"Colourful night of digitalization" - experience the digital stronghold of Karlsruhe in all its facets
Experience the unique ecosystem of the digital stronghold Karlsruhe up close
On 7 June 2024, the karlsruhe.digital initiative, together with over 60 partners from administration, science, business and culture, will be organizing the third Colorful Night of Digitalization Karlsruhe from 2 pm. After the joint opening in the TRIANGEL Transfer | Kultur | Raum of the KIT on Kronenplatz, visitors to the decentralized program will gain unique insights behind the scenes of a fascinating world in which the sustainable and digitally networked society of tomorrow is already being actively shaped today – “made in Karlsruhe”.
We live in challenging times. Creative solutions are needed here and digitalization can make a decisive contribution to a future-proof and sustainable society. What does a networked and digitally sovereign society look like? How is it possible to put people at the center? How can digitalization ensure greater participation? Where can you work on solutions to these and many other questions in Karlsruhe? Visitors to the third Colourful Night of Digitalization can experience the answers to these questions at first hand.
With 4,800 IT companies, more than 30,000 employees in the digital sector, the second-highest proportion of start-ups in Germany, the highest level of research activity in Europe and a region with the most driving forces for digitalization in Germany and, last but not least, as a UNESCO City of Media Arts, Karlsruhe is a vibrant metropolis of digitalization in Germany. As a driver of digitalization for a sustainable society, Karlsruhe is already creating solutions for tomorrow and shaping the society of the future. It is essential to shape these developments in dialog with urban society. The Colourful Night of Digitalization offers the opportunity to see for yourself what is already being tested or implemented today – and who the people behind the projects and institutions are.
Presented by the karlsruhe.digital initiative, more than 60 companies, scientific institutions, associations and initiatives as well as municipal offices and companies will open their doors at the city festival of digital ideas and solutions in Karlsruhe on Friday, June 7, 2024, the nationwide Digital Day. Citizens, interested professionals or families and friends of employees can experience the diversity of Karlsruhe as a digital location up close on this day.
Topics such as smart cities, artificial intelligence, innovation, start-ups, energy supply, digital infrastructures, education in all phases of life, health and mobility, digital civil society, culture and media, digital participation and many more can be experienced up close at the Colourful Night of Digitalization. The participating partners also offer the unique opportunity to get to know them as potential employers and to gain a non-binding impression of career opportunities in the digital sector.
Versatile program, also available offline with the web app
The Colorful Night of Digitalization starts at 2 p.m. in the TRIANGEL Transfer | Culture | Space of the KIT at Kronenplatz with a welcome address by Stefan Krebs, the State Government Commissioner for Information Technology and CIO and CDO of the State of Baden-Württemberg, and a talk format on the digital location from the perspectives of science, business and administration with the three chairmen of the karlsruhe.digital initiative.
From 3 p.m., there will be a program throughout the city: the more than 60 participating partners will be presenting themselves at lectures, parties and workshops.
After the exciting day, it’s time to party: The night ends from 10 p.m. at TRIANGEL on Kronenplatz with refreshing drinks and good conversation. The beats of the well-known Karlsruhe DJ duo “Frische Ernte” invite you to dance, while on Kronenplatz the artist collective Francis Karat mobilizes AI models with an art installation and lets them hallucinate the abstractions of future administration.
The municipal administration will also be represented with a wide range of offers at the decentralized program starting at 3 pm. In keeping with the motto “smart, digital & networked”, the fan-shaped city has been successfully exploiting the potential of digital technologies for years and will be presenting itself on June 7. The Smart City Karlsruhe presents itself in the town hall and on the market square with a varied program. Hands-on activities, trying things out, asking experts and much more show how digital Karlsruhe’s administration already is.
With the progressive web app, you can put together an individual program, mark favourites and also use the entire program offline. All program items as well as public transport by KVV (Wabe 100) and KVV.nextbikes are free of charge for visitors. Further information about the event is available at www.bunte-nacht-karlsruhe.digital.
New ideas, new contacts and enjoyment of the common theme
“Visitors can expect a diverse and exciting program for the third time on 7 June. We are particularly pleased that the city administration, which has been recognized as the most digital in the whole of Baden-Württemberg, will also be presenting its numerous Smart City projects in the town hall and on the market square. This not only allows for unique insights and exchange, but also strengthens Karlsruhe’s positioning as a digital stronghold,” explains First Mayor and Chairwoman of the karlsruhe.digital initiative, Gabriele Luczak-Schwarz, who is responsible for the karlsruhe.digital flagship project on behalf of the city as part of its corridor theme “Karlsruhe as a city of business and science” and communicates this to the outside world as a “place of opportunity”.
“New impressions, but also new contacts and motivation – that’s what the Colourful Night of Digitalization brings, especially for skilled workers and ambitious start-ups,” explains Martin Hubschneider, Chairman of the karlsruhe.digital initiative, founder of the software company CAS Software AG and Managing Director of the high-tech.entrepreneur.network CyberForum, which organizes the Colourful Night of Digitalization together with the Science Office of the Economic Development Agency of the City of Karlsruhe on behalf of the steering committee of the karlsruhe.digital initiative. “They benefit from the closely networked ecosystem of administration, business and science and have an excellent opportunity to gain easy access to Karlsruhe’s digital world. Companies, on the other hand, have the chance to present themselves as attractive and innovative employers,” says Hubschneider.
“At the Colorful Night of Digitalization, visitors can experience the groundbreaking innovations that the excellent university and research landscape produces,” says Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth, Vice President Transfer and International Affairs at KIT and Chairman of the karlsruhe.digital initiative. The transfer to the economy and the dialogue with urban society are particularly important to him and the Colourful Night of Digitalization makes an excellent contribution to this. “Opportunities like this show just how fruitful and strong the collaboration in Karlsruhe is. Only through this close connection, which is unique in Germany, the Karlsruhe principle of short distances, is it possible to secure such a strong position in the field of innovation and its transfer from research to practice.”
The participating partners present themselves at the Colourful Night of Digitalization with a wide variety of offers, such as workshops, lectures, guided tours, competitions and much more. The individual program items will be presented via the social media channels of the karlsruhe.digital initiative (#DigitaleNachtKA) and via the website https://www.bunte-nacht-karlsruhe.digital. Here you will also find the issuing points for the wristbands for free use of public transport services.
The Colourful Night of Digitalization is organized by CyberForum e.V. and the Science Office of the Economic Development Agency of the City of Karlsruhe and is under the patronage of the Ministry of the Interior, Digitalization and Communities of Baden-Württemberg. The event is being held with the kind support of L-Bank, Sparkasse Karlsruhe, TelemaxX and Stadtwerke Karlsruhe. KVV and Navigate are on hand as technology and mobility partners.