Linz connects #10

The 2025 kickoff event of Linz connects IT & Economy took us to the Linz site of Infineon Technologies. Manfred Ruhmer and Markus Treml provided fascinating insights into semiconductor technology and autonomous driving. Joining us for the first time in his new role: Thomas Gegenhuber, City Councillor for Economy and Innovation. After the presentations, guests had the opportunity to tour the laboratory and explore sensor technology in the MINT youth innovation space through hands-on experiences.

Happiness Maze 2025

From 13 January to 25 February 2025, around 25,000 visitors walked through the labyrinth of happiness on Linz's main square. Interactive stations designed by artists from the Linz University of Art, Papierspiele.at, the ibuk association and the Kopfgarten Glückscampus awaited visitors in the dead ends. Even the Minister of Happiness from Bhutan paid a visit to the labyrinth of 800 unsold Christmas trees from the Upper Austrian Christmas tree farmers.

Future Minds Summit 2025

On 29 January 2025, we opened the Old City Hall Linz for the second time for Teach for Austria and the Future Minds Summit. Under the title ‘Future Me’, this time everything revolved around the Inner Development Goals and how we can actively shape the future with this framework in educational institutions, in companies, but also personally in everyday life.

Ideas for 4030 Linz

The #iCapitalAwards prize money of EUR 50,000 for 2nd place as a ‘European Rising Innovative City’, which the city of Linz won in November 2024, was returned to the people of Linz in an ideas competition. 46 entries were submitted on our platform, 9 project ideas were pre-selected by a jury and finally 1 large project was awarded EUR 40,000 and 3 small projects EUR 3,333 each in the community voting.

Happiness Maze 2025

From 13 January to 25 February 2025, the Happiness Maze on Linz's main square once again provided amazement and joy for visitors during the cold season. Around 800 unsold Christmas trees from Upper Austrian Christmas tree growers were set up on the main square by #teammagistratlinz. In the cul-de-sacs, interactive stations by artists from the University of Art and Design Linz provided moments of happiness.

Digital parents' evening video library

Since the beginning of the year, we have been gradually publishing the recordings of the Digital Parents' Evening in our video library. With the help of the uugot.it ReachAll translation tool, the presentations are now available in many different languages. The interactive subtitles help with learning German and make it easier to access the specialist topics presented at the Digital Parents' Evening.

H2 Convention 2024

With over 1,000 participants - more than 600 visitors on the public information day and around 400 experts at the specialist conference - the H2 Convention in Linz succeeded in becoming Austria's largest hydrogen event. Take a look back at the pictures, videos, success stories and presentations.

Climate Action Days Linz 2024

For the third time, the Climate Action Days took place on Friday, November 29, 2024, at the Wissensturm – this time as part of a symposium. Under the motto "Europe and its Cities: United for Climate Action," participants enjoyed engaging keynotes and four hands-on workshops.

2nd place Rising innovative city #iCapitalAwards

Great success for our team at EU level: At the Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon, we were able to pick up the sensational 2nd place and thus EUR 50,000 for the Linz team from the European Innovation Council at the iCapital Awards Final. A really nice recognition for us and the successful collaboration in the innovation ecosystem of the city of Linz.

Symposium Integration and Economy 2024

What do young people and entrepreneurship have in common? Both topics are highly relevant and of great importance. For this reason, on 13. November 2024, the symposium “Integration and Economy” at the Old Town Hall offered dedicated formats addressing these subjects. Participants had the opportunity to spend the entire day gaining information, exchanging ideas, and finding inspiration to start their own businesses. The program featured an engaging panel discussion, six workshops with valuable and personal insights from speakers into the world of start-up entrepreneurship, and information booths from partners such as JKU, WKO Upper Austria, FH Upper Austria, tech2b, she:works GmbH and IMARA Labs.

Kick-off robot olympiad district linz

Here we go! Together with DIGITAL MILE Linz, we are launching the robot olympiad district linz and will be building teams over the next few months to take part in the WRO Austria 2025 competition - which, by the way, will take place in Linz! 2 HTLs, 8 schools and 7 sponsoring companies are already taking part.

re_use Linz 2024

The ‘re_use Linz’ initiative offers a platform on which public and private stakeholders can jointly set the key parameters for the transformation to a low-emission circular economy in the construction sector in the coming years. The innovative process, which could become a best practice for other business locations and regions, started with the re_use Linz conference on 24 October.

Linz connects #9 2024

On 16. October 2024, as part of "Linz connects IT & Economy," we visited KEBA Group AG to explore the topic of Open Innovation. After a welcome by CEO Christoph Knogler, Thomas Linde (CIO) and Julian Bauer (Innovation Manager) introduced us to the world of Open Innovation at KEBA. Regina Gattringer, Professor of Strategic Management at JKU, demonstrated the value of collaboration between research and industry.

Founders scholarship 2024

The City of Linz supports early-stage start-up ideas with a network and expertise as well as 4x financial support. These start-up ideas each received a grant of EUR 5,000 in 2024 Coiss, RentmyWallbox, Pflegezeit and EduQuest.

Children's Rights Festival 2024

As part of the Upper Austrian Children's Rights Festival of Kinderfreunde, Hanna and Dominik organised the ‘My personal handprint’ workshop in the Old Town Hall. In an interactive quiz, the children were able to find out how important their small actions are for our environment.

Franckviertel pioneering city festival 2024

On 26. September 2024, the Pioneer City Festival took place on Lonstorferplatz in Linz's Franckviertel district as part of the ‘Linz with Ambitio3xn’ project. The city of Linz invited residents of the Franckviertel to a participatory pioneering city festival to discuss measures for more climate-friendly urban development.

Student project greenhouse gas monitoring with FH Steyr

As part of our Linz with Ambitio3xn project, five students from Steyr University of Applied Sciences have been working together with the municipal team on greenhouse gas monitoring for the city of Linz since 24. September 2024. Using the Franckviertel as an example, the monitoring is being carried out step by step in order to obtain a city-wide result later on. In this way, we are gradually coming closer to our goal of a climate-neutral industrial city of Linz in 2040.

Sciencity Brainstage 2024

For the 4th time, we transformed the main square into a lecture theatre and brought exciting contributions from Linz's universities to the centre of the city. There were contributions from the University of Art and Design Linz, the Johannes Kepler University, the Sigmund Freud Private University, the FHOÖ Campus Hagenberg and the Circus of Knowledge.

iCapital Awards Hearing 2024

All good things come in threes: this is the third time we have entered the European Commission's iCapital Award competition. After successfully reaching the semi-finals last year, but then narrowly missing out on third place, this year we are on the home straight for the title of ‘European Rising Innovative city’. We are delighted with this success!

Upper Austrian Apprentice Hackathon 2024

For the second time, we organised the Upper Austrian Apprentice Hackathon Award Gala at Lentos Linz. On 12 September 2024, the apprentice teams received their placings and were awarded medals, certificates, the DigiComp certificate and trophies. Congratulations to the #teammagistratlinz GiveWell for 3rd place in the Rookies category!

Ars Electronica Festival 2024

We were represented in the ‘create your world’ area of the Ars Electronica Festival 2024 with our ‘Laboratory of Confidence’ and ‘ECOPOLOS’ formats. Under the motto ‘HOPE - Who Will Turn the Tide’, visitors of all ages were able to build robots, experience climate games and contribute ideas for the city of Linz over five days. The crowning finale was the ‘RoboRave’ on 8 September, where the robots they had built danced their choreography.

Linzer Water Playground

From August 8, 2024, to September 9, 2024, you had the chance to cool off during the hot summer days at Martin-Luther-Platz in Linz city center with Austria's first "PlayFountain." The fountain was open daily from 10 AM to 10 PM. From 7:30 PM to 10 PM, seven show programs featuring colorful water and light displays provided entertainment and fun.

Shaping our future together

Our department Economy, Innovation, Climate Protection and EU presented itself at the end of July 2024 under the motto "Zukunftsstadt Linz" at the Enter_Tainer on Hauptplatz. The interactive programme with climate games, robot building and quizzes and lots of information about the ECOPOLIS, Linz with Ambitio3xn, Founders Scholarship and Laboratory of Confidence projects, as well as the launch of the Schmilz, schmilz Baby campaign by the artist group Aggro Climate, added to the already high summer temperatures.

5 Years of Innovationshauptplatz

On Wednesday, 10. July , we celebrated 5 years of Innovationshauptplatz at the Old Town Hall. We took this opportunity to express our gratitude to all our supporters, project partners, and colleagues from #teammagistratlinz for their support over the past five years. THANK YOU to everyone who joined us in the celebration!

Tour of Linzer Innovation 2024

Every year, we take the Linz Innovation Tour to various districts, sparking interest in technology, robotics, and more. In Solarcity, Kleinmünchen, Franckviertel, Urfahr, and Wiener Straße, children and teenagers had the opportunity to try their hand at programming and experimenting at the interactive stations. Adults joined in with enthusiasm as well! This year's highlight was definitely the reward—ice cream served by a robot.

PopUp Rookies 2024

For the second time, in collaboration with Linz AG, we launched the DJ contest as part of the Bubbledays in May 2024. The final took place at our Stadtoase right in the middle of the Hauptplatz. DorfTV recorded the streams, and through voting on www.bubbledays.at, everyone could help decide who would win the two slots on the Bubbledays stage. In the end, DJ Highnote and DJ Esco won over both the community and the jury.

Long Night of the BibliOÖtheken 2024

On 26. April, libraries all across Upper Austria opened their doors and offered a wide variety of programs. We participated in the event at the Wissensturm Linz with the "hello world" programs, where guests had the opportunity to explore and experiment with technology, robotics, and electronics during the Long Night.

English Idea meetup 2024

At the English Idea meetup on 20. April 2024, 27 internationals from 16 countries gathered to share their experiences on living and working in Linz as newcomers. We discussed 8 different topics with the group, focusing on areas where internationals felt there was a lack of information and services available in English, which would help them better navigate life in Linz.

Linz hACkT 2024

Solving challenges in a playful way was the theme of the 4th Hackathon/Makerthon organized by the City of Linz. In 2024 the newly opened venue, last by Schachermayer, was available for new ideas from March 15 to 17. Out of over 40 participants, 15 game ideas were developed to a presentation-ready level. A panel of experts awarded the teams Partners in Knowledge, Brettspiel Bürokraten, and Linzer Leuchten for their outstanding contributions.

Climate neutrality concept Linz Launch

The city-wide climate neutrality concept with a comprehensive catalogue of measures was presented in March 2024. The city of Linz has set itself the goal of being climate-neutral by 2040 at the latest. This goes hand in hand with a historic transformation to a climate-neutral industrial city. In order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality, the city's overall greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by at least 90 per cent by 2040 (relative to the base year 2019).

Creative Bureaucracy 2024

Our format, Create Your City!, was part of the community voting for the kickoff of this year's Creative Bureaucracy Festival. Although we didn’t make it to the festival stage in Berlin, we are proud to have our participation workshop recognized among the top 40 out of 230 submitted projects from 42 countries!

Linz connects #7

The topic of AI in the industrial sector was the focus of our first exchange meeting, Linz connects IT & Economy. This time, Primetals hosted the event. Kurt Herzog, Head of Industry 4.0, shared numerous best practices for handling artificial intelligence at Primetals Technologies in his presentation. In contrast, Professor Alois Ferscha provided insights into the current state of research on AI.

Happiness Maze 2024

Until 04. February 2024, a "Happiness Maze" was set up at Linz Hauptplatz for the first time. Created from over 300 used trees (from Klosterhof Winterzauber) and unsold trees from Upper Austrian Christmas tree farmers, the #teammagistratlinz built a maze of trees with various surprises.

With free admission, residents of Linz could stroll through the tree rows daily and discover small moments of joy in the nooks and crannies.

Future Minds Summit 2024

On 17. January 2024, Teach For Austria, in collaboration with us, hosted the inaugural Future Minds Summit. The event featured engaging talks on stage, interactive stations at the marketplace, and workshops on Future Digi, Future Work, and Future Climate. These activities provided ample opportunities for exchange and insights into fascinating projects.

Advent calendar 2023

IWE became WIKE - with IHP (yes, there are abbreviations for just about everything in the city council!) in between - there was a lot going on in the Department of Business, Innovation, Climate Protection & EU in 2023!

From 1 to 24 December, we reviewed our projects and formats relating to the Innovation Hub and raffled off lots of goodies from our cooperation partners in the city of Linz. Many thanks for the great prizes and congratulations to all the winners!

H2 Convention Upper Austria & Greater Linz 2023

From 27 to 29 November 2023, the province of Upper Austria and the city of Linz hosted the first H2 Convention on the topic of hydrogen for climate-neutral industry. After the specialist conference, interested members of the public also had the opportunity to gain an insight into hydrogen technology at the Public Day on 29 November. Pupils, apprentices, students and companies presented their projects. The highlight was Sciencebuster Martin Moder with two presentations on science communication.

Prize for Social Innovation 2023

Vice Mayor Karin Hörzing and the Department of Social Affairs, Youth and Family awarded the Prize for Social Innovation 2023 for the first time.

A total of 5 Linz projects were awarded cash prizes of up to EUR 8,000, two of which were awarded as a special prize for self-determined living in old age. Congratulations to the winning initiatives!

Smartphone Days 2023

From the 23. to 31. Ocotober 2023, more than 300 seniors were able to seek free assistance with mobile phone-related questions.
Knowledgeable trainers from the Adult Education Center, SelbA, and emporia were available at the Wissensturm Linz, during consultation days at the community centers in Pichling, Franckviertel, and Dornach, as well as at the open house event at emporia.

Planet Linz Days 2023

City climatologist Johannes Horak led a guided tour on Thursday, 19. October and Friday 20. October, focusing on the topic of climate change around the main square. With interactive elements such as temperature and wind measurements, participants gained valuable insights into the climate of Linz. The conclusion of the tour took place in our Climate Experience Room on Pfarrgasse. If you are interested, the City Climatology team is happy to organize themed tours upon request!

1. Expats Café 2023

On Saturday, 16. September 2023, we, together with colleagues from #teammagistratlinz, hosted the first Expats Café. In a relaxed atmosphere, expatriates and their families had the opportunity to engage directly with the Business Immigration Office, Citizen Services, the Adult Education Center (VHS), the Women's Office, the LGBTIQ* community, and our department.

Sciencity 2023

The Sciencity Brainstage took place for the third time on September 14, 2023, transforming Linz's main square into a lecture hall once again. Students and educators from the University of Art Linz, the Catholic Private University Linz, the JKU, Sigmund Freud Private University, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria (Campus Steyr and Hagenberg), and Anton Bruckner Private University presented their current projects in engaging and interactive presentations.

Linz connects #6 2023

For the last time this year, on the 13. September 2023, Linz connected IT & Economy. Focused on the topic of VR/AR, we were hosted at Techbase Linz by Siemens. We had the opportunity to explore numerous examples of Virtual Reality applications in marketing and HR shared by Andreas Fraunberger of Junge Römer Wien. Additionally, insights into VR's role in the industrial sector were provided by Andreas Pürstinger of Siemens Industry Software.

Startup Guide Linz Launch

Since early September, the Startup Guide Linz has been available both in bookstores and online, offering an overview of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Upper Austrian capital. The book was first presented to project stakeholders at the launch event held in the Grand Garage.

Founders scholarship 2023

The City of Linz supported the following four start-up ideas in 2023 with a grant of EUR 5,000 each: Emin Vojnikovic and Georg Simonyan - INDIMA, Alyssa Kamoun - hands-on Austria, Stefanie Stadler and Jeremias Blaickner - GUTTUN, Michael Zelenka - Papierspiele.

Of course, our mentor network will once again be available to help the founders take their first steps towards their own company.

Linz connects #5 2023

In July 2023, the fifth Linz connects IT & Economy took place at karriere.at on the topic of marketing and data. Gerhard Kürner (CEO & Founder of 506 Data & Performance GmbH) and Kirsten Neubauer (Managing Director of sgreening - Social & Green Marketing GmbH) gave insights into AI-supported data systems and the importance of sustainable data

Tour of Linzer Innovation 2023

From 26. June to 1. July we were once again on the road at various locations in Linz with many exciting hands-on stations on robotics, technology, programming, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, plastic recycling and climate issues. More than 600 participants tried out the interactive stations and gained many new impressions.

Climate Action Night 2023

The Climate Office of Linz hosted the second Climate Action Night on 21 June. The Lentos Art Museum was dedicated to climate protection. Poetry slam, climate path, music and culinary delights were used to discuss climate issues and make them interactive.

PopUp Rookies 2023

Together with the Linz AG Bubbledays-Team we called for a DJ contest in May 2023. The final took place at our PopUp Store on the Main Square. DorfTV recorded the streams and everyone could vote on www.bubbledays.at to decide who would get the two slots on the Bubbledays stage. DJ Maximal and DJTechDevice convinced the community and the jury with their performance and both won a slot on stage.

Linz connects #4 2023

In May 2023, we invited to the topic IT-specialists to the CODERS.BAY. This time, Manuela Lindlbauer (Head of Lindlpower Personalmanagement GmbH) and Marion Urbanides (Head of CODERS.Bay) provided input on recruiting, challenges for companies, IT training and networking with the labour market.

Sofar Sounds Linz 2023

The unusual concert format is back at the Innovationshauptplatz! In 2019 Sofar Songs from a Room was still with us at the Office in the Pfarrgasse, in 2023 Sofar Linz will be a whole lot bigger in the foyer of the Old Town Hall. Thank you all for a great evening! On Instagram you can find a few impressions in the reel.

Linz hACkT 2023

Social innovation for an inclusive city was the theme of Linz hACkT 2023. 8 project ideas went into the community and jury voting and in the end the two projects "Footlifter" by Cyberducks and "CommuniCheck" by Jan and Julia won the competition with equal points.

Bench Talks 2023

All members of the Linz City Senate were available for a personal conversation with the population from 17th to 19th of April. Due to the weather, the meetings took place at our office in the Pfarrgasse 3 instead of the City Oasis on the Main square.

Linz connects #2 2023

At the LIT Open Innovation Center on the JKU campus, the second Linz connects IT & Economy 2023 was all about artificial intelligence. JKU professor Günter Klambauer gave an overview of the third wave of AI and spoke about the developments in Linz. Kosima Kovar showed a practical AI application with her app Ada Growth, which supports women in their professional lives with lifelong learning.

Linz connects #1 2023

The first Linz connects IT & Economy 2023 took us to the Dynatrace headquarters in January. Architect Gerhard Abel and the team from Planet Architects showed us the considerations that went into the company building and how the existing corporate culture influenced it. Patrick Rammerstorfer from Pro Active GmbH also gave his input on the topic of New Work.

Linz connects IT & Economy 2022

Start of the new networking format in November with the topic of IT security. An exciting series of events for CEOs and Experts from the business scene of Linz.

Planet Linz Days 2022

For the first time, Linz Tourismus invited all Linzers to get to know their city better as part of the Planet Linz Days. The Bench Talks, the Climate Experience Room and Meet-the-Startup were our programme inputs for these days.

Smartphonedays 2022

The consultation days for older people around the topic of smartphones. The seminar room on the 15th floor of the Wissensturm was filled to capacity for the kick-off!

Climate Action Night x Sciencity 2022

In cooperation with the Climate Office, Sciencity 2022 was part of the Climate Action Days on Linz's main square. An evening full of informative lectures, cabaret, science slams and live music!

Founders Scholarship 2022

The City of Linz has awarded the 2022 scholarship for the first time: 4x 5,000 euros to support early-stage start-up ideas. In addition to financial support, you also receive a lot of know-how from our network.

Tour of Linzer Innovation 2022

A diverse programme of stations for all ages to try out, craft and programme: From wonder wuzzis and plastic recycling to PCs and building mobile phone holders as well as heat measurements and Sciencity Kids Edition experiments.

Linz hACkT 2022

UTOPIA Linz - Linz wants to become climate neutral by 2040, with Linz hACkT we set out to find ideas and projects that will help the city achieve this goal.

Digital New Year's Eve Fireworks 2021

In December 2021, workshops on Minecraft, Java and Scratch were held by CoderDojo Linz for children and young people. The videos submitted for the Digital New Year's Eve Fireworks were presented at the Ars Electronica Center in January 2022.

Linz hACkT 2021

SEEKING THE NEW NORMAL - With LINZ hACkT we have dared to look ahead, to a time "after COVID" and to what the new normality could look like for the people of Linz. We invite all citizens to participate, to look for solutions, to recognise opportunities and to shape a liveable future for Linz together.

Sciencity - the Brainstage 2021

Science in public space? Interesting, funny, cool? It's possible! The Innovationshauptplatz presented: SCIENCITY - THE BRAINSTAGE an event format that makes innovation in the public space tangible: insight into the work of researchers in Linz, access to research findings "made in Linz" and an exciting mix of science slam, live concert and party.

// Tour of Linzer Innovation 2021

The Innovationshauptplatz of Linz on tour at various schools and educational institutions in the city. Robot programming courses for children, virtual reality glasses for testing, 3D laser cutters or heat measurements by climate experts - the events provided insights into urban mobility as well as current projects of the Innovationshauptplatz.

// Tour of Linzer Innovation 2020

"The Tour of Linz Innovation gives local creative minds a stage to present their exciting technologies. I cordially invite all Linzers to drop by and check out the offerings for themselves," says Mayor Klaus Luger. The event was attended by cooperation partners Linz AG, Ars Electronica Center, Grand Garage, Open Commons, Trotec and Simons Papercraft.

// Tour of Linzer Innovation 2019

We launched the "Linz Innovation Tour" in 2019. School classes and residents can test new technologies and become better acquainted with them. This campaign implements measure No. 35 from the innovation program - reducing fears of technological progress through proactive information work. 

// Sciencity - the Brainstage 2019

The Kick-off of the new series of events took place on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, at Central Linz. In addition, Innovationshauptplatz set itself the task of striving to achieve the goals set out in the Linz Innovation Program with its own initiatives, projects and events.