Covid-19 came completely unexpected.  Still, many companies managed to walk through the crisis strongly. Sometimes that meant making small adaptations, sometimes firms had to change their entire business model. How is that possible? What measures can you take to be prepared for an unknown future? We will discuss this and many other entrepreneurship- and innovation-related topics at our 38^th E&I Touchdown from January 19^th to 21^st, 2021.

For the first time ever, the E&I Touchdown will last three days. At this festive semester closing event of the E&I Institute, you will get to know more about the E&I Institute’s work with our project partners from various industries, experience practical workshops and network with people from research and practice.

On Tuesday, January 19^th, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, Director of the E&I Institute, will welcome all guests to the 38^th E&I Touchdown. This constitutes also the start of our pitch competition. Every semester, our students solve up to 30 business challenges during the semester for start-ups and businesses like Microsoft, ÖBB or FESTO. At the E&I Touchdown, students pitch their innovative solutions in 45 seconds to a jury of experts and a broad audience, competing for the Best-Pitch Award.

Strong partners are important for a successful future. We are proud of our large network, of whom five partners are hosting practical workshops on Wednesday, January 20^th. During these workshops, participants have the opportunity to interactively get to know our E&I faculty, teaching methods as well as our broad E&I ecosystem. The workshops are followed by the E&I Hackathon - your opportunity to experience how project courses at the E&I Institute look like.

This semester’s E&I Touchdown with a live panel discussion on Thursday, January 21^st. Experts from different industries will give their opinions on strategies for an unknown future, followed by the award ceremony for the winning teams of our pitch competition. Afterwards, there will be two networking sessions, giving participants an opportunity to connect, despite the virtual setting.

We are looking forward to three days full of entrepreneurship & innovation. You can find more information and register here.