SCHEDULE
TECHconnect - Technology Transfer Festival
MAIN STAGE
AMPHITHEATER, +ONE INCUBATOR, CATTIA
10:00 – 10.20
Official Opening - Technology Transfer: The Key to Regional Development
Brașov City Hall, UEFISCDI, and ICEBERG+
How we turn research into regional competitiveness
I. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER X INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERSECTIONS
10:20 – 10:40
INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER
How We Tell Stories – The Future Between Empathy and Technology
10:40 – 11:00
Q&A
11.00 – 12.00
PANEL – AUTHORITIES X ACADEMIA X BUSINESS
Innovation with 3 Engines: Government, Research, and Business How to synchronize efforts for real results
Topics:
→ Sustainable innovation works – when it’s tied to real economic growth
→ Good ideas don’t reach the market on their own – how do we protect and prepare them for the road ahead?
→ University innovation – what’s missing for it to be applied in companies?
12.00 -12.15
Coffee Break
12.15 – 13.00
EXPERT DIALOGUE – INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE
→ Maps for Worlds that don’t exist yet
On how to build the future as a possible world – algorithmically, visually, ethically. Why future design is not fiction, but social infrastructure.
13:00 – 13:15
Q&A
13.15 – 14.00
PANEL – FROM LAB INNOVATIONS TO MARKET VIABILITY
From Prototype to Product: How ReNITT Accelerates Technology Transfer Across Sectors
→Digital & Deep Tech
→Health & Biotech
→Energy, Environment & Climate Change
→Industry & Advanced Manufacturing
Topics:
→ Successful transfer stages: Step-by-step, what does the journey of a deep tech innovation look like? Who are the key players and how do they collaborate around a prototype?
→ Practical support for researchers and startups: What role does ReNITT play in turning research into real products? How does this network support validation, prototyping, and scaling?
→ The future of AI and robotics in Romania’s ecosystem: What success stories already exist? What are the real opportunities for applying AI and robotics in industry and administration? How can we support emerging initiatives?
14:00 – 14.30
Lunch Break
II. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE FUTURE
14:30-15:15
INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER
→ Science- and Tech-Based Economic Growth as Public Policy: What We Can Learn from Europe
15:15-16:15
PANEL – IP, PARTNERSHIPS & TECH TRANSFER IN AI, ROBOTICS & MEDTECH
Whose Idea Is It? Who Owns, Who Applies, Who Benefits
Topics:
→ Protecting what we invent: Why IP protection is a strategic decision, not a bureaucratic step. Best practices in AI, robotics, medtech.
→ When transfer blocks or enables innovation: What real cases teach us about the role of IP in scaling or limiting applicability.
→ IP Partnerships: Who owns, who applies, who wins? What models work between universities, research institutes, and companies? Who owns the innovation and how do we negotiate fairly?
17:00 – 21:00
Socializing & Concert
SIDE EVENTS
+ONE INCUBATOR ROOM, CATTIA
15:30-17:00
Expo & Matchmaking – Research, Meetings, Opportunities
→ Thematic matchmaking: Health, Energy, Mobility, Agriculture, IT&C, Environment
Quick meetings between research centers, startups, SMEs, and companies active in innovation-driven fields. Targeted, specific discussions to identify partnerships and scalable solutions.
Targeted discussions for building partnerships and scaling solutions
→ InnoShowcase
Research results with real impact – technologies in robotics, AI, medtech, sustainability, renewable energy, or smart agriculture, presented directly by the teams who developed them.
Brașov, October 9 2025
MAIN STAGE
AMPHITHEATER, +ONE INCUBATOR, CATTIA
I. Projects That Endure. Processes That Work. Applied Tech.
10:00 – 11:00
From Idea to TRL9 – Successful Transfer Models
Projects that crossed the lab-to-market barrier
→ Presentations of regional success stories that reached TRL 9
→ Economic operators and IP rights holders
→ 3 case studies × 15 minutes each
11.00 – 11.45
PANEL – Functional Alliances for SMEs × Startups × Administration Innovation on Shared Ground: SMEs, Startups, Local Authorities
Topics:
→ City Hall as a catalyst for local and regional innovation: best practices
→ Idea or need? How local administrations support tech and business development
→ The real impact of grassroots innovation: jobs, investors, sustainable growth
11:45- 12:30
Market-Ready Sprint: Researchers × Startups × Investors
Format:
Collaborative workshop held in the +ONE incubator – where researchers, startups, investors, and clusters work together to understand what it takes for a research outcome to become a viable product.
Working topics:
→ What’s missing in the research → product journey?
→ What are investors looking for in deep tech projects?
→ How does a cluster support innovation validation and scaling?
→ How to quickly test an idea before requesting large funding?
12:30-12:45
Coffee Break
12:45 – 13:30
PANEL – Ecosystem + Big Tech + Startup Mindset
Tech Built in Romania. For Markets that Matter.
Topics:
→ How to build a scalable tech product from a small market
→ What mattered most: funding, team, culture, or timing?
→ What does the local tech ecosystem look like in 2025 – and what’s still missing to support more successful products
→ When is the right time to think globally, not just locally?
→ What mistakes should Romanian founders avoid when building for international markets?
13:30-14:00
What needs to happen for solutions to reach the economy
Festival closing and reflections on how technology transfer shapes regional and national development.
14:00 – 15:00
Lunch Break
15:00 – 18:00
Networking & Stand-Up Comedy
SIDE EVENTS
+ONE INCUBATOR ROOM, CATTIA
12:00– 14:00
InnoBroker Sessions
→ Connecting Businesses to the Right Solutions
Technology brokerage sessions for companies and local public authorities.
What happens:
→ Technology supply and demand discussed 1:1 or in micro-groups
→ Matching real needs with validated solutions
14:00 - 15:30
ComSci Sprint
→ Visibility for Research: Digital Strategies That Actually Work
Collaborative sprint for research teams, communicators, and dissemination experts.
What we do:
→ Work on real examples: scientific results worth showcasing
→ Discuss effective digital promotion tactics (social media, media relations, newsletters, landing pages)
→ Explore what worked and what didn’t in Romanian and EU communication campaigns
15:30 - 17:00
Science Open Doors @UNITBV
→ Visits to research organizations and academic institutions in Brașov, dedicated to high school and university students to inspire careers in science and technology.
Hotel Mercure Arsenal
09:15
Opening
09:30 – 10:30
Accelerating Innovation in Industry: From Industry 4.0 to 5.0
Speakers
Dominic Gorecky (Swiss Smart Factory),
Adrian Florea (ULBS Technology Transfer), Ramona
Samson (European Commission)
10:30 – 11:00
FIT EDIH: Support for the Digitalization of SMEs and Public Authorities
11:00 – 11:15
Coffee Break
11:15
Funding Opportunities for SMEs and Public Authorities
Speakers
European Commission – Ramona Samson,
ADR Centru – Dan Zbuchea, SME Sibiu – Ciprian
Faraon
12:30
Lunch
13:30
Presentation – Chatbot / Solutions for Current Beneficiaries (Ropardo)
Parallel Event
11:15 – 12:30
Workshop (Satellite)
Topic:
Industry × Academia Collaboration for Smart
Factory Romania
Speakers
Dominic Gorecky, Detlef Züehlke, Bogdan Pîrvu, reprezentanți companii
12:30 – 13:30
Lunch
13:30 – 16:00
Parallel Sessions
AI4Devs, Ropardo, Exhibitors’ Solution Presentations
16:00
Closing
Aula Magna, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Str. N. Iorga no. 1
10:00 – 10:20
Opening
Speakers
Rector, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and
Information Technology
10:20 – 10:40
International Keynote
Speaker:
Jaione Ganzarain – Deputy Secretary of State for
Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation – Basque
10:40 – 11:00
Q&A
11:00 – 12:00
Panel: Administration × Research × Industry
MedTech Innovation with Three Engines
12:00 – 12:15
Coffee Break
12:15 – 13:00
International Experts Dialogue – Keynote
Topic:
The Future of Health: Technology, Ethics, and Real Impact
13:00 – 13:15
Q&A
13:15 – 14:00
Panel: Lab Innovations with Real Impact
Fields:
Digital & Deep Tech, Health & Biotechnology, Energy & Environment,
Industry & Advanced Manufacturing
14:00 – 14:30
Lunch
14:30 – 16:00
Expo & Matchmaking – research, prototypes, opportunities
14:30 – 15:00
Student & Young Innovators Pitch @UMFST
15:00 – 16:00
Matchmaking tematic, InnoShowcase @UMFST, Research Landscape UMFST
15:30 – 17:00
Parallel Sessions @ Faculty of Medicine – CCAMF Science Open Doors @UMFST
16:00 – 17:30
InnoBroker Sessions
Official Launch of SUCReD – Scaling Up the Commercialization of R&D
Save your free spot!
TECHConnect – the first Technology Transfer Festival in the Centru Region – be part of the community.
Get in touch
Have a topic in mind, want to be a speaker, or just have something to share?
We’re here for it.
- com@iceberg.plus
- Mihail Sadoveanu 6, Brașov
