The MIT Europe Conference 2021 is one of the most forward-thinking business events in Europe, giving decision makers, entrepreneurs, executives and start-ups the opportunity to gain fresh insights into what's coming next and how the future of work will look like. Listen to some of the most influential voices around the world share their concepts about the latest ideation, transformation, and innovation that's happening in the new world of work.
all times CET
What will the recovery from the global spike in unemployment look like? How will newly implemented technologies impact this process?
How will society adapt to a public sphere, where interactions with robots will become a part of everyday life?
Will super-intelligent computers someday take over all of our work and usher in a golden age of human leisure and prosperity?
How can learning science and new technologies help to address current educational system issues, such as underinvestment and a deep disconnect between the worlds of work and learning?
How can the foundations of a new people science provide a better understanding of the increasingly relevant job hiring aspects, such as the overall fit to the job and soft skills of applicants?
Can new tools and communication networks be the answer to the globally growing social, cultural and political divides?
President, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber
Harald Mahrer (born 1973) is President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and was appointed President of the Austrian National Bank (Oesterreichische Nationalbank) in September 2018. He was Austrian Federal Minister for Education, Science and Business until December 2017. Prior to that, he was State Secretary in the same department from September 1st 2014.
Executive Director, MIT Corporate Relations
Director, Alliance Management
MIT Office of Strategic Alliances & Technology Transfer
Karl Koster is the Executive Director of MIT Corporate Relations. MIT Corporate Relations includes the MIT Industrial Liaison Program and MIT Startup Exchange.
In that capacity, Koster and his staff work with the leadership of MIT and senior corporate executives to design and implement strategies for fostering corporate partnerships with the Institute. Koster and his team have also worked to identify and design a number of major international programs for MIT, which have been characterized by the establishment of strong, programmatic linkages among universities, industry, and governments. Most recently these efforts have been extended to engage the surrounding innovation ecosystem, including its vibrant startup and small company community, into MIT's global corporate and university networks.
Program Director, MIT Corporate Relations
Randall S. Wright is a program director with MIT's Industrial Liaison Program. He manages the interface between the managements of companies, headquartered in the United States and Europe, and the senior administration and faculty of MIT. As a program director for MIT, he convenes teams of researchers and faculty members to provide on-going emerging technology intelligence and strategic advice for the world's leading technology companies. He is a sought-after speaker, delivering keynote speeches focused on emerging technology opportunities and challenges, and counter-intuitive insights in executive panels and discussions. Randall has been bestowed by Federal President of Austria Dr. Heinz Fischer with the decoration Cross of Honor in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria for his "outstanding contribution to the development of relations between Austria and MIT".
Ford Professor of Economics & Associate Head of the MIT Department of Economics Co-Chair,
MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future
David Autor is Ford Professor in the MIT Department of Economics, co-director of the NBER Labor Studies Program, and co-leader of both the MIT Work of the Future Task Force and the JPAL Work of the Future experimental initiative. He is one of the leading labor economists in the world and an internationally recognised authority on how technological change, globalisation, and trade agreements affect labor markets.
Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab
Leader of the Interactive Robotics Group at MIT CSAIL
Associate Dean for Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC)
Julie Shah is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and leads the Interactive Robotics Group of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. She has developed innovative methods for enabling fluid human-robot teamwork in time-critical, safety-critical domains, ranging from manufacturing to surgery to space exploration. Her group draws on expertise in artificial intelligence, human factors, and systems engineering to develop interactive robots that emulate the qualities of effective human team members to improve the efficiency of human-robot teamwork.
Co-Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
Principal Research Scientist at MIT Sloan School of Management
Andrew McAfee is the Co-Director of the IDE and a Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His research investigates how information technology changes the way companies perform, organize themselves, and compete. At a higher level, his work also focuses on how computerization affects competition, society, the economy, and the workforce. He received his Doctorate from Harvard Business School, and completed two Master of Science and two Bachelor of Science degrees at MIT.
General Manager, Microsoft Austria
Dorothee Ritz has been General Manager of Microsoft in Austria since July 2015 and in her role wants to actively shape the digital transformation process in Austria. Ritz has been working for Microsoft in various managing positions since 2004. Before joining Microsoft in Austria, she led the Microsoft International Business Strategy for the president of Microsoft International. Previously, she had been part of the German leadership team as a General Manager for Consumer & Online as well as Advertising & Online. Some of her major successes at Microsoft include the implementation of a strategy for the mobile first, cloud first world as well as driving solutions for the challenges of the digital transformation.
Managing Director of Rhomberg Holding GmbH
Master Builder & Civil Engineer Hubert Rhomberg is Managing Director of Rhomberg Holding GmbH and - now in the fourth generation - in charge of the internationally active Rhomberg Group, which has its headquarters in Bregenz, Austria. The Rhomberg Group employs over 3,000 people across three continents and is a leader in sustainable construction and mobility. Following his holistic approach, the three divisions Construction, Railway Technology and Resources have not only established sustainability as a principle but continue to set new industry standards.
Hubert Rhomberg extends his range of activities by actively promoting research projects (BRIX, House of the Future, LifeCycleTower) and giving public lectures on the subjects Resource Productivity, Mobility and Sustainable Company Management. In 2015 he published his book "Bauen 4.0 - From the Ego to the Lego principle".
Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory CSAIL
Daniela Rus is the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and deputy dean of research for the Schwarzman College of Computing. She brings deep expertise in robotics, artificial intelligence, data science and computation.
Vice President for Open Learning at MIT
Fred Fort Flowers (1941) and Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Sanjay Sarma is the Fred Fort Flowers (1941) and Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He is the first Dean of Digital Learning at MIT. He co-founded the Auto-ID Center at MIT and developed many of the key technologies behind the EPC suite of RFID standards now used worldwide.
He has authored over 75 academic papers in computational geometry, sensing, RFID, automation and CAD, and is the recipient of numerous awards for teaching and research including the MacVicar Fellowship, the Business Week eBiz Award and Informationweek's Innovators and Influencers Award. He advises several national governments and global companies.
Lecturer of Urban Design at the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Principal at Sasaki Associates
Mary Anne Ocampo is a Lecturer of Urban Design in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She works on international and domestic institutional and urban projects, leading teams with strategic planning and a commitment to design excellence. Shifting across scales and contexts, Mary Anne’s recent work includes: a research and development district in Malaysia, an urban design vision for the Texas State Capitol District in Austin, and an institutional master plan for Northwestern University.
Research Fellow, MIT Senseable City Lab and Advisor to the Austrian Minister of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Technology and Innovation
Katja Schechtner is an urban scientist who develops new technologies and shapes innovative policies to keep cities on the move. She is a global urban nomad, continuously moving between her homes and work at MIT Senseable City Lab in Boston, OECD in Paris, ADB in Manila and AIT in Vienna and her board positions across the globe. Previously she advised the Inter-American Development Bank in Costa Rica and Argentina and the EU Commission on Smart City strategy and led urban development work in Japan, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Lead: Knowledge Transfer Centre, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
Georg Russegger is Head of the Knowledge Transfer Center at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. The Knowledge Transfer Centre East is a platform to promote vivid and trans-disciplinary exchange between science, business and society.
Director of the Martinos Imaging Center at MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research
Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Cognitive Neuroscience
McGovern Investigator John Gabrieli directs the research and administrative activities of the center, providing executive-level leadership and oversight to the center’s operations. Gabrieli, who is also a professor in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, is interested in the neural basis of memory, thought and emotion in the human brain, and he also seeks to understand the brain abnormalities that underlie neurological and psychiatric disease.
Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT
Director of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Executive Director at MIT Media Lab
Deb Roy is Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT where he directs the MIT Center for Constructive Communication and is Executive Director of the MIT Media Lab. He leads research in applied machine learning and human-machine interaction with applications in designing systems for learning and constructive dialogue, and for mapping and analyzing large scale media ecosystems.
An author of over 160 academic papers, his popular TED talk Birth of a Word presents his research on his son’s language development that led to new ideas in media analytics. A native of Canada, Roy received his Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Waterloo and PhD in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT.
Chief Executive Officer at AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA
Since September 2017 Michael Otter is Director General of ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA, Austria’s official trade promotion organization at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA, with its more than 100 offices in over 70 countries, provides a broad range of intelligence and business development services for both Austrian companies and their international business partners. The service centers are attached to Austria’s diplomatic and consular missions but are independently operated and financed.
Moderator
Claudia Unterweger is a journalist, radio host and TV anchor for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, ORF. She is a moderator for international events and panels on politics, feminism, pop culture, and more.
