Thursday, 10 September 2026
Thursday venue: Startup Village Jülich, Marie-Curie-Straße 4, 52428 Jülich, Germany
DEEP Visions, DEEP Dives, matchmaking, accelerator sessions, and the evening reception.
| Time | Session | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 9:30 | Registration |
Arrival, check-in, and welcome coffee. |
| 9:30 – 9:50 | Welcome and introduction |
|
| 9:50 – 10:10 | Keynote 1: DEEP Ecosystems’ Requests for Ecosystems |
Outlining current investment needs to build the startup ecosystems of the future. Speaker: Thomas Kösters, Co-Founder & CEO at DEEP Ecosystems |
| 10:10 – 10:40 | Keynote 2: Will AI revolutionise innovation? A nuanced view from the deep tech side |
Speaker: Greg De Temmerman, Managing Director of Deeptech and Ecosystem at Techleap. |
| 10:40 – 11:00 | Coffee break |
Networking and informal exchange. |
| 11:00 – 11:20 | Panel discussion: From Coal to GreenTech: Building a Thriving Startup Hub in a Small Town |
|
| 11:20 – 11:35 | Keynote 3: Bridging the funding gaps for start-ups and scale-ups in Europe |
Speaker: Huyen Tran, Economist at European Investment Bank. |
| 11:35 – 12:15 | Ecosystems Around the World – Global Perspectives on Building Thriving Startup Ecosystems |
Best practices and collaboration opportunities from multiple ecosystems.
|
| 12:15 – 13:00 | Lunch break |
Lunch and peer exchange. |
| 13:00 – 13:10 | Introduction and expectations |
Harald Eisenhauer, Co-Founder & Head of Acceleration at DEEP Ecosystems. |
| 13:10 – 15:10 | DEEP Dives |
DEEP Dive 1
From Research to Venture: Building Scalable University Spin-off Ecosystems Co-hosts: Thijmen Meijer, Co-Founder & COO at University Venture Capital Coalition; Károly Szántó, CEO & Founder at University Venture Capital Coalition; Imre Hild, Venture Capital & Head of Startup Division at OUVC & Hungarian Venture Capital Association. Input: Bertalan Jászkuti, Founder at Lab2Care.
DEEP Dive 2
Small Town Innovation: Building World-Class Startup Ecosystems Beyond Capital Cities Co-host: Thais Glod, CEO at Innobound & EU Climate Pact Ambassador. Inputs: Moritz Glettenberg, Senior Project Manager at Prognos AG, and Dr. Johannes Brunner, Strategic Projects & Partnerships at NOI Techpark Südtirol.
DEEP Dive 3
Creative Industries & Innovation: Creative Ecosystems as Catalysts for Entrepreneurship and Community Building Co-hosts: Timofey Golovin, Director at Winno; Gerrit-Jan van 't Veen, Fellow at We Are Changemakers; and Shivam Dhawan, Founder at GetBoarded & ALT+F. |
| 15:10 – 15:25 | Coffee break |
Refreshments and transition to the networking block. |
| 15:25 – 15:55 | Open networking |
Speed-dating plus 1:1 and small-group meetings. |
| 15:55 – 16:10 | The Toolkit of an Ecosystem Builder |
Speaker: Thomas Kösters, Co-Founder & CEO at DEEP Ecosystems. |
| 16:10 – 16:30 | Marketplace for networking & hands-on ecosystem building |
|
| 16:40 – 17:00 | The DEEP Startup Ecosystem Accelerator |
Speaker: Harald Eisenhauer, Co-Founder & Head of Accelerator at DEEP Ecosystems. |
| 17:00 – 17:40 | DEEPSEA Demo Day |
Selected initiatives pitch their ecosystem projects, followed by awards.
|
| 17:40 – 17:50 | Closing remarks |
Harald Eisenhauer, Co-Founder & Head of Accelerator at DEEP Ecosystems. |
| 17:50 – 21:00 | Cocktail dinner reception |
Featuring the DEEPSEA Demo Day award ceremony. |

































































