Links

Coming soon...

speakers and panelists

Dr. Hermann Hauser
Co-Founder Amadeus Capital Partners, Vice-Chair EIC Pilot Advisory Board
Chiara Greganti, Ph.D.
CO-Founder & CEO of VitreaLab
Tom Fürstner
Founder & CTO of RIDDLE&CODE
Dr. med. univ. Jama Nateqi
Founder & CEO of Symptoma
Lucian Wagner, BSc, MBA
General Partner at Privilege Ventures AG, Zurich
Markus Wanko
Managing Partner at xista science ventures
Dr. Özlem Türeci
CO-Founder & CMO of BioNTech SE
Priv. Doz. Dr. Sara Matt
Head of the Transfer Office Science / Economy / Society at the University of Innsbruck
Georg Kopetz
CO-Founder, CEO & member of the executive board at TTTech and TTTech Auto
Prof. Irit Sagi
Department of Biological Regulation Vice President, Technology Transfer
DI Wolfgang Platz
Founder & CPO of Tricentis
Erich Tauber, MD
CO-Founder & CEO von Themis
Mag. Elmar Pichl
Ministry of Education, Science & Research
John Cumbers, PhD, MSc
Founder of SynBioBeta
Dipl-Ing. Dr. Sabine Herlitschka, MBA
CEO and CTO of Infineon Technologies Austria AG
DI Herbert Gartner
Co-Founder & CEO eQventure
Dr. Harald Mahrer
President Austrian Federal Economic Chamber
Prof. Dr. Carolin Häussler, MBR
Chair of Organisation, Technology Management and Entrepreneurship University of Passau
Priv.-Doz. DI Dr. Christian Timmerer
CO-Founder of Bitmovin
Dr. Christoph Huber
CO-Founder of Biontech SE

Moderation and Organisation

Mag. Jasmin Güngör
Investment Manager and Authorised Signatory of Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH
Klara Brandstätter
Managing Director of I.E.C.T. Hermann Hauser Management GmbH
Dejan Jovicevic (Moderation)
Co-Founder & CEO of "Der Brutkasten"

Past Conferences

arrow right
conference 23. nov 2023

conference 23. nov 2023

This long-term initiative aims at raising the awareness in Austria that entrepreneurship must be a third mission for Austrian universities alongside research and teaching. By 2030, Austria shall have a flourishing spin-off ecosystem with a significant number of additional 1,000 new start-up companies. This will raise the GDP, create new jobs and opportunities for young people mobilising scientific talents in all areas.

Watch now
arrow right
Conference 23. Nov 2022

Conference 23. Nov 2022

This long-term initiative aims at raising the awareness in Austria that entrepreneurship must be a third mission for Austrian universities alongside research and teaching. By 2030, Austria shall have a flourishing spin-off ecosystem with a significant number of additional 1,000 new start-up companies. This will raise the GDP, create new jobs and opportunities for young people mobilising scientific talents in all areas.

Watch now
arrow right
Conference 23. Nov 2021

Conference 23. Nov 2021

This long-term initiative aims at raising the awareness in Austria that entrepreneurship must be a third mission for Austrian universities alongside research and teaching. By 2030, Austria shall have a flourishing spin-off ecosystem with a significant number of additional 1,000 new start-up companies. This will raise the GDP, create new jobs and opportunities for young people mobilising scientific talents in all areas.

Watch now
arrow right
Conference 25. Nov 2020

Conference 25. Nov 2020

This long-term initiative aims at raising the awareness in Austria that entrepreneurship must be a third mission for Austrian universities alongside research and teaching. By 2030, Austria shall have a flourishing spin-off ecosystem with a significant number of additional 1,000 new start-up companies. This will raise the GDP, create new jobs and opportunities for young people mobilising scientific talents in all areas.

Watch now
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Hermann Hauser (Speakers)
Dr. Hermann Hauser
Co-Founder Amadeus Capital Partners, Vice-Chair EIC Pilot Advisory Board

The Austrian-born Hermann Hauser holds an MA in Physics from Vienna University and a PhD in Physics from the Cavendish Laboratory at King's College, Cambridge. In his long and successful history as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, he co-founded and invested in some of Britain’s most innovative companies. These include Acorn Computers and its spin-off ARM, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Solexa, Entropic Research Labs and Icera. He played a major role in the emergence of the Silicon Fen. In 2015, Hermann was bestowed with an honorary KBE in recognition of his valuable services to engineering and industry. Hermann Hauser is currently Vice-Chair of the EIC Pilot Advisory Board which aims to grow Europe’s tech sectorby investing up to € 10 billion until 2027 together with the European VC industry. To support the Austrian ecosystem, Hermann has founded I.E.C.T. Hermann Hauser Management GmbH (I.E.C.T. Summer School on Entrepreneurship, Innovator’s Road) and Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH (25+ investments in mainly Austrian start-ups). He is also member of the Austrian Research Council.

Speakers and Panelists
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Chiara Greganti
Chiara Greganti, Ph.D.
CO-Founder & CEO of VitreaLab

Chiara Greganti is specialized in photonics for quantum computing and display solutions. She completed her PhD in Quantum Optics at the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (2018), within the Marie Curie Initial Training Network PICQUE (Photonic Integrated Compound Quantum Encoding). Results from her research have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Her expertise in laser and photonics has grown in the 8+ years of laboratory experience. She joined the INiTS Incubator Startup Camp of 2018 and the Climate KIC Accelerator program of 2019. Since 2019 she is Managing Director at VitreaLab. 

Speakers and Panelists
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Tom Fürstner
Tom Fürstner
Founder & CTO of RIDDLE&CODE
Speakers and Panelists
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Jama Nateqi
Dr. med. univ. Jama Nateqi
Founder & CEO of Symptoma

Jama Nateqi is a medical doctor and founder of Symptoma.com, a digital health assistant. Patients and doctors enter symptoms, answer questions and receive a list of possible causes – sorted by probability. Symptoma is the most used symptom checker with 10 million users/month. Jama founded his first company in 1999, studied medicine in Austria and performed research for his thesis at the Yale University. In 2020 he was named Austrian of the Year for his 15 years of research at Symptoma.

Speakers and Panelists
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Lucian Wagner
Lucian Wagner, BSc, MBA
General Partner at Privilege Ventures AG, Zurich

Lucian has a truly global outlook with an extensive set of contacts in North America, Europe, and Asia. He is currently a General Partner at Privilege Ventures in Zurich, Switzerland. His main focus is helping Swiss & European companies gain traction, through seed stage investments and Board memberships. He lectures frequently at events throughout Europe and the US and organizes study trips and visits to Boston and Silicon Valley. He is also a GP at EuroUS Ventures AG, which started as a small US Venture Capital Fund and is now a Family Office advisor.

Before joining EuroUS Ventures in 2005, he launched US operations for itemic AG, a German semiconductor software company and was responsible for their worldwide sales and marketing. 

In 1997, he co-founded and became CEO of FabCentric, a Yield Management software company, where he raised several million dollars in VC funding and which he grew to more than 25 employees before it was sold to another publicly traded software company in late 2001. 

Lucian spent more than 20 years in the semiconductor equipment industry, holding a series of positions in Sales and Marketing, based out of Switzerland and then Boston, MA.

Lucian was born in Germany, educated in the French school system, and went on to earn a B.Sc. in International Economics from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University (with a minor in Russian) and an MBA from INSEAD in 1981. 

Specialties: Setting up Multinational B2B Sales & Marketing Organizations, Major Account Sales, Start-Up Organization, Fund raising, Angel & VC contacts.

Speakers and Panelists
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Markus Wanko
Markus Wanko
Managing Partner at xista science ventures

Following a career in principal investment and strategy consulting spanning almost two decades and upon returning to Austria, Markus joined ISTA to build the team that is now driving the development of xista, the ecosystem to translate scientific findings into innovative products and services. With a broad exposure to natural sciences and technology at MIT ranging from molecular biology to electrical engineering, he gained experience in venture capital investing with Safeguard Scientifics and the European Investment Fund, strategy consulting with the Boston Consulting Group, and principal investment with QIA, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. Markus is founder and managing partner of xista science ventures as well as MD of xista science park and the tech transfer arm. He serves on the board of AUTM, the US tech transfer association, as well as Cutanos and Ribbon Biolabs.  

He holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School, an MSc from TU Vienna, and an MIM from WU Vienna and HEC Paris. 

Speakers and Panelists
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Özlem Türeci
Dr. Özlem Türeci
CO-Founder & CMO of BioNTech SE

Özlem Türeci, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of BioNTech, is a physician, immunologist, and cancer researcher with translational and clinical experience. Türeci has helped lead the discovery of cancer antigens, the development of mRNA-based individualized and off-the-shelf vaccine candidates and other types of immunotherapies which are currently in clinical development. Türeci leads the clinical development of BioNTech’s “Project Lightspeed,” the company’s successful effort to develop and distribute an mRNA-based vaccine against COVID-19, a historic achievement completed in less than one year. Türeci previously served as CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG, which she co-founded with Ugur Sahin and Christoph Huber. The company was acquired by Astellas in 2016. She currently serves as President of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT) in Germany. She is a recent recipient of the German Sustainability Award, among other notable recognitions. Türeci is married to Prof. Ugur Sahin. 

Speakers and Panelists
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Sara Matt
Priv. Doz. Dr. Sara Matt
Head of the Transfer Office Science / Economy / Society at the University of Innsbruck
Speakers and Panelists
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Georg Kopetz
Georg Kopetz
CO-Founder, CEO & member of the executive board at TTTech and TTTech Auto

Georg Kopetz is member of the executive board at TTTech and TTTech Auto. As Executive Officer he is responsible for the overall strategy, marketing, sales and human resources. He studied law at the University of Vienna and has comprehensive professional experience in the financial and legal field, having worked as a finance and law consultant in Austria and abroad.

Speakers and Panelists
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Irit Sagi
Prof. Irit Sagi
Department of Biological Regulation Vice President, Technology Transfer

Born in Israel, Prof. Irit Sagi attended university in Washington, DC, receiving a BSc degree in Physical Chemistry from American University  (1988),and PhD degree in biophysics/bioinorganics from Georgetown University (1992). She returned to The Weizmann Institute to perform postdoctoral research in the group of Prof. Ada Yonath, laureate of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Prof. Sagi continued her postdoctoral studies at the Max-Planck Institute in Berlin, and joined the faculty of Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute in 1998. Between 2005-2006 she spent a sabbatical as a visiting professor at Harvard University and at Novartis research institute, USA. She became the dean of the Feinberg Graduate School in 2014 and is the incumbent of the Maurizio Pontecorvo Professorial Chair. In December, 2019, she finished her term as dean and assume the position of Vice President for Technology Transfer at the Weizmann Intitute and the chair of YEDA Ltd board of directors.

Prof. Irit Sagi is developing and applying unique, multidisciplinary and biophysical approaches to investigate tissue and extracellular remodeling molecular processes. Merging together real-time spectroscopic and molecular imaging approaches, she was the first to reveal the complex dynamic molecular nature of extracellular remodeling enzymes including matrix metalloproteinases and lysyl oxidases (MMPs and LOX), a group of human enzymes linked to, developmental biology, cancer, inflammation, fibrosis and infectious diseases. Insights derived from these studies led her to design a new class of inhibitory antibodies that thwart the negative action of these enzymes. These prototype antibodies and biological inhibitors are currently developed for clinical use for human inflammatory, and cancer diseases. Prof. Sagi continues to focus her research efforts on novel integrated experimental tools tailored to decipher the extracellular matrix molecular remodeling code and molecular landscaps in healthy and diseased tissues. Specifically, she is using her biological inhibgitors as molecular probes together with various omics to unravel new cellular and molecular pathways at single cell as well as at tissue levels. Recently, she demonstrtaed a novel use for proteases in promoting and increasing the rate of embryo implantation in mammals. This discovery led her to establish a new startup company, NanoCell, aiming at developing this technology in Livestock and human. Prof. Sagi is the incumbent of the Maurizio Pontecorvo Professorial Chair. She has more than 200 publications in peer reviewed scientific journals and editor of two books. Prof. Sagi earned the Israel Chemical Society ADAMA prize in 2021, the Landau Prizeof Mifal Hapais for Biochemistry in 2017 and the Juludan Prize for outstanding research projects in the exact sciences and advanced medicinal technologies in 2013. In 2006, she was named Inventor of the Year by the Yeda Ltd. Three years prior, she was awarded the Weizmann Institute Scientific Council Prize for Chemistry, and in 2000, she received the Jakubskind-Cymerman Research Prize. From 2009-2014 she has been the president of the Israel Biophysical Society and she is currently the president of the Israel Matrix Biology Society. Prof. Sagiis a member of the International Board of Directors of Future Fund for promoting Israel-Germany relations and she is a member of the UK Israel Science Council.

Speakers and Panelists
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Wolfgang Platz
DI Wolfgang Platz
Founder & CPO of Tricentis

Wolfgang Platz is the Founder and Chief Product Officer of Tricentis. Wolfgang is the force behind innovations such as model-based automation and the linear expansion test design methodology. The technology he developed drives Tricentis’ Continuous Testing Platform, which is recognized as the industry’s #1 solution by all top analysts. Today, he is responsible for advancing Tricentis’ vision to make continuous testing a reality across Global 2000 organizations.

Speakers and Panelists
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Erich Tauber
Erich Tauber, MD
CO-Founder & CEO von Themis

Erich Tauber, MD, co-founded Themis in 2009 and holds the position of Themis’ CEO from inception. Before building Themis into a world-class vaccine discovery and development organization he served in various roles with increasing responsibility at AstraZeneca, Baxter and Intercell. Over the course of his career, he was responsible for the development and commercialization of numerous therapies and vaccines and continues to be a renowned expert in the field of vaccine development as well as a frequent author of scientific publications. He received his medical training at the University of Vienna and holds a Medical Doctorate as well as the Venia Docendi from the Medical University in Vienna.


About Themis 

Themis has been developing immunomodulation therapies for infectious diseases and cancer. Through advanced understanding of immune system mechanisms, the company has built a sophisticated and versatile technology platform for the discovery, development and production of vaccines as well as other immune system activation approaches. Funded by leading global venture capital firms, Themis has also gained prestigious non-dilutive funding for emerging infectious disease indications.

In June 2020 Themis was acquired by MSD (trademark of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, NYSE: MRK) and is now a subsidiary of MSD.

Speakers and Panelists
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Elmar Pichl
Mag. Elmar Pichl
Ministry of Education, Science & Research
Speakers and Panelists
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John Cumbers
John Cumbers, PhD, MSc
Founder of SynBioBeta

John Cumbers is the founder of SynBioBeta. John is passionate about education and on the use and adoption of biological technologies. He has received multiple awards and grants from NASA and the National Academy of Sciences for his work in the field. John has been involved in multiple startups such as those producing food for space, microbes to extract lunar and martian resources, and hoverboards! John is an active investor through the DCVC SynBioBeta Fund and his synthetic biology syndicate on AngelList. John received a PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry from Brown University, a MSc in Bioinformatics from Edinburgh University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Hull in Computer Science with Information Engineering.

Speakers and Panelists
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Sabine Herlitschka (Speakers)
Dipl-Ing. Dr. Sabine Herlitschka, MBA
CEO and CTO of Infineon Technologies Austria AG

Sabine Herlitschka is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Infineon Technologies Austria AG.
Her professional career includes industrial biotechnology research, international cooperation and financing in technology and innovation, Internships at leading organizations in the USA, Fulbright Scholarship at George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University, as well as founding Vice-Rector for Research Management and International Cooperation at the Medical University of Graz, Austria.

Before joining Infineon Technologies Austria, Herlitschka was Director of European and International Programmes in the Austrian Research Promotion Agency. For almost 25 years she has been frequently involved in European Research as advisor, project coordinator and evaluator, as well as participant and Chairperson in strategic European & international expert groups. Amongst others, she has been elected Chair of the Governing Board of the 5 bn Euro European Public Private Partnership ECSEL-Electronic Components and Systems for Electronic Leadership, she is Vice-Chair of the Austrian Council for Research & Technology Cooperation, as well as member of the Senate of the German Fraunhofer Society.

Herlitschka holds a Ph.D. in Food- and Biotechnology and a Master of Business Administration

Speakers and Panelists
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Herbert Gartner (Speakers)
DI Herbert Gartner
Co-Founder & CEO eQventure

Herbert Gartner is a serial entrepreneur & active business angel investing smart and hard capital in young Austrian high-tech product companies. He is focusing on industry and university spin-offs with strong growth potentials.

In 2014 Herbert co-founded the Austrian investment club eQventure, which provides young innovative high tech companies besides growth capital a strong network as well as straightforward support from successful ex-founders. Meanwhile, eQventure became the strongest Austrian angel investor network and Austria’s major venture capital provider for Austrian startups.

In 2003 Herbert Gartner founded the MEMS and semiconductor company SensorDynamics and held positions as CFO and CEO. He successfully sold the company to Maxim Integrated Products Inc, California in 2011 for $164 million.

Prior to that he held management positions at ams and Siemens. Herbert is a graduate engineer in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration from Graz University of Technology and ETH Zurich.

Speakers and Panelists
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Harald Mahrer
Dr. Harald Mahrer
President Austrian Federal Economic Chamber

Professional Background

1995 – 1997 Chairman, Austrian National Union of Students, Vienna University of Economics and Business
1997 – 2000 Research Assistant, Vienna University of Economics and Business
2000 – 2005 Managing Partner, legend Consulting GmbH
2006 – 2010 Managing artner, Pleon Publico Public Relations GmbH
2010 – 2012 Managing Partner, cumclave Unternehmensberatung GmbH (management consultant)
2010 – 9/2014 Managing Partner, HM Tauern Holding Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft m.b.H.
From 1/2018 Managing Partner, HM Tauern Holding Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft m.b.H.

Positions

1999 – 2000 Spokesman and Project Manager, “GO-ON Österreich ans Internet” (Austria On-line)
2003 – 2005 Member,E-Government Board of the Austrian Federal Government
2004 – 2013 Co-Director, Metis Institut für ökonomische & politische Forschung (Metis Institute for Economic & Political Research)
2011 – 9/2015 President,Julius Raab Foundation
From 9/2015 Vice Chairman,Politische Akademie (Political Academy)
2/2016 – 12/2017 Vice-President, Wirtschaftsbund (Austrian Business Federation)
From 12/2017 President,Wirtschaftsbund From 18.5.2018 President, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber

Political Appointments

9/2014 – 5/2017 State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy
5/2017 – 12/2017 Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy

Speakers and Panelists
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Carolin Häussler (Speakers)
Prof. Dr. Carolin Häussler, MBR
Chair of Organisation, Technology Management and Entrepreneurship University of Passau

Prof. Dr Carolin Häussler holds the Chair of Organisation, Technology Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Passau and is a member of the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI), appointed by the German Federal Government.
Her research focuses on innovation management and entrepreneurship. The gene scissors CRISPR/CAS, the rapidly advancing digitalisation or the increasingly public science - the so-called Open Science - are just a few examples of how research progress is continuously changing the world of life and business. Professor Häussler is interested in the interfaces at which this happens and how new findings are translated into new technologies. In particular, she examines the interfaces between universities, entrepreneurs, large companies and political decision-makers in order to optimise them. Her work has been published in numerous renowned journals and has been awarded numerous prizes. She works for public and private organisations as a scientific advisor and as a mentor for various start-ups.
Professor Häussler studied business administration at LMU Munich and as a Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also worked as a student and later as a lecturer at the Centre for Digital Technology and Entrepreneurship (CDTM) at TU Munich and LMU Munich. She did her PhD at LMU Munich and also completed her *Habilitation" there with a thesis on incentives, preferences and opportunities in innovation processes. She was also a visiting professor at Stanford University.

Picture: © David Ausserhofer

Speakers and Panelists
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Christian Timmerer
Priv.-Doz. DI Dr. Christian Timmerer
CO-Founder of Bitmovin

Christian Timmerer is an Associate Professor at the Instituteof Information Technology (ITEC), Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt and is thedirector of the Christian Doppler (CD) Laboratory ATHENA (https://athena.itec.aau.at/). Hisresearch interests include immersive multimedia communication, streaming,adaptation, and quality of experience where he co-authored seven patents andmore than 200 articles. He was the general chair of several internationalconferences (WIAMIS 2008, QoMEX 2013, MMSys 2016, and PV 2018) and hasparticipated in several EC-funded projects, notably DANAE, ENTHRONE, P2P-Next,ALICANTE, SocialSensor, COST IC1003 QUALINET, and ICoSOLE. Healso participated in ISO/MPEG since 2002, notably in the area of MPEG-21,MPEG-M, MPEG-V, and MPEG-DASH where he also served as standard editor. In 2013he cofounded Bitmovin (http://www.bitmovin.com/) to provideprofessional services around MPEG-DASH where he holds the position of the ChiefInnovation Officer (CIO) –- Head of Research and Standardization. Further information at http://timmerer.com.

Speakers and Panelists
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Christoph Huber (Speakers)
Dr. Christoph Huber
CO-Founder of Biontech SE
  • Immunotherapy leader, advisor and entrepreneur,
  • Austrian, MD from Leopold-Franzens-University in Innsbruck, research fellowships at theWallenberg Laboratories, Uppsala, Sweden and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,Seattle,USA
  • Professor emeritus hematology-oncology and translational immunology at the Johannes-Gutenberg-University Medical Center
  • Chairman Collaborative Research Center SFB 432 “Tumor defense and its therapeuticapplication” of the German Research Council,
  • Founder Tumor Vaccination Centre of German Cancer Aid,
  • Founder, long-term president and board member of the international Cancer ImmunotherapyNetwork CIMT,
  • Founding president of the European Network Cancer Immunotherapy ENCI,
  • Co-founder and advisor of the translational oncology institute TRON, a leading non-profitorganization to bridge the gap between university and companies,
  • Co-founder Ganymed Pharmaceuticals, 2016 exit deal 1.2 B USD to Astellas,
  • Co-founder and non-executive board member Biontech SE, a global leader of COVID-19vaccines and cutting-edge immunotherapies, since 2019 NASDAQ-listed, market cap >90B USD
  • German as well as the Austrian Cross of merit for science, honorary member of the AustrianAcademy of Science
Speakers and Panelists
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Jasmin Güngör (Moderation)
https://arndoetting.com/impressum/
Mag. Jasmin Güngör
Investment Manager and Authorised Signatory of Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH

Jasmin is investment manager and authorised signatory of Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Economics as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in European Cultural Anthropology from the University of Innsbruck and Bogazici University, Istanbul. Before joining Hermann’s team in Innsbruck, she has been working for more than five years in the field of fundraising, impact investing as well as start-up consulting. One important station in her life has been Don Bosco Finanzierungs GmbH where she raised more than 6 Mio. EUR from impact investors for Universidad Politecnica Salesiana, a private university in Ecuador,  by issuing a corporate bond together with Erste Bank Group AG.

Moderation and Organisation
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Klara Brandstätter (Moderation)
Klara Brandstätter
Managing Director of I.E.C.T. Hermann Hauser Management GmbH

Klara has expertise in the fields of strategy, business models and innovation. She is Managing Director of the I.E.C.T. – Hermann Hauser Management GmbH and responsible amongst others for the entrepreneurial programmes, consulting as well as setting up new projects on national and international level fostering science-based entrepreneurship. Prior to this she spent several years in Frankfurt as consultant within the area of strategy, marketing and sales. She holds a Master’s Degree in Strategic Management from the University of Innsbruck. As enthusiastic advocate of international learning and collaboration she also studied in Stockholm and Reykjavik.

Moderation and Organisation
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Dejan Jovicevic
Dejan Jovicevic (Moderation)
Co-Founder & CEO of "Der Brutkasten"

Dejan is a visionary digital entrepreneur, start-up enthusiast and media manager. He is founder and CEO of der brutkasten, Austria's multimedia platform for startups, the digital economy and innovation.

He started his career as a lawyer in a global law firm. His career took him further into the media industry, where he worked in various management positions, most recently as head of HR & Law in the "Presse" / WirtschaftsBlatt Media Group (Styria Media Group). At the same time he was co-responsible for the group-wide "Innovation Incubator" in the Styria Media Group.

As an intrapreneur Dejan founded der brutkasten in autumn 2014 and successfully established it as the first start-up medium in Austria. In 2017 the management buyout followed. With this step, Dejan became an entrepreneneur himself and develeoped der brutkasten from a plain medium to an innovation platform with a multitude of services.

Since then, he has successfully pursued a multi-channel strategy, offering his community video formats, podcasts, social media and events in addition to print and online magazines. Currently der brutkasten focuses strongly on its job platform with a focus on start-ups, smart brands & the innovative industry.

Dejan also teaches Media Innovation and is Vice Chairman of the 3rd Senate of the Austrian Press Council.

Moderation and Organisation
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4 Steps to Use hopin
1

Check your confirmation email.
‍Once you’ve purchased a ticket, you’ll receive a confirmation email.

2

Follow the URL in the confirmation email.
‍Please provide correct email to receive timely notifications. Once the date gets closer, we will email you a link where you can jump right into the conference with a click on a link.

3

Check your machine setup.
‍The video stream will be running in the browser, so it might be a good idea to ensure you don’t have hundreds of tabs or apps in the memory already. We also recommend using Google Chrome or Firefox as a browser in order to have the best conference experience.

4

Secure a good internet connection.
‍We want you to have a great learning and networking experience, so please ensure that you have a decent connection during the conference.

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