FHV Hosts First-Ever A21Digital Talent Day

The A21Digital Talent Day is an interactive event for young talent from the Alpine and Alpine Foothills macro-region, aimed at building bridges between young people on the one hand and the business and academic worlds on the other. Whilst HTL Rankweil, HAK Feldkirch, HTL Dornbirn and BG Bludenz were present on site at the FHV campus, PHTL Lienz and BHAK Lienz took part in the event online. Alongside discussions and keynote talks from leading companies such as illwerke vkw, Intel and TIWAG, the focus was on specific tasks for the pupils and students. This enabled them to explore different approaches and perspectives on complex topics in the fields of new forms of housing (smart homes) and energy communities (decentralised energy).

New food for thought through curiosity and passion

The pupils and students on the FHV’s Environment and Technology course received support in tackling the topics from FHV staff and representatives of the partner companies that had set the tasks. Finally, the teams presented their results, discussing and evaluating them with the experts.

Fadi Dohnal, Head of the Microtechnology Research Centre at the FHV and Co-President of the A21Digital network, is delighted with the positive response: “The first A21Digital Talent Day at the FHV was a resounding success. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and both schools and companies want to take part again next time. This launch has already sparked new ideas for concrete solutions, initial work placements and topics for future project or final dissertations.”

Network for promoting young talent

The A21Digital Talent Day was supported by several departments at the FHV, including the Microtechnology Research Centre, the Department of Engineering, the Empirical Social Sciences Research Group and the Department of Design. Thanks to the tasks set by the event’s partner companies – Alpla, Doppelmayr, Tridonic, Hilti, Gantner and iDM – a direct link to real-world practice was established.

All participating students are automatically entered into a Talent Award, worth €1,000. The event was made possible by the FFG project “MINKT@FHV”, funded by the Austrian federal government.

About A21DIGITAL: This non-profit network acts as a sparring partner for the worlds of politics, society, business and academia on issues relating to the digital society, and as a driving force behind digital transformation as a key factor for the future. Through cross-border initiatives on education, innovation and regional development, with a focus on the Alpine and Alpine foothills macro-region – Southern Germany, the Lake Constance region, Austria and Northern Italy – in the digital 21st century (A21).