Smart solutions for a secure future: This was the motto of the 16th IT Congress. Neu-Ulm | Ulm on November 13th at the university Neu-Ulm (HNU). More than 600 guests attended 17 presentations by 22 speakers and five masterclasses on the most important current IT trends in the areas of AI, security, future work, and IT law. An IT trade fair and an AI hackathon were held concurrently.
Applicable IT knowledge and implementable solutions – that was the promise to the guests of the 16th IT Congress. Neu-Ulm | Ulm. In addition to experts from HNU, representatives from companies in the region and far beyond gave practical presentations on the four main topics. Between presentations, participants used the time for personal exchange and networking.
Prof. Dr. Jens Kolb, Vice President for Transfer and Continuing Education at HNU, Martin Bendel, First Mayor of the City of Ulm, and HNU Prof. Dr. Philipp Brune, initiator of the IT Congress, welcomed the audience. "Three full lecture halls and the record number of guests show that AI and cybersecurity are on everyone's lips and that there is a massive need for exchange in this area," said Prof. Dr. Jens Kolb. Martin Bendel added: "Today is a good day for Ulm as a business location / Neu-Ulm“They are all here today to make it even more future-proof.” Prof. Dr. Philipp Brune also wished the participants an exciting day with good discussions and useful insights.
Keynote: Trust in the Age of AI: Cybersecurity as a Cornerstone of the Digital Future
Immediately following this, Benjamin Gnahm, Managing Director of Smart Cyber Security GmbH, spoke about trust in the age of AI. In his presentation, he addressed questions such as "How is AI changing the architecture of digital security?" and "What political and ethical frameworks does a resilient society need?" He illustrated, for example, the evolution of passwords from two-factor and multi-factor authentication to password managers and now even password managers that include digital security codes. The key takeaway from his presentation: Trust is not a soft skill, but a technical and strategic value.
The independent and non-commercial Ulm radio station Radio free FM broadcast the keynote live from the lecture hall.
Masterclasses: Hands-on AI
For the first time, the IT congress also featured masterclasses, allowing participants to delve deeper into topics such as "AI without Code in Business Areas" and "Designing Interoperable AI." In the masterclass "Hands-on AI: From the Basics to Your Own Use Cases," HNU Professor Dr. Daniel Schallmo demonstrated how to transition from interested parties to active users. In the masterclass "Ready for AI: Secure and Intuitive with Copilot," Sebastian Mayr, Microsoft Cloud & AI Consultant at fly-tech IT GmbH, explained how Microsoft Copilot can be used to optimize business processes.
IT trade fair
Twenty-five companies and institutions from the regional and national IT sector presented themselves at the trade fair, which took place concurrently in the foyer of the HNU (Heinrich Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences). The HNU's technology transfer centers, specializing in Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence (Günzburg) and Smart Production and Logistics (Leipheim), were also represented with booths. In addition, the HNU's Center for Continuing Education (ZfW) provided information about its programs in the fields of IT and AI. Besides discussions about IT trends, employers and employees also had the opportunity to network.
Photo (HNU): Prof. Dr. Jens Kolb, Martin Bendel and Prof. Dr. Philipp Brune welcomed the guests in the lecture hall of HNU.