War for AI Talent
The hub's flagship event on the AI labour market: ~200 participants at the JKU LIT Open Innovation Center, another ~200 on the waitlist, 10 senior speakers, and a leadership dinner for 40+. Speakers came from Google Austria, Microsoft Austria, AWS Austria, NXAI, Dynatrace, McKinsey, PwC, Impact AI, Syntactiq and Nineteen Twenty-One.
The question
Who actually gets hired into AI roles in Austria, what those employers screen for, and what that means for students deciding what to build now.
Who spoke
Big tech (Google Austria, Microsoft Austria, AWS Austria), research and deep tech (NXAI, with Sepp Hochreiter), industry (Dynatrace, Impact AI, Syntactiq, Nineteen Twenty-One) and consulting (McKinsey, PwC) — deliberately across the hiring spectrum rather than one segment.
Why it is a flagship
It is the format where the hub's three jobs meet: connecting Linz talent to the employer side, building a realistic picture of the market, and representing the youth position in that conversation.
What came out of it
Direct connections between students, researchers, employers and policymakers, and follow-up cooperation with the JKU LIT Open Innovation Center.
On stage & involved
- Opening keynoteCountry Manager · Amazon Web Services
- Panel · Europe's AI turning pointCountry Director · Google Austria
- Panel · Europe's AI turning pointGeneral Manager · Microsoft Austria
- Panel · Europe's AI turning pointCEO; Chairman of AI Task Force IV · KEBA Group
- Panel · Europe's AI turning pointChief Scientist; Head of the LIT AI Lab · NXAI
- Panel · Europe's AI turning pointVenture capitalist and serial entrepreneur
- Second keynoteCo-Founder and CEO · Syntactiq
- Panel · The AI skills revolutionAssociate Partner · McKinsey Austria
- Panel · The AI skills revolutionCo-Founder and CEO · Impact AI
- Panel · The AI skills revolutionPartner, Digital Consulting Lead · PwC Austria
- Panel · The AI skills revolutionDirector of AI Product Innovation · Dynatrace
- Panel · The AI skills revolutionPartner · EDIH AI5production
- Moderation
~200 participants · ~200 on the waitlist · 10 senior speakers · 40+ at the leadership dinner
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