Innovation Ecosystems at Work

Join bigX, the innovation exchange conference.
October 9th, 2025 | Klosterneuburg, Austria
2025 Edition

bigX: Innovation Ecosystems

Innovation needs ecosystems that connect ideas, people, and infrastructure. At bigX 2025 we explore what makes science-driven innovation thrive. Exchange solutions with ecosystem architects, renowned scientists, startup pioneers, and global experts and help shape the future of science innovation.

Keynote

Global Vision, Local Action

Meet bigX keynote speaker Jens Nielsen.
Jens Nielsen
CEO at BioInnovation Institute and Professor at DTU
BioInnovation Institute

Dr. Jens Nielsen is the CEO of the BioInnovation Institute in Copenhagen, one of Europe’s leading incubators for life science startups, and Professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

He is a globally recognized biotech founder and pioneer in systems and industrial biology, and one of the most cited researchers in the field of metabolic engineering.

Jens Nielsen

What makes a science innovation ecosystem truly world-class?

Jens Nielsen shares lessons from decades at the cutting edge of industrial biotech.

From scaling startups to building research infrastructure, Jens offers a sharp, data-informed look at what it takes to build a thriving innovation environment and where we can act.

Speakers &
Featured researchers

Lineup

Get inspired by the people designing tomorrow’s innovation economies and those scientists and founders bringing Austria’s next breakthroughs to life. Expect fresh insights from our hand-picked lineup of 15+ leaders in deep tech, quantum, and life sciences.
Jens Nielsen
CEO of BioInnovation Institute and Professor at DTU
BioInnovation Institute | Technical University of Denmark

Dr. Jens Nielsen is the CEO of the BioInnovation Institute in Copenhagen, one of Europe’s leading incubators for life science startups, and Professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

He is a globally recognized biotech founder and pioneer in systems and industrial biology, and one of the most cited researchers in the field of metabolic engineering.

Kathrin Spendier
Technical Prize Director in Quantum Applications at XPRIZE Foundation
XPRIZE Foundation

Dr. Kathrin Spendier leads the $5M XPRIZE Quantum Applications competition, a global challenge sponsored by Google Quantum AI and GESDA, to accelerate quantum solutions.

Prior to XPRIZE, she served as a Technology Evangelist at Quantinuum, and as an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

Jodi Barrientos
CEO of Ribbon Biolabs
Ribbon Biolabs

Jodi brings almost two decades of experience leading high-performing commercial organizations in the genomics market. Before becoming the CEO of Ribbon, she served as their CBO, and held executive roles at Agilent Technologies. She also held leadership roles in Product Management at Qiagen and Field Application Consulting for Roche Diagnostics’ custom OEM business. Jodi started her career as a bench scientist. She holds a degree in Molecular and Microbiology from Purdue University and conducted her master’s research in cancer biology.

Stefan Sack
CEO and Co-Founder of a stealth startup
Stealth Startup

Dr, Stefan Sack is a quantum algorithms researcher and co-founder of a stealth startup.

He earned his PhD from ISTA, worked on quantum machine learning at Quantinuum and interned at QuEra in Boston. In 2022, he was the only European awarded an IBM PhD Fellowship, leading to a collaboration with IBM Research Zurich.

Johann Danzl
Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Dr. Johann Danzl is a Professor at ISTA developing next-gen optical imaging for biology and neuroscience, focussing on high-resolution light microscopy methods.

He collaborates with Google Research to advance the computational analysis of high-resolution microscopy data.

Samira Nik
Programme Manager
European Innovation COuncil

Dr. Samira Nik is Programme Manager for Quantum Technologies and Electronics at the European Innovation Council. With a PhD in Materials Science from Chalmers University, she worked across nanoelectronics, superconducting devices, and cleanroom operations before moving into policy, becoming Project Manager – Innovation in the European Standardization Organizations. Today, she drives the EIC’s quantum vision, managing its portfolio and shaping Europe’s quantum tech ecosystem.

Jillian Augustine
Team Lead Insights at Anyline

Jillian describes herself as “all things data”. She completed studies in Biochemistry at the University of Leeds (UK) and McGill University (Canada) before moving to Austria in 2013 to join the Vienna Biocenter (VBC) PhD Programme. In recent years, Jillian has worked across a range of industries in various engineering roles. She is currently a Team Lead for Insights at Anyline where she manages Anyline’s data platform and the Insights generated from it.

Nadine Nehme
Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer Medicus.AI

Nadine Nehme is a renowned expert in health informatics and artificial intelligence (AI). As a researcher and entrepreneur, her work focuses on leveraging AI to improve healthcare systems and patient outcomes. Nehme’s contributions include developing AI-driven solutions for medical diagnostics and personalized medicine, positioning her as a key figure in the integration of AI in healthcare.

Andela Saric
Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Andela Šarić is a professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), specializing in theoretical and computational biophysics. Her research focuses on understanding the self-assembly processes of biological molecules and their implications for diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Andela employs advanced computational models to explore how proteins aggregate and form complex structures. She holds a PhD in Physics.

Christiane Wendehorst
OEAW Presidium and Scientific Director of the European Law Institute

Christiane Wendehorst is a distinguished legal scholar, professor as well as co-founder and currently scientific director of the European Law Institute. She has become a leading authority on the legal implications of artificial intelligence (AI). Wendehorst’s work focuses on integrating AI into legal frameworks, addressing issues like liability, privacy, and ethical standards.

Micah Adler
Serial Entrepreneur & Computer Scientist

Micah Adler is an academic-turned-entrepreneur with a focus on the theory of algorithms and their diverse applications. He served as a tenured professor at UMass Amherst, publishing 70 papers in leading Computer Science venues. He also co-founded six companies, including
CourseAdvisor, Adverplex/Cogo Labs, and Fiksu, with five of these ventures achieving notable acquisitions.

Carmen Visus
Senior Director R&D Operations at AOP Health

Carmen Visus, PhD, with 20 years’ postdoctoral experience in Academia and Pharma/Biotech industry in the US and Europe; she has broad expertise in Immunology, Oncology/Hematology, Biomarkers, personalized medicines, rare diseases, and critical care. She works as Senior Director R&D Operations at AOP Health, responsible for execution of R&D Strategy, pharmaceutical, medical device development, and clinical research. Carmen is AI ambassador at AOP Health for implementation of AI strategies for R&D/Medical uses.

Florian Praetorius
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Florian Praetorius is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), specializing in biomolecular design. His research focuses on using advanced computational methods to create novel proteins and biomolecular assemblies. Florian’s work aims at combining deep learning-based protein design with principles from DNA nanotechnolgy.

Francesco Locatello
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Francesco Locatello is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) since 2023. Before joining ISTA, he worked as a Senior Applied Scientist at Amazon Web Services from 2021 to 2023. He completed his PhD at ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, where he was supervised by Gunnar Rätsch and Bernhard Schölkopf.

Marco Porak
Managing Director of IBM Austria

Marco Porak is Managing Director of IBM Austria. He supports Austrian clients in implementing new agile business models and prepares them for the future with AI capabilities enabled by a hybrid cloud platform in close collaboration with an extended partner ecosystem. He is supported by a highly talented and motivated team in Austria. Marco Porak holds a master’s degree in business administration and is a patent holder from his time in software development.

Christoph Lampert
Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Christoph Lampert earned his PhD in mathematics from the University of Bonn in 2003. He joined ISTA in 2010, became a Professor in 2015, and leads the Machine Learning and Computer Vision group. Since 2019, he heads ISTA’s ELLIS unit and serves on the board of the FWF Cluster of Excellence “Bilateral AI”. His award-winning research has received international recognition. He an Action Editor for JMLR.

Monika Henzinger
Vice President ISTA

Monika Henzinger is Vice President for Technology Transfer at ISTA. She is a computer scientist with former positions, amongst others, as professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and first Director of Research at Google. Her research focuses on privacy-preserving algorithms.

Marco Mondelli
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Before joining ISTA, Marco Mondelli was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford, a Research Fellow at the Simons Institute, and he obtained his PhD in Computer and Communication Sciences from EPFL. Marco focuses on developing information-theoretically principled methods for high-dimensional inference problems that appear in machine learning and data science. He received a Lopez-Loreta Prize, an EPFL Doctorate Award and paper awards from the IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), the Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC), and the Information Theory Society. 

Sandra Siegert
Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria and Co-Founder of Syntropic Medical

Sandra Siegert is a professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and a co-founder of Syntropic Medical. She specializes in neuroscience, focusing on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of brain function in adulthood and in mental health disorders. Sandra uses advanced live imaging techniques in the preclinical and human iPSC models to study neuron and glial cell interactions.

Alicia Michael
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria

Alicia Michael is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, specializing in biochemistry and structural biology. Her research works on understanding how genes are regulated, focusing on circadian rhythms, using cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography approaches to visualize protein-DNA complexes “in action” to elucidate how they regulate precise and timely gene expression.

Noah Oder
AI Policy OECD

Noah Oder is an AI policy consultant for the OECD’s AI team. He is involved in evaluating the implementation of OECD AI principles in member countries and conducting mixed-methods analyses of national AI strategies and policies. Oder holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from McGill University. He also was a Guy Drummond Fellow at Sciences Po Paris and a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna.

Main Focus Points

Program

Discover how science-based ecosystems grow brilliant ideas into breakthrough ventures. This year’s bigX takes you inside the moving parts of successful innovation systems: from vision and policy, to infrastructure, capital, and the humans behind it all.
Ecosystem Architectures

Explore how innovation ecosystems are designed and governed from global flagships to hidden champions.

A data-based look at Austria

Get a first look at the new Boston Consulting Group study revealing strengths, gaps, and next steps.

Science Founders in Action

From first breakthrough to founding moment, follow real science founder journeys from lab bench to startup.

Date and Location
9th of October, 17:00 – 21:00
ISTA Campus, Klosterneuburg, Vienna outskirts, Austria
Organisers:
bigX Conference

Transcending boundaries

bigX is committed to transcending boundaries across science and industry. Held annually by xista and ISTA, our conference brings together thought leaders, researchers, and innovators to exchange insights on advancements on the forefront of innovation.
Testimonials
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Overview

Reasons to Attend bigX

The 2025 bigX conference is a platform dedicated to forging connections across sectors.
eXcite

Get eXcited by our keynotes on ecosystems and science founding

eXplore

Listen to discussions and eXplore the minds of top experts from academia and industry.

eXchange

Network and eXchange with C-level executives, top academic minds, and promising startups.

Location

The Conference Venue

Discover bigX 2025 at the prestigious Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg, nestled amidst the Vienna Woods. Only 18 km from Vienna's city center, the ISTA campus offers a serene backdrop for exploring cutting-edge AI innovations and world-class research.

FAQS

bigX returns in 2026

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