EXPO 2027: Start Me Up Monday Shines a Spotlight on Belgrade

11 June, 2026
Exchange, innovation, and collaboration were the hallmarks of an evening dedicated to EXPO 2027 in Belgrade at the event held at UAS Technikum Wien.
The Start me up Monday event at the UAS Technikum Wien on June 1, 2026, focused on the EXPO 2027 in Belgrade. Rector Sylvia Geyer opened the evening and highlighted the importance of international, interdisciplinary collaboration between science, education, and business. Rafael Rasinger, Head of Innovation, moderated the event and emphasized its focus on exchange.
Austria’s presentation aims to highlight collaboration, interaction, and identity
Honorary Professor Alf Netek, Project Manager for EXPO Austria in Belgrade, introduced the Specialized Expo under the motto “Play for Humanity” and explained how Austria’s presentation aims to highlight collaboration, interaction, and identity; the Danube will serve as a unifying motif, and innovations are to be presented in a tangible way that can be experienced in just a few minutes.
Together with students from the UAS Technikum Wien, Netek presented a developing innovation map for the pavilion. Under the supervision of Gernot Maier, the students analyzed over 200 projects and distilled approximately 130 potential contributions, organized into clusters covering energy and climate change, circular economy and green tech, health and life sciences, digital innovation and security, industry/logistics/smart city, as well as education and training. The teams matched specific societal challenges with suitable Austrian solutions and prepared these for visitors.
Startup grant and submission criteria with a Vienna focus
To support startups, Tülay Tuncel from the Vienna Business Agency presented funding instruments such as the startup grant, submission criteria with a Vienna focus, and thematic priorities in climate, digitalization, employment, and diversity. Nicole Kus from i2b presented the Austria-wide business plan competition, including free templates, e-learning, an online tool, and multi-stage expert feedback, as well as the competition categories and the schedule leading up to the finals in the fall.
Escape room concepts and demonstrators on the energy transition and hydrogen
In short pitches from the university sector, Tom Besinger (PinIt) outlined the approach and next steps for his solution and later contributed a spontaneous short pitch. Dominic Boesch, CEO of Oraisis Rehab (FH Campus Wien), presented a rehabilitation innovation from the university context and its path to application. Momir Tabakovic, Head of the Competence Center for Renewable Energy Technologies at UAS Technikum Wien, presented gamification formats, serious games, escape room concepts, and demonstrators related to the energy transition and hydrogen, which are used to convey complex content in an accessible way.
The joint closing event in the auditorium fostered networking and in-depth personal conversations. UAS Technikum Wien is continuing its work on the innovation map and contributions for the Austria Pavilion to showcase Austria’s solutions for EXPO 2027 in a practical, interactive, and internationally visible way.
Further Information:
Entrepreneurship in Technology – UAS Technikum Wien
Interview with Alf Netek: Start me up Monday: Austria’s Path to EXPO 2027 in Belgrade
The Future of Healthcare in the Spotlight at Start me up Monday
Start me up Tuesday: What Is a Neighborhood, and When Is It Considered Sustainable?
























