Connecting Minds. Building Trust. Powering Federated Ecosystems.
June 9–10, 2026 · St. Elisabeth & Villa Elisabeth, Invalidenstr. 3, 10115 Berlin
Around 150 experts, innovators, and decision-makers from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), tech, research, and politics explored on 9-10 June 2026 how to build trust and collaboration in Europe’s digital ecosystems.
FACIS, part of the EU-funded 8ra initiative, contributes to the vision of a trusted, open, and interoperable cloud and edge ecosystem for Europe – where organizations can confidently share, access, and use data and services across providers and borders. Over two inspiring days in Berlin, the event explored the 8ra vision from different perspectives – through panel discussions and strategic dialogues that made the initiative’s goals tangible and relatable.
At the same time, FACIS project results were presented and discussed, inviting participants to exchange ideas on how these outcomes can be further adopted and applied in practice.
Participants connected with peers, exchanged experiences, and shaped ideas together – through interactive sessions, strategic panels, live demos, and a creative hackathon (alongside the conference) – all designed to strengthen the European cloud and edge community and foster meaningful collaboration across sectors. The full programme can be explored in the event agenda.
Highlights From the Floor
Library | Keynotes & Presentations
This section contains all available slides from the event’s keynotes. Please note that materials are not available for all sessions.
Recordings of the keynotes and panel sessions, as well as session recaps, will be added shortly as they become available.
Keynote | New FACIS Survey: “Unlocking Europe’s Digital Future”
- Emma Wehrwein, FACIS Project Lead, eco – Association of the Internet Industry
This keynote introduces the EU project FACIS and its mission to enable federated digital services and digital business models at scale. It also reveals exclusive insights from a new survey of more than 800 European industry decision makers.
The findings highlight emerging digital business models, investment priorities for the next three years, major barriers, and the capabilities organisations need to succeed in Europe’s evolving digital economy.
Want to explore the findings in more detail? Access the full survey results here.
Keynote | Code, Collaborate, Connect: Inside the FACIS Hackathon
- Christian Schmitz, Technical Lead, FACIS
This session provided an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the FACIS Hackathon running alongside the conference. It presented the key challenges, technologies, and collaborative ambitions driving the hackathon. It also highlighted how community-led development and open collaboration actively strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty and foster a dynamic innovation ecosystem
Keynote | From Service Quality to Automation
- Prof. Dr. Sebastian Lins, Head of the Department of Information Systems, specializing in Enterprise Systems and Platforms, University Kassel
- Thomas Niessen, Lead of FACIS’ Work Package SLA Governance, FACIS
As digital services evolve, they increasingly rely on complex networks of interconnected providers rather than simple one-to-one relationships. In these federated ecosystems, ensuring service quality across entire service chains has become a critical business challenge. Traditional approaches to service management and SLA negotiation are no longer sufficient.
Learn how FACIS addresses these challenges through automated, machine-readable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that enable trusted collaboration and seamless service integration across the next-generation of federated digital ecosystems.
Keynote | FACIS in Action: “Orchestrating Federated Ecosystems”
- Hossein Rafieekhah, Lead of Work Package Federation Architecture Patterns (FAPs), FACIS
- Christian Schmitz, Technical Lead, FACIS
This keynote showcased FACIS’ tools such as Federation Architecture Pattern (FAP) for IoT & AI, for Decentralized Catalogue Management, and Credential Issuance as well as Easystack Builder, Orchestration Engine and others.
Keynote | Aviation Federation in Practice – Showcasing the proof-of-concept between FACIS and Airbus
- Andreas Weiss, Managing Director, eco – Association of the Internet Industry
- Stéphane Poulain, Airbus R&T Project Manager, Airbus Operation GmbH/AXIS
Andreas Weiss and Stéphane Poulain showcased the proof-of-concept between FACIS and Airbus, exploring how federated digital infrastructure can be applied in a highly regulated and safety-critical domain like aviation.
The session highlights how the aircraft was treated as a “flying edge device” and integrated into a federated cloud–edge ecosystem to enable secure, trusted data exchange across airlines, manufacturers, airports, and service providers.
Speakers at FACIS Connect
Felix Beckmann
Jörg Bienert
Dr. Martin Enders
Dipl. -Ing.Wolfgang Fischer
Nicolas Flores-Herr
Manuel Höferlin
Frank Kohler
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Lins
Prof. Dr. Alexander Löser
Dr. Patrick Marsch
Thomas Niessen
Klaus Ottradovetz
Stéphane Poulain
Hossein Rafieekhah
Christian Schmitz
Marco Schuldt
Elena Simon
Axel Stahlhut
Ernst Stöckl-Pukall
Andreas Weiss
Emma Wehrwein
Insights from Our Speakers
FACIS Connect on LinkedIn
Agenda
Day 1 – June 9, 2026 (from 12:00)
Registration & Networking
Opening & Welcome
Speaker:
- Andreas Weiss, Managing Director, eco – Association of the Internet Industry
- Emma Wehrwein,FACIS Project Lead, eco – Association of the Internet Industry
Moderated by:
- Alexa von Busse
Alexa von Busse
Moderation
Andreas Weiss
Managing Director , eco - Association of the Internet Industry
Emma Wehrwein
Project Lead , FACIS
Germany’s Role in Shaping Federated Digital Infrastructure for Europe’s Industry
Keynote
- Ernst Stöckl-Pukall, Head of Division for Digitalisation and Industry 4.0, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Ernst Stöckl-Pukall
Head of Division for Digitalisation and Industry 4.0, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Resilience as Baseline for Sovereignty
Keynote
- Ron de Jonge, Member of the European Resilience Summit Global Advisory Board
Ron de Jonge
Member of the ERS Global Advisory Board
Connecting Minds. Building Trust. Powering Federated Ecosystems
This panel explores the strategic relevance of federation as a foundation for Europe’s digital future. Speakers will discuss why trust, interoperability, and open architectures are essential to enable cross-border collaboration and digital innovation. The conversation will address what is needed – politically, economically, and technologically – to turn the 8ra vision into reality, and how Europe can build digital infrastructure that strengthens resilience and reduces dependency on non-European providers.
Speaker:
- Manuel Höferlin, VP Digital Strategy & Resilience, Capgemini
- Frank Kohler, Senior Advisor Open Source, Field CTO Office, STACKIT – Schwarz Digits Cloud
- Ernst Stöckl-Pukall, Head of Division for Digitalisation and Industry 4.0, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
- Emma Wehrwein,FACIS Project Lead, eco – Association of the Internet Industry
Manuel Höferlin
VP Digital Strategy & Resilience , Capgemini
Frank Kohler
Senior Advisor Open Source, Field CTO Office, STACKIT - Schwarz Digits Cloud- Ernst Stöckl-Pukall
Head of Division for Digitalisation and Industry 4.0, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy - Emma Wehrwein
Project Lead , FACIS
Networking Coffee Break
Industrial Collaboration in the Digital Age
Europe’s industrial future increasingly depends on trusted digital collaboration between companies, sectors and countries. From AI and cloud-edge infrastructures to interoperable platforms and resilient supply chains, industries are facing an ever-growing demand for shared digital infrastructure. This panel will discuss how European industries can use cloud-edge infrastructures, AI, and collaborative digital approaches to promote innovation, resilience, and long-term competitiveness. Speakers will share practical insights into enabling industrial transformation at scale.
Speaker:
- Felix Beckmann, R&T Manager, Airbus Operations GmbH
- Prof. Dr. Alexander Löser, Director of the Data Science Research Center, Berlin University of Applied Science
- Klaus Ottradovetz, Distinguished Expert Digital Ecosystems, International Manufacturing-X
- Dr. Martin Enders, IT Solution Architect – Dataspaces Center of Excellence, Schaeffle
Felix Beckmann
Research & Technology Manager , Airbus Operations GmbH
Prof. Dr. Alexander Löser
Director of the Data Science Research Center, Berlin University of Applied Science
Klaus Ottradovetz
Distinguished Expert Digital Ecosystems , International Manufacturing-X
Dr. Martin Enders
IT Solution Architect, Dataspaces Center of Excellence , Schaeffler
Code, Collaborate, Connect: Inside the FACIS Hackathon
This session provides an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the FACIS Hackathon running alongside the conference. It presents the key challenges, technologies, and collaborative ambitions driving the hackathon. It also highlights how community-led development and open collaboration actively strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty and foster a dynamic innovation ecosystem.
Speaker:
- Christian Schmitz, Technical Lead, FACIS
Christian Schmitz
Technical Project Lead, FACIS
AI Beyond the Hype: Building Europe’s Trusted AI Ecosystem
Artificial Intelligence is becoming a defining factor for Europe’s industrial competitiveness, resilience, and digital sovereignty. But AI requires more than powerful models — it depends on trusted infrastructure, interoperable ecosystems, and strong collaboration between industry, research, and policymakers. This panel explores how Europe can move from isolated AI initiatives toward a connected and scalable AI ecosystem. Speakers will discuss the role of federated cloud-edge infrastructures, European AI initiatives such as the announced IPCEI-AI, open innovation, and industrial AI adoption in strengthening Europe’s technological position globally.
Panel-Speaker:
- Jörg Bienert, Managing Director, Center for Sovereing AI
- Nicolas Flores-Herr, Team Lead Foundation Models, Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS
- Marco Schuldt, EU-Coordinator IPCEI-AI und IPCEI-CIS, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
- Elena Simon, General Manager, GCore
Jörg Bienert
Managing Director, Center for Sovereing AI
Nicolas Flores-Herr
Team Lead Foundation Models , Fraunhofer IAIS
Marco Schuldt
EU-Coordinator IPCEI-AI und IPCEI-CIS, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Elena Simon
General Manager , GCore
Closing Day One
Networking Event (Sponsored)
Hackathon Day 1 - June 9,2026
Hackathon Kick-off & Team Formation
Introduction to challenges, tools, and objectives lead by
- Christian Schmitz, Technical Lead, FACIS, and
- Hossein Rafieekhah, Lead of Work Package Federation Architecture Patterns (FAPs), FACIS
Hossein Rafieekhah
Lead of FACIS' Work Package FAPs, FACIS- Christian Schmitz
Technical Project Lead, FACIS
Technical Setup & Environment Check
Checking participant connectivity, validating environments and dependencies, and providing hands-on assistance.
Orchestration Engine Live Tour
A guided live tour of FACIS Orchestration Engine: editor, runtime, UI-builder, node primitives.
Networking Coffee Break
Deep-Dive into Federation Architecture Patterns
Presentation of FACIS FAPs: FAP Partner Onboarding, FAP Decentralized Catalogue Management, and FAP IoT & AI.
Hackathon Working Session I
Working session on chosen FAP scenarios – join an existing team or create your own scenario/goal.
Wrap-up Hackathon Day One
Networking Event (Sponsored)
Day 2 – June 10, 2026 (full day)
Registration & Networking
Welcome
Speaker:
- Alexa von Busse
- Alexa von Busse
Moderation
Unlocking Europe’s Digital Future: What 800 European Industry Decision Makers Reveal About Digital Business Models and Collaboration
This keynote introduces the EU project FACIS and its mission to enable federated digital services and digital business models at scale. It also reveals exclusive insights from a new survey of more than 800 European industry decision makers. The findings highlight emerging digital business models, investment priorities for the next three years, major barriers, and the capabilities organisations need to succeed in Europe’s evolving digital economy.
Speaker:
- Emma Wehrwein, FACIS Project Lead, eco – Association of the Internet Industry
- Emma Wehrwein
Project Lead , FACIS
From Service Quality to Automation
Speaker:
- Prof. Dr. Sebastian Lins, Head of the Department of Information Systems, specializingin Enterprise Systems and Platforms, University Kassel
- Thomas Niessen, Lead of FACIS’ Work Package SLA Governance, FACIS
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Lins
Head of the Department of Information Systems, specializing in Enterprise Systems and Platforms , University Kassel
Thomas Niessen
Head - SLA Governance, FACIS
Networking Coffee Break
From Pilot to Practice: What Industry Needs to Adopt Federation at Scale
As industries become increasingly connected, organizations face growing pressure to collaborate across systems, providers, and digital infrastructures. This panel explores what is needed to operationalize federated digital ecosystems beyond isolated pilot projects. Industry representatives will share practical insights into cross-company collaboration and cloud-edge adoption and discuss how Europe can enable scalable industrial ecosystems in practice.
Panel-Speaker:
- Dipl. -Ing. Wolfgang Fischer, Senior Project Manager, CUBE-C – Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Cloud Continuum/ Robert Bosch GmbH
- Dr. Patrick Marsch, Head of Technical System Architecture, Technology Foundations and IT Platforms | V.ITL 12, DB InfraGO AG
- Axel Stahlhut, Senior Lead – Project Management, Amadeus GmbH
Dipl. -Ing.Wolfgang Fischer
Senior Project Manager, CUBE-C – Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Cloud Continuum / Robert Bosch GmbH
Dr. Patrick Marsch
Head of Technical System Architecture, Technology Foundations and IT Platforms | V.ITL 12, DB InfraGO AG
Axel Stahlhut
Senior Lead – Project Management, Amadeus GmbH
FACIS in Action: “Orchestrating Federated Ecosystems"
Showcasing FACIS’ tools such as Federation Architecture Pattern (FAP) for IoT & AI, for Decentralized Catalogue Management, and Credential Issuance as well as Easystack Builder, Orchestration Engine and others.
Speaker:
- Hossein Rafieekhah,Lead of Work Package Federation Architecture Patterns (FAPs), FACIS
- Christian Schmitz, Technical Lead, FACIS
- Hossein Rafieekhah
Lead of FACIS' Work Package FAPs, FACIS - Christian Schmitz
Technical Project Lead, FACIS
Lunch Break
Aviation Federation in Practice
Showcasing the proof-of-concept between FACIS and Airbus, exploring how federated digital infrastructure can be applied in a highly regulated and safety-critical domain like aviation. The session highlights how the aircraft was treated as a “flying edge device” and integrated into a federated cloud–edge ecosystem to enable secure, trusted data exchange across airlines, manufacturers, airports, and service providers.
Speaker:
- Andreas Weiss, Managing Director, eco – Association of the Internet Industry
- Stéphane Poulain, Airbus R&T Project Manager, Airbus Operation GmbH/AXIS
- Andreas Weiss
Managing Director , eco - Association of the Internet Industry 
Stéphane Poulain
Airbus R&T Project Manager, Airbus Operations GmbH/ AXIS
What We Learned: Practitioner Insights from the Hackathon Floor
Presentation of outcome and learnings by Hackathon Participants
Event Wrap-Up
End
Hackathon Day 2 - June 10, 2026 (full day)
Kick-off Hackathon Day Two
Recap of Day One, outline of objectives, and team alignment lead by
- Christian Schmitz, FACIS Technical Project Lead
- Hossein Rafieekhah, Lead of FACIS Work Package Federation Architecture Patterns (FAPs)
- Hossein Rafieekhah
Lead of FACIS' Work Package FAPs, FACIS - Christian Schmitz
Technical Project Lead, FACIS
Orchestration Engine Live Tour for Newcomers
A guided live tour of FACIS Orchestration Engine: editor, runtime, UI-builder, node primitives
Working Session II
Focus on building chosen core scenarios and continue Day One work, pivot to another team or create your own scenario/goal.
Networking Coffee Break
Hackathon Working Session III
Continued team work on chosen core scenarios, AI-assisted customization, mitigation of edge cases, hardening.
- Hossein Rafieekhah
Lead of FACIS' Work Package FAPs, FACIS
Lunch break
Hackathon Working Session IV & Wrap-up
Finalization and presentation of key findings and results.
Transition & Main Stage Preparation
Teams’ regrouping and preparation for Main Stage.
What We Learned: Practitioner Insights from the Hackathon Floor – Main Stage Panel
Panel led by FACIS Technical Project Lead and hackathon teams on hackathon findings with Q&A.
Main Stage – Event Wrap-Up
Closing remarks for FACIS Connect.
End
Casual Networking & Light Snacks (Grab-and-Go)
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