Ideas worth
spreading.

Nico Lind

Co-Founder of Benno and Possibly

Why teenagers deserve the right to be wrong

Bio

Nico Lind is a Viennese founder working on one question: how do young people find a career that actually fits them? He co-founded two EdTech start-ups, Benno and Possibly, which help 13- to 18-year-olds make career decisions based on their strengths and interests. Over the past four years, he and his team have run more than 500 workshops in Viennese schools and worked with over 10,000 students. They also help students get out of the classroom through taster days, short internships and company visits. Nico holds an MBA in International Talent Management and Leadership. Alongside his start-ups, he works as a certified digitalisation consultant for small and medium-sized businesses. Yet he is still curiously figuring out his own path, and believes that’s exactly the point of life.

About the talk

After working with more than 10,000 students in Austrian classrooms, one pattern stands out: at 14, we ask young people to make one of the biggest decisions of their lives. But they make it in a school system that, since 1774, has taught them that every question has exactly one right answer. That works for maths and physics. It doesn’t work for career choice, where most of us never find out whether a decision was “right” or “wrong,” and where careers rarely follow a straight line anymore. This talk argues that teenagers deserve the right to be wrong: the freedom to experiment, to try things out in the real world, and to say out loud, “I honestly don’t know what I want yet, and that’s okay.” It’s a mindset, which would not only benefit career changers, but everyone else too.

• possibly.at
• benno.school

Burkhard Hanke

Author · Keynote Speaker · Leadership Trainer · Executive Coach

Clarity Is Knowing When to Move

Bio

Burkhard Hanke is an author, keynote speaker, leadership trainer and executive coach with more than three decades of experience in consulting, management and leadership. Trained as a theologian with a focus on business ethics, he co-founded the German Business Ethics Network (DNWE) in 1993 and began his career in management consulting. He went on to hold senior roles at CSC and zeb, where he led recruiting and employer branding across 13 European countries and later served as Chief CSR Officer. Having conducted thousands of job interviews, he knows how often people talk past each other – even when both believe they are being perfectly clear. His books “KNALLHART empathisch. Führen mit Herz und Hirn” (2025) and “KNALLHART klar. Wie Führung durch klare Kommunikation gelingt” (forthcoming Oct 2026), published by Goldegg Verlag in Vienna, explore leadership, empathy and clear communication. Today he works with leaders and organizations as a speaker, coach and trainer.

About the talk

We tend to treat clarity as something we possess – and communication as the act of transferring it into someone else’s head; yet if the other person understands something different, can we really call our message clear? Drawing on the image of a tightrope walker, who stays on course not by holding a perfect position but by constantly correcting it, the talk shows that balance is not a fixed point but the ability to adjust without losing direction. The same is true when we talk to each other: real listening means allowing what we hear to change our own position, moving consciously between standpoint and expectations, I and we, closeness and distance, sending and receiving – because clarity does not live in one person’s head but emerges between people, and the key skill is not holding our position but knowing when to move.

• burkhardhanke.com

Photo: Justin Bockey · © Burkhard Hanke

Diana Khlan

Semiconductor Strategy & Technology Expert · Host of Chips Weekly

The Chip War Is Not Really About Chips

Bio

Diana Khlan is a semiconductor industry professional, technology strategist and creator of Chips Weekly, where she explains the technologies and strategic shifts shaping the global chip industry and AI infrastructure. She has worked at Infineon Technologies for more than 10 years, with experience spanning semiconductor manufacturing, quality, product development and technology strategy. Diana holds an MSc from TU Wien and an MBA in Deep Tech. She regularly speaks about semiconductors, AI hardware, technological sovereignty and the global semiconductor ecosystem, with a focus on making complex technology understandable to a broader audience.

About the talk

We hear a lot about the “chip war,” but it is not really just about chips. The bigger story is about who controls the technology and infrastructure behind AI — the factories, machines, memory, energy and supply chains that make advanced computing possible. The talk looks at why no country can build all of this alone, why some technologies are so difficult to replace, and what this means for the future of AI and technological independence.

• chipsweekly.net

Lilicia Nau

Founder of Eduskai · Tech Content Creator

The most dangerous question in the age of AI

Bio

Lilicia enrolled in university at the age of 14 while still attending high school. Today, at 18, she is a programmer, startup founder, content creator, musician, and martial artist, and is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Business Informatics this term. She chose to accelerate her education specifically to buy herself enough time for “failure.” Through hands-on experience, experimentation, and trial and error, she is now dedicated to developing learning tools and spaces that promote AI literacy for everyone — preparing the next generation to keep pace with an algorithm-driven world.

About the talk

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” In a world where AI can do almost anything and change is unpredictable, this question might be a trap for children. But what if the very things we urge them to avoid turn out to be the keys to their survival in that future?

• LinkedIn

Photo: Lilicia Nau

Pasquale Alex Chiaramonte

PhD researcher, TU Wien

The Chemistry of Terrible Decisions: Building Our World or Burning It?

Bio

Pasquale Alex Chiaramonte is a PhD researcher at the Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering at TU Wien, Austria. Working within the Research Group for Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, his research focuses on the development and mechanistic study of novel catalysts for the isomerization of glucose into fructose. Pasquale holds a Master’s degree in Chemistry for Environment and Health from the University of Calabria. His scientific background spans international research experiences, including the development of fluorimetric sensors for molecular diagnostics at the University of Coimbra, and the synthesis of highly sensitive nanoMIP-based sensors for his Master’s thesis at the University of Vienna. Driven by the principles of green chemistry, Pasquale aims to design sustainable chemical processes that can turn plant-based molecules into viable alternatives to petroleum.

About the talk

Modern society is trapped in a dangerous geopolitical reliance on petrochemicals, running from the consequences of our own resource dependency. We started this race believing oil was just a tool for progress, but today, true independence requires a radical shift. By using novel catalysts, we can “wake up” plant-based molecules like glucose to sustainably manufacture the materials we need. Of course, a single chemical process won’t magically fix the whole world. Rather, it is proof that humanity is fighting back, and that solutions are hidden all around us. We just need to make the right choice.

• LinkedIn

Photo: Pasquale Alex Chiaramonte

Toni Bakovic

Chemist & researcher, TU Wien

Back to Earth: Why the Building Material of the Past Could Have a Future

Bio

Toni Bakovic is a chemist and researcher at TU Wien working at the intersection of chemistry, materials science and construction. After working in the cement and concrete industry on lower-CO₂ binders, he returned to TU Wien to pursue a PhD and explore how the environmental impact of building materials could be reduced even further. His research turned to earth, a widely available material that requires far less processing than conventional cement-based systems. Together with project partners, he develops flowable, cement-free earth mixtures using natural raw materials as well as mineral waste sludges and excavated earth that might otherwise be discarded. More broadly, Toni is interested in what happens when ideas and methods from different fields are connected and how looking back at simple materials can help us rethink how we build in the future.

About the talk

What if one of our oldest building materials could help solve some of today’s construction challenges? By combining modern material science with locally available earth and mineral waste streams, we can rethink how we build with less processing, less waste and fewer imported resources. The same principle, building with what is already there, may become even more important in the future.

Sara Di Bartolomeo

Data visualization researcher, TU Wien

Drawing Stories

Bio

Sara Di Bartolomeo is a data visualization researcher who studies how we can turn complex information into pictures that help us think. Her work focuses on networks, relationships, and stories: how to draw them, how to make their structure visible, and how the way we represent information can change what we notice and understand. She is currently a researcher and principal investigator at TU Wien. She received her PhD in Computer Science from Northeastern University, and her work in data visualization has received several international awards.

About the talk

A story can look completely different depending on where you stand in time: someone disappears, someone returns, two lives briefly intersect, and an event that seemed small suddenly becomes central. This talk explores how we can turn these tangled timelines into visual maps, and how drawing a story can reveal structure, patterns, and connections that are easy to miss when we experience it only as a sequence of events. More broadly, it shows how visualization can become a tool for thinking about time, relationships, and complexity.

Leon Orou

Master’s student, TU Wien · Machine learning engineer

Generation Hope: How to join Gen H

Bio

Leon Orou is a Master’s student at TU Wien in Computational Science and Engineering. He completed his Bachelor in Artificial Intelligence at the JKU in Linz and has worked as a self-employed machine learning engineer. His work in AI raised the question of how we can become more hopeful for the future. To answer it, he travelled around Asia for five months, asking everyone: “What makes you look brightly into the future?” He collected the written answers in a book, which grew into a lasting interest in what makes people hopeful.

About the talk

The rising amount of crisis in the world often makes people feel paralyzed by hopelessness. Leon shares a practice he observed in people who feel hopeful: developing the habit of solving global problems in our own life, in our own version.

Erika Obermayr

Researcher, TU Wien

How to build a new working world for the heroines who don’t need a hero

Bio

Erika Obermayr grew up in rural Upper Austria and has lived in Vienna for the last decade, building her life around business in different environments and cultures. After studying management at WU Vienna and moving through the worlds of consulting and start-ups, she turned to a question that had always fascinated her: how the stories we tell ourselves shape the way we work, relate to others and define success. Today, as a young researcher at TU Wien, she explores the intersection of accounting, sustainability and society. She asks what the “S” in E-S-G can mean beyond reporting, how we can make invisible work visible and what sustainable workplaces could look like.

About the talk

This talk is about gender inequality in the workplace and the invisible work of women. It moves beyond familiar issues such as pay gaps and glass ceilings and explores how to overcome the beliefs that women are taught from a very young age. It calls for a stronger “girls club” of networks and communities for women, better measurement of invisible work and a more sustainable approach to equality that turns awareness into action. If inequality is partly learned and reinforced through the systems around us, then we can also redesign those systems.

Nikolaus Eder

Oral and maxillofacial surgeon

What are you really afraid of?

Bio

Nikolaus Eder is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon operating at the interface of medicine and dentistry, having completed both his medical and dental studies in Vienna. His work spans the full breadth of clinical and surgical patient care, including communicating complex treatment decisions to patients from diverse backgrounds. He broadened his clinical training in Australia, Oman, and Germany, working across different healthcare systems and cultural environments, and gained a profound understanding of how cultural backgrounds can shape the way patients experience illness, treatment, and recovery.

About the talk

Fear can take hold of us and stop us from moving forward, especially when we face the unknown or feel that we are losing control. By understanding what is within our control, knowing what to expect, and consciously observing our reactions in stressful situations, we can change the way we experience fear. Starting with the dental chair, this talk explores how these principles can help us face fear and uncertainty in many other areas of life.

Jakob Everke

Climate and environmental remote sensing, TU Wien

The Hidden Signs of Resilience: What Forests Teach Us About Mental Strength

Bio

After completing his degree in Environmental Engineering, Jakob Everke works in the research group for Climate and Environmental Remote Sensing at TU Wien. His research uses satellite observations to study how forests respond to wildfires and how ecosystems recover afterwards. He is particularly interested in how resilience differs between ecosystems and how changes in resilience can be detected before a disturbance occurs. Beyond his research, he is passionate about communicating science and making complex ideas accessible to a wider audience.

About the talk

This talk explores the different dimensions of forest resilience and connects them to a very different complex system: the human mind. From the way systems respond to disturbance to the subtle warning signs that appear before they reach a breaking point, forests may offer unexpected insights into how we understand and strengthen resilience in our own lives.

Dogukan H. Apaydin

Assistant professor, TU Wien

The Carbon Loop Next Door

Bio

Dogukan H. Apaydin is an assistant professor at TU Wien working at the intersection of materials chemistry and electrochemistry. He explores how sunlight and renewable electricity can turn carbon dioxide into useful chemical building blocks and enable green hydrogen production. His research connects the development of materials and devices with a broader question: how can renewable energy support sustainable chemical production? Beyond what happens inside a reactor, he is interested in the systems around it: where resources come from, how energy is supplied, and whether a technology delivers a meaningful environmental benefit.

About the talk

Carbon dioxide is usually where the story ends — but could it become the starting point for something useful, without pretending we can recycle our way out of climate change? The talk explores how sunlight and renewable electricity can transform CO₂ into chemical building blocks, and why the most important questions may lie outside the reactor: where the carbon comes from, what powers the process, and who needs the resulting product. Rather than promising a black box that cancels emissions, it invites us to imagine carefully designed local connections between carbon sources, clean energy, and chemical production.