OpenTech Connect: Day 1 - INSPIRE
OpenTech Connect brings together researchers, professors, students, developers, and industry experts for two days of hands-on learning, demos, lightning talks, and thought leadership around data, AI, and open technology.
Venue
EPFL Innovation Park - exact rooms TBA
Dates
11 - 12 November, 2026
What to expect
Day 1 - INSPIRE
Talks and demos
Lightning sessions
Thought leadership
Panel discussions
Networking and apéro
Agenda
09:00 - 09:30 - Arrival and breakfast
09:30 - 09:50 - Sofia Vallecorsa, CERN : Negative Results as a Measure of Progress: Quantum Computing in the Age of AI
09:50 - 10:10 - Sandro Saitta, viadata : The Data Side of AI
10:10 - 10:30 - TBA
10:30 - 10:50 - Deborah de Wolff, Liinka.io : Why Building Faster with AI Makes It Harder to Find What Users Actually Need
10:50 - 11:05 - Break
11:05 - 11:25 - Jérôme Michaud, GVA : Innovation has no Runway
11:25 - 11:45 - Julien Knafou, HES-SO : Delivering the Best RAG of All Times in a Few Weeks
11:45 - 12:05 - Alexandra Pérez Acevedo, Analytics Alpha Group : Two Agricultural Worlds, One Data Frontier
12:05 - 12:25 – TBA
12:25 - 13:30 - Lunch
13:30 - 13:50 - Swiss AI Academy : Agentic Transformation: Erosion vs Evolution
13:50 - 14:10 - TBA
14:10 - 14:30 - Adi Saric, Maverix : Built to Be Understood: AI and Financial Inclusion in Developing Economies
14:30 - 15:00 - Break
15:00 - 15:20 - Prof. Mascha Kurpicz-Briki, BFH : The Potential of Small Language Models for SMEs
15:20 - 15:40 - Lindsey DeWitt Prat, Bold Insight : All of Tech’s a Stage: Old Stories, New Futures
15:40 - 16:00 - TBA
16:00 - 16:20 - Break
16:20 - 16:40 - Quintana Hoyne, Embreier : The AI Supercycle: What Changes Inside the Enterprise
16:40 - 17:00 - TBA
17:00 - 17:30 - Panel
17:30 - 20:00 - Apero
👉 ATTENDING THE DAY 2 WORKSHOPS? Day 2 requires a separate registration! Sign up for Day 2 - BUILD here.
Official Media Partner: SwissDevJobs
SwissDevJobs is a job portal built by engineers for engineers and the first Swiss IT job board built with Software Engineers in mind.
The main goal of the company is to bring more transparency, openness and diversity to the Swiss IT market.
👉 If you are looking for ML/AI positions in Switzerland, check them out at SwissDevJobs.ch