The attraction of the sixth Digital Festival and the eighth HackZurich was great this year: more than 2500 makers, decision-makers and developers have made Zurich the meeting place for technology and digital in the last four days. So that the two formats once again make an important contribution to the innovative ability of the Swiss economy and technology scene, as stated in a message on Sunday.

International and national pioneers as guests

The Digital Festival 2021 is based on the tried and tested mix of international and national executives and experts. In her lectures and interviews she looks at topics for the future, inspired and stimulated reflection and exchange. Without exception, they delighted the guests with their presentations and took a lot of time to exchange ideas with the local community.

Concrete tips and pragmatic guidelines for immediate use in practice enjoyed great popularity. Labs, sessions and lectures on topics such as product management in a high-tech environment, language-based applications or management principles in today’s fast-paced world offered practical insights for use in SMEs. In addition to inspiring and practice-oriented lectures, various sessions, concerts, immersive worlds or the legendary barbecue evening provided many unforgettable experiences and moments.

New records at HackZürich

The eighth HackZurich will take place in Technopark Zurich from Friday to Sunday. From a variety of international applications, more than 1500 programmers were selected who developed more than 150 innovative, technical prototypes in teams within 40 hours.

In addition to 420 participants on site, more than 600 participants from all over the world took part virtually. Not only the diversity and high quality of the results were particularly remarkable, but also the way in which the teams from more than 90 nations worked together virtually as well as on site in Zurich.

The winner was the “Thunderstroke” team, which enables online meet-ups with friends. Thunderstroke is an application of real-time image processing algorithms and artificial intelligence to hold a jam session in 3D live over a distance in order to loosen up otherwise dry online meetings with music. A laptop is enough to play along. With simple gestures, not only the well-known air guitar can be played, but also other instruments such as air drums or even an air triangle.

Support as a success factor

“We look forward to the successful implementation of the Digital Festival and HackZurich 2021,” says co-founder and managing director Jonathan Isenring. «In addition to the passion of the team, this is mainly thanks to the loyalty of our community and the support of our partners. We believe that our platforms will continue to be one of the largest and most inspiring meeting places for doers and executives. We will definitely stay true to our mission and DNA. ” (pd / lol)