InnovationFestival @karlsruhe.digital 2025: When ideas for the future take to the stage
What does digital innovation look like in real life – not in concept papers, but here on the ground, in our city? On October 17, 2025, the InnovationFestival Karlsruhe at the ZKM will show how companies, universities and start-ups from the region are using digital technologies to change everyday life, work and society. In ten compact pitches, there will be insights that will arouse curiosity – about technologies that you can not only discuss, but also experience directly.
Innovation you can touch
Four hours, ten pitches, one goal: to show how digital technologies are already working today. The stage at the ZKM does not belong to theorists, but to people who use their solutions in everyday life.
This is how dmTECH presents how autonomous robots scan shelves and monitor stocks in drugstores. Sounds like a dream of the future? It’s already up and running in Karlsruhe. Customers benefit because the products are reliably where they belong – and employees benefit because they spend less time taking stock.
Online shopping is also set to become smarter: A semantic product search not only understands keywords, but also the context of a query. Instead of “toothpaste”, the system spits out the right products for a search such as “something for sensitive teeth”. A step towards a more intuitive, more human customer journey when shopping online.
Consiliari makes contract reviews easier. By combining AI, expertise and templates, the day-to-day process of analyzing documents becomes faster and more efficient.
When AI changes clinics and production
Innovation also means making sensitive areas such as medicine safer and more efficient. Sergey Biniaminov from HS Analysis shows how an AI assistant supports doctors in everyday clinical practice. Instead of manually sifting through hundreds of data records, the software evaluates them in parallel and thus helps to prepare decisions more quickly – time that counts for patients.
And what if medicines were produced where they are needed? Siemens Karlsruhe is working on modular automation systems that make exactly that possible: flexible, local drug production. The project combines high-tech robotics with the aim of strengthening supply security in Germany.
Learning rethought
The focus is also on education. Prof. Dr. Matthias Wölfel from Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences takes his audience on a virtual campus: students immerse themselves in new learning worlds using VR glasses, move through digital laboratories and experience complex content more vividly than ever before.
Anjela Mayer(KIT) and Kevin Kastner(TU Mannheim) show how expert knowledge can be preserved for future generations. Their SKI²LL-AI system stores practical knowledge and reproduces it as a “digital twin” – a kind of AI counterpart that allows experts to live on virtually.
And because artificial intelligence can not only store knowledge, but also create something new, Andreas Sexauer is researching generative AI in teaching at KIT. Texts, examples, scenarios – generated by the machine to bring content to life for students.
Security meets art
But where there are opportunities, there are also risks. Luca Beisel and Oliver Gräf from Auxilium Cyber Security present their ACS Shield system, which cleans up input to AI systems. This prevents so-called prompt injection attacks from taking control and leaking data.
And finally: innovation from an artistic perspective. Norina Quinte from ato GmbH shows how art as a tool opens up social discussions. Art makes visible what technology does to us – and opens up spaces that a purely technical discussion cannot reach.
More than pitches – a festival of ideas
The InnovationFestival 2025 is not a frontal lecture or an exhibition hall. It is a stage for
Anyone who attends on October 17 – at the ZKM or via livestream – will experience how regional teams shape the future. Direct, understandable, approachable.
Good to know
October 17, 2025, 2-6 p.m.
ZKMKarlsruhe & Livestream
Q: What is the InnovationFestival @karlsruhe.digital?
A: A compact stage for ten pitches on digital innovations from the region – on 17.10.2025 at the ZKM & via livestream.
Q: For whom is the festival worthwhile?
A: For citizens, students, the local tech scene and decision-makers who want to see practical use cases.
Q: Do I need any previous technical knowledge?
A: No. Technical terms are explained in an understandable way; it is about clear examples of application.
Q: How can I participate?
A: On site at the ZKM Karlsruhe or via livestream. All information at karlsruhe.digital/digitalevents/innovationfestival