The initiator is the karlsruhe.digital initiative, an association of Karlsruhe’s business, science, administration and culture sectors. As part of the karlsruhe.digital initiative, the City of Karlsruhe’s Science Office and the CyberForum are jointly organizing the event.

On October 17, 2025, the hybrid program will start at 2 p.m. on site at the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe as well as a livestream. Both formats are free of charge and without registration, the link to the livestream can be found on our website.

Making digitalization in Karlsruhe visible and tangible for everyone – that is the aim of the Colourful Night of Digitalization and the InnovationFestival. Because digitalization is changing everything!

Exciting, entertaining keynote speeches will showcase the diversity and excellence of digital innovations from business, science and culture in Karlsruhe. The focus here is on the contribution that these innovations make to society.

As a replacement for the Colourful Night of Digitalization, which was cancelled due to the pandemic, the InnovationFestival celebrated its premiere on 16 October 2020 with 2,000 spectators from 16 countries. This was followed by the second edition on October 8, 2021 and the third edition on October 13, 2023.

The InnovationFestival @karlsruhe.digital will take place in the media theater of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe and will be streamed live via the website and social media channels of the karlsruhe.digital initiative.

Travel to and from events is the biggest driver of emissions, accounting for up to 70 percent. Public transport is available to all visitors for a climate-friendly journey. In addition, the ZKM offers the option of climate-friendly car travel with Green Mobility

Getting to the ZKM by public transport

Due to construction work, there will be temporary changes to journey times in the Karlsruhe area. We therefore ask our visitors to check the current traffic situation on the website of the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund (KVV).

From Karlsruhe main station, you can reach the ZKM by taking line 2 in the direction of “ZKM – Siemensallee”. Simply get off at the “ZKM” stop – the journey takes about 6 minutes.

If you are coming from the city center, it is best to take line 2 at the “Europaplatz – Karlstraße” stop in the direction of “ZKM – Hauptbahnhof”. This will also take you to your destination in around 5 minutes.

From Karlsruhe main station, take bus 55 (direction “Kühler Krug – Bannwaldallee”) to the bus stop “Lorenzstraße – ZKM”.

The “Tullastraße/Alter Schlachthof” stop is located directly at the Alter Schlachthof, just a few minutes’ walk from TOLLHAUS, and is served by numerous KVV lines:

Streetcar lines 1, 2, 5, S2, S4, S5, S7 and S8. Line 2 takes visitors directly from the ZKM to the TOLLHAUS.

The event is expressly aimed at all interested parties.

In particular, decision-makers from the private and public sectors, academia and politics, students, (potential) specialists, press representatives and all interested parties should be addressed.

Until June 29, 2025, companies and institutions can apply with a one-pager and a short video with a maximum length of 1.5 minutes.

You can easily submit your entries via our form – either directly here on the page (see above) or via the following link, which will take you directly to the form: https://form.jotform.com/250402259370046

Companies and institutions from science, business, administration and culture based in Karlsruhe and the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion can apply with their digital innovations.

Digital transformation projects, for example products, services and completed research projects that promote a sustainable society in an outstanding way, can be submitted in the following areas:

• Cloud platform
• Digital sovereignty
• Industry 4.0: Robotics & Production
• IT security + artificial intelligence
• Art, culture & lifestyle
• Mobility & Logistics
• Smart Society & Smart City
• Social Media & Social Network
• Sustainability & climate protection

Each presentation may last a maximum of 10 minutes.

• The most important key facts about the company / institution (vision and goals, foundation, number of employees) and the speaker(s)
• A brief description of the digital innovation including the special / unique features and the contribution to society
• The target group of the innovation
• Information on (planned) market entry and current status

Members of the steering committee of the karlsruhe.digital initiative form the jury, which evaluates the submitted innovations and awards the stage slots in a multi-stage process.

If you have any further questions, you are welcome to contact us directly at: event@karlsruhe.digital.