This was the Southwest Digital Festival 2024: A full success for the digital future

On 19 and 20 September 2024, Saarbrücken turned into a vibrant hub for technological innovation and digitalisation: The 2024 Southwest Digital Festival attracted more than 250 technology and innovation enthusiasts. Organised by: European Digital Innovation Hub Saarland (EDIH), the Small and medium-sized digital centre Saarbrücken and the Regional Centre for the Future of Artificial Intelligence (RZZKI) the two-day event proved to be an important platform for exchanges around the digital transformation and the application of artificial intelligence (AI).

 

Inspiring opening ceremony – launch with landmark speeches

The festival started with an opening ceremony, smoothing visionary speeches and keynotes. State Secretary Elena Yorgova-Ramanauskas stressed in her speech the central role of digitalisation for the region’s economic future. Giulia Carsaniga, EU Officer, stressed the importance of the EU in promoting digital development. A particular highlight was the keynote by Flora Geske, founder of the AI start-up Summ AI, who spoke about the opportunities of Artificial Intelligence for inclusion and participation. Their innovative AI tool, which translates complicated texts into easy language, attracted great interest from those present and highlighted the societal potential of AI technologies.

 

Diverse programme – focus on digital transformation

On both days, the festival offered a diverse programme of exciting workshops, lectures and roundtables on topics such as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, cyber security and digital transformation. Participants were given insights into the host organisations’ projects at info stands and were able to experience innovative technologies near the tours of ZEMA’s halls (Centre for Mechatronics and Automation Technology). In particular, the interactive sessions and matchmaking events in the East Side Fab stimulated intensive exchanges and networking among participants.

 

Technical contributions from the Saarland EDIH

EDIH Saarland, as one of the partners, contributed to the festival programme not only in the organisation of the festival, but also through technical contributions and workshops. In particular in the areas of: Best Practices, Innovation in production and Funding programmes the EDIH was able to provide its expertise.

In the presentation: “Shaping the future – how companies successfully implement technological change” participants learned which digitalisation projects have already been successfully implemented in the region. Both the EDIH and the SME Digital Centre presented their strategies to support SMEs on their path to digitalisation, highlighting best practices that provided inspiration for future projects.

In the workshop “Innovations in production: Opportunities from Generative AI” learned how generative AI revolutionises production and enables new forms of human-machine interaction. The workshop provided concrete applications from the ground and highlighted the transformative potential of these technologies for businesses in the region.

Also the idea of Support programmes for digitalisation was an important theme of the festival. Visitors received valuable information on funding opportunities provided by Saarland and the Federal Government, from investing in digital technologies to training staff. In particular for SMEs, this provided valuable impetus to realise their own digitalisation projects.

 

Networks in depressed atmosphere

The central outdoor area between the venues provided the perfect framework for networking and relaxed conversations during sunny weather. External highlights were the Future Car, which presented new concepts for mobile work. A humiliating coffee bar and a table football rounded off the loose ambiente and created the ideal environment to create new contacts and maintain existing networks.

 

A full success for the region

The 2024 Southwest Digital Festival has shown impressively the importance of digital exchanges for the region. The high level of participation and interest in digitalisation and artificial intelligence show the relevance of such events. In particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups and public sector actors, the festival provided valuable impetus and numerous opportunities for knowledge sharing and networking.

The three lead projects – the European Digital Innovation Hub Saarland (EDIH), the Small and medium-sized digital centre Saarbrücken and the Regional Centre for the Future of Artificial Intelligence (RZzKI) — thank all participants and partners for the great success. Due to the overwhelming impact, it is very likely that the Southwest Digital Festival will continue to take place next year, an event that will further advance the region’s digital future.