Conference | The Future of Digital Investments in the EU

The EU is at a crossroads — how should it invest in its digital future to increase competitiveness and sovereignty? Join us on July 2-3, 2025 in Aalborg, Denmark, to explore this critical question shaping Europe’s future.

This conference will bring together voices from business, academia, and policymaking to exchange ideas, spark collaborations, and define priorities for Europe’s digital transformation.

Which research areas should come in focus?
Which digital technologies should business invest in?
How should policy makers prepare for the transition to specific technologies?

This session will explore the EU's digital ambitions, the challenges it faces, focusing on the path forward for a common EU approach to digital investments, aligning technological sovereignty, economic security with competitiveness.

Speakers:

Professor Francesca Bria, Euro-Stack

Martin von Simson, Head of department, Federal Ministry for Digitalization, Germany

Michal Kobosko, MEP, Renew Europe Group

André Rogaczewski, CEO, Netcompany

Robert Torvelainen, Chair of the European Tech Alliance (EUTA) & Head of Public Policy Strategy & Operations at Wolt

Location: Aalborghallen
The EU’s ambition to boost its competitiveness, sovereignty, and economic security in strategic digital technologies requires significant investments. Given the massive scale of funding required, this cannot solely stem from public sector financing. Investments will also need to come from private sources, making it essential for public funding to leverage private capital. To achieve this, the EU can play a crucial role in designing investment programs that attract and leverage private digital investments. The session will explore how.

Speakers:

Nadia Carlsten, CEO, Gefion, High Performance Computing

Peder Lundquist, CEO, EIFO

EU Commission (tbc)

EIB (tbc)

Location: Aalborghallen
How can we stimulate the European value chain to gain more from innovation going from research to market specifically looking at AI, data and cloud? We need to bridge basic research to roll-out and take-up considering the upcoming Apply AI Strategy, Data Union Strategy, AI continent plan, AI factories etc.

Speakers:

Juan Farré, CEO, Danish Technological Institute

Maksym Plakhotnyuk, Ph.D., Founder & CEO, ATLANT 3D

Anders Dam Jensen, Executive Director, the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking

Digital Europe

More speakers to be confirmed

Location: Aalborghallen
A better integration of European companies in the digital investments programmes will bring in an important commercial aspect to the innovation system especially within AI and data/cloud. How can we stimulate this integration?

Speakers:

Anne-Fleur van Veenstra, Director of Science, TNO ICT, Strategy & Policy

Laure Le Bars, BDVA Vice-President / Research project Director, SAP

More speakers to be confirmed

Location: Aalborghallen
How can we invest in key digital technologies such as AI, data and cloud while at the same time minimising climate changes? This session will explore relevant use cases and how these can extended throughout the EU.

Thomas Jensen, CEO, Milestone

Location: Aalborghallen

This workshop organised in collaboration by Horizon Europe and Digital Europe NCPs will demonstrate how synergies between EU funding programmes work in practice via several case studies. NCPs from various programmes will be invited to this session as well as proposers.

Location: Aalborghallen
This session discusses the concept of European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDICs), their objectives, features and what they can deliver. It provides an overview of the current EDIC ecosystem, and explores the perspectives for the future.

Organised by the European Commission.

Location: Europahallen og Aalborghallen
Organised by the European Commision in collaboration with Dep4ALL

"Intro and welcome” by Elisabeth Lipiatou (Head of Unit, DG Connect) and Marion Perrin (DEP4ALL project coordinator) – 5 min

“Key lessons for the implementation of Digital Europe so far and for the future” by Elisabeth Lipiatou – 10 min

“Complementarities and differences between Digital Europe and Horizon Europe” by Rudi Gschnitzer, Legal and Financial Officer at DG Connect – 10 min

“Consortium building and other important steps in the submission process” by Marie Timmermann, DEP NCP for Flanders – 10 min

“The Digital Europe/Idealist Topic Tree” by Daniela Hackl, DEP NCP for Austria – 10 min

Q&A (15min)

Location: Aalborghallen
Discover Aalborg’s Leading Companies in Space and Healthcare - Free Company Visit with Transport Included

Aalborg is home to a dynamic and innovative business landscape, especially within the space and healthcare sectors. On July 3, 2025, you have a unique opportunity to visit two of the region’s most prominent companies – GomSpace and Systematic at Aalborg University Hospital – and gain exclusive insights into their cutting-edge technologies, solutions, and production facilities.

Digital Hub Denmark and DI Digital are pleased to invite you to this free company visit, where you’ll meet some of Aalborg’s leading tech innovators and experience real-world applications of their work. Transportation is included and will be provided by bus, starting and ending at the Aalborg Congress & Culture Center, with a direct transfer to Aalborg Airport afterwards.

About the companies:

GomSpace is a globally leading manufacturer and supplier of CubeSat and small satellite solutions, serving customers in academia, government, and the commercial sector. Their core strengths include systems integration, CubeSat platforms, advanced miniaturized radio technology, and satellite operations.

Systematic, an international software leader, provides mission-critical solutions across healthcare, defense, and public sectors. Their healthcare division serving over 60 hospitals globally. Their Columna Flow Clinical Tasking platform, a mobile communication solution for clinicians, has demonstrably reduced interruptions and improved patient flow at hospitals like Aalborg University Hospital.

Program:

13:30 Departure by bus from Aalborg Congress & Culture Center, Europa Plads 4

13:50 Visit to GomSpace / Systematic, Aalborg University Hospital

14:35 Transfer to the second company

14:55 Visit to Systematic, Aalborg University Hospital / GomSpace

15:40 Return to Aalborg Congress & Culture Center

16:00 Arrival at Aalborg Congress & Culture Center

16:30 Arrival at Aalborg Airport
(Estimated arrival at Aalborg Congress & Culture Center at 16:00 and arrival at Aalborg airport at 16:30)