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Crossing Borders

­creative.innovative.interdisciplinary
Upper Austria and South Bohemia in Dialogue

[Translate to Englisch:] Gruppenfoto Kick-Off

Ideas sparkled and faces beamed on Thursday, November 21, at the LIT Open Innovation Center on the JKU Linz campus. The opening event of the Interreg project 'KreATivita&InovaCZe' focused on networking and dialogue between the creative industries, entrepreneurship, and science, with the goal of increasing the visibility of the creative industries in Upper Austria and the Czech Republic and unlocking innovation potential.

But how can boundaries be overcome and dialogue be fostered between different countries, disciplines, and stakeholders?

The project partners—LIT Open Innovation Center (JKU Linz) and the Technology Transfer Office (SBU, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice)—together with the creative partners Creative Region (Linz) and Art in the City (České Budějovice)—aimed to open spaces for discourse through targeted matchmaking situations to enable cross-disciplinary and cross-border exchange.

After all, overcoming boundaries is the guiding principle of the Interreg Austria-Czech Republic program. Only by successfully transcending national borders and mental barriers can new collaborations be initiated and innovations emerge.

Overcoming Mental Boundaries and Breaking Down Disciplinary Barriers

In his keynote “Shaping Radical New Thinking and Innovation,” innovation architect Thomas Fundneider addressed exactly this topic: overcoming mental boundaries and breaking free from rigid thought patterns.

Drawing on the Predictive Mind Hypothesis from cognitive science—we only perceive what we already know—he shared life hacks for gradually stepping out of one’s comfort zone to create space for the new.

With his guiding principle “Learning from the Future,” he demonstrated how to break through the familiar, enabling the creation of something radically new, rather than simply producing more of the same.

[Translate to Englisch:] Thomas Fundneider Keynote

In her keynote "Liquid Robots, Krakatit, and the Vision of ALife," author and chemist Jitka Čejková spoke about breaking down boundaries between different disciplines.

The out-of-the-box thinker connects her scientific research on liquid robots and ALife with the work of the famous Czech author Karel Čapek. Over a hundred years ago, he coined the word "robot" in his play RUR (Rossum's Universal Robots).

This provided ample reason for Jitka Čejková to invite a hundred experts, including scientists and creatives, to share their insights in her essay collection “RUR and the Vision of Artificial Life” about the groundbreaking and still influential work of Karel Čapek.

[Translate to Englisch:] Jitka Cejkova Keynote

The relevance of interdisciplinarity for research and science was explained by the Rector of JKU, Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Stefan Koch. Alongside the Vice Rector for Research at the University of South Bohemia (SBU), doc. Ing. Luděk Berec, numerous distinguished guests from the South Bohemian and Upper Austrian business and creative sectors discussed cross-border networking and innovation potential.

Among the speakers were Mgr. Patrik Červák, Head of the Department for Culture and Heritage Protection at the South Bohemian County Office, Karin Hörzing, Vice Mayor of the city of Linz, Member of Parliament Mag.a Helena Kirchmayr, Vít Vavřinec Pavlík, Chairman of the South Bohemian Artists' Association, Dipl.-Ing. Katja Rosner from the Upper Austrian Provincial Government (Coordination Office for EU Regional Policy, Interreg Bavaria-Austria), and also from the Province of Upper Austria, Mag.a Romana Staufer-Hutter (Head of the Cultural Projects, Communication, and Policy Affairs Group). A video message from Regional Councilor Markus Achleitner also delighted the guests.

After networking appetizers at the LIT Factory, interested participants engaged in moderated matchmaking sessions focused on core topics of the creative industries.

We are excited to see what opportunities arise for future collaborations between the various stakeholders, disciplines, and countries. A pilot project where ideas sparked and faces beamed.

More information about the project!

[Translate to Englisch:] Logos Interreg