Innovation Journey to EXPO 2025
From April 13 to October 13, 2025, the World Expo is taking place in Osaka, Japan, under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” From May 15 to 20, an economic delegation from Upper Austria traveled there – with them was Gerd Krizek, Senior Manager Study Portfolio & Student Affairs at IT:U.
Austria’s Innovative Spirit on Display
Led by regional minister Markus Achleitner and WKOÖ President Doris Hummer, the innovation journey to Japan offered insights into cutting-edge design and technology projects. Austria’s pavilion at EXPO 2025 bears the title “Composing the Future.” With a strong emphasis on sustainability, responsibility, and innovation, Austria presents itself as an agile player in the global innovation network.
IT:U Connects with Japan’s Top University
Gerd Krizek from IT:U not only attended the EXPO, but he also established valuable connections with the University of Tokyo. Central to this exchange was the University of Tokyo’s new design degree program. “This is a promising starting point for future collaborations because the new design degree program is, at its core, an interdisciplinary program”, Gerd Krizek summarizes. The journey also strengthened IT:U‘s relationship with long-standing partner Ars Electronica Futurelab. Hideaki Ogawa, the managing director of Ars Electronica Futurelab, also traveled to the EXPO as part of the delegation from Austria and will also be involved with University of Tokyo‘s new design program.
Key Takeaways from EXPO 2025
- Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential. Future solutions are not created in silos, but through the cooperation of design, technology, business, and science.
- Climate change and digital transformation are the most urgent challenges of our time and major drivers of innovation.
- Artificial intelligence is here to stay. No longer just a tool, AI is becoming an integral part of our future.
“Japan continues to be a thriving country of innovation and culture. At the recent Expo, the overarching themes of sustainable living and circularity were not only explored in discourse, but powerfully expressed through the architecture and spatial design of the exhibition grounds. Artificial Intelligence stood at the technological core of most national contributions, underscoring a global drive toward intelligent, adaptive, and future-focused systems. Thus, strongly resonating with IT:U’s vision and mission, committed to shaping transformative education, fostering interdisciplinary solutions, and driving sustainable innovation. The Expo demonstrated, on a global stage, the values IT:U seeks to integrate into research, teaching, and practice.”
Gerd Krizek, Senior Manager Study Portfolio & Student Affairs at IT:U