Rocketeer Festival

Rocketeer Festival — Digital Conference in Augsburg

The Rocketeer Festival is the festival for digital innovation and future trends in the city of Augsburg, Bavaria's third-largest city and an independent city in the administrative region of Swabia. It sees itself as a meeting point for "all makers, all pioneers" — the Rocketeers from politics, business, and society who want to actively shape digital transformation. The venue is the Kongress am Park, Augsburg's large congress center.

Keynotes and Future Topics

The program consists of keynotes, lectures, and discussions on digitalization, innovation, artificial intelligence, and societal change. Past editions featured prominent speakers such as lawyer and politician Gregor Gysi, founder and author Auma Obama, meteorologist and climate researcher Insa Thiele-Eich, philosopher Richard David Precht, and internet expert Sascha Lobo.

Startup Scene and Awards

A key component is the promotion of the startup scene: Young companies present themselves in the Best of Start-ups competition of the "Augsburg gründet!" initiative. In the evening, the Digital Bavarian Award is presented as part of a state reception — an award for outstanding digital projects from Bavaria.

Organizer and Sponsorship

The publisher is Augsburger Allgemeine. The Technische Hochschule Augsburg (THA) plays a central role with its innovation institute Funkenwerk, which involves students, incubator participants, and the regional startup community. The festival is thus firmly anchored in the Augsburg and Swabian innovation landscape.

Augsburg as an Innovation Hub

Augsburg, an independent city in the Swabia administrative region, positions itself as an innovation hub with universities, research institutions, and a growing startup scene. The Rocketeer Festival is the annual highlight of this movement and a regionally significant meeting point for shaping the digital future.