Vienna Plays Host to the Scientific Community this Fall

Virtual UEG Week 2020 © Martin Hörmandinger

Vienna is continually setting standards for major events as a leading destination for scientific meetings and congresses. The combination of easy accessibility, excellent meetings centres, and a vibrant atmosphere for great minds to come together has cemented Vienna’s reputation as the go-to destination for hosting impactful events. The Austrian capital welcomes four significant scientific and medical events this autumn, ISAPS, UEG Week, EFIB and EUROSPINE, which are taking over the city’s landmark venues, Austria Center Vienna and Messe Wien.

ISAPS World Congress: Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery Event, Austria Center Vienna (September 11-13, 2021)

The season kicked off with the International Society of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) World Congress, a hybrid event which ran from 11 to 13 September at the award winning Austria Center Vienna. Upgraded in 2020 with a superior technical infrastructure, the Austria Center Vienna is perfect for hybrid events such as this. Around 500 delegates from 81 countries participated in the congress, marking the first time that the society had met in person since 2018. Remote attendance was also integral to this congress, with the entire programme being broadcasted live and made available on demand as well as a Q&A format to cater for virtual delegates creating a truly global exchange. Among the highlights of the three-day congress were an SOS Symposium, featuring trailblazing live surgical training sessions, a Residents’ Symposium geared towards surgeons who are still in training, and a Women’s Symposium focusing on career opportunities for female surgeons. The meeting also unveiled an initiative designed to enhance patient safety worldwide. 

The decision to host the event in Vienna came down to the city’s ease of access, exceptional cultural offerings and strong support for the event from the wealth of specialists that live in the Austrian capital. ISAPS Honorary President, Dirk F. Richter, commented pre-event: “Vienna is a vibrant cosmopolitan city and an internationally attractive meeting location. Austria and Germany have always offered plastic surgery at the highest level. More than 150 world-renowned experts will present their latest techniques including live surgeries at our congress. We are very pleased to welcome participants from 64 countries on site.”

UEG Week: Gastroenterology and Hepatology Event, Messe Wien (October 3-5, 2021)

From 3 to 5 October, around 12,000 virtual participants are expected to take part in the United European Gastroenterology Week 2021. UEG Week is one of the most important meetings worldwide in gastroenterology and hepatology, culminating in a €100,000 Research Prize award ceremony broadcasted live from Messe Wien, Vienna. 

The congress this year will be a virtual, set up with eight digital lecture halls, a live demo, a myUEG community area and industry hall. The event offers a platform on which the latest projects and approaches relating to digestive diseases can be discussed, with Messe Wien setting the stage for compelling advances in multidisciplinary treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal conditions to be showcased.  It will focus on new treatment approaches and advances in diagnostics, and cover a range of topics including: IBD, oncology, endoscopy and hepatology, pancreatology, immunology, microbiome research, gastroenterological pediatrics, surgery and pathology.  

Looking ahead to 2022, UEG Week will return to Vienna with a hybrid event hosted at Messe Wien accommodating approximately 13,000 participants. The choice of this innovative host city reflects UEG’s pioneering role in producing cutting edge, top-level research. The decision to host the event in Vienna was an obvious one for UEG President, Axel Dignass, who said: “Thanks to its ideal infrastructure and international outlook, Vienna ticks all the right boxes as a congress location, and as the site of the UEG's headquarters.” 

EFIB Annual Forum 2019

EFIB: Europe’s leading industrial biotechnology and bioeconomy event, Austria Center Vienna (October 6-7, 2021)

The 14th annual European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Bioeconomy (EFIB) will bring together 110 organisations and leading experts from industry, policy, academia and research to the Austria Center Vienna from 6 - 7 October 2021. The Center will provide a launchpad for discussions about the opportunities and challenges associated with pioneering technologies in this field, with particular emphasis on questions of sustainability. 

The bioeconomy is already playing a crucial role in creating a circular, sustainable society that utilises the resources at its disposal as efficiently as possible. Vienna is the perfect choice of destination for these pertinent conversations to take place, given its reputation as a forward-thinking city that is pioneering sustainable solutions. As EuropaBio Director, Agnes Borg, highlighted: “Vienna is an outstanding location and setting for the EFIB in many different ways. It is a trailblazer when it comes to smart urban solutions, and it leads the way in sustainable technologies and innovation projects.”

‘Sustainable Living’ and ‘Cities of the Future’ are among the main focus topics for EFIB 2021, both of which are areas that Vienna has focused on for a long time. The capital is home to around 500 life sciences companies, which makes it the ideal location for the development of the sector and partnering opportunities. As part of the event, an Executive Round table will finalise and present EFIB’s Industrial Biotechnology business vision for Europe in 2021, setting policy goals and regulations to ensure that Europe delivers on its Green Deal ambitions. EFIB is organized by EuropaBio and the European Association for Bioindustries.

EUROSPINE: Spinal specialists come to Messe Wien (October 6-8, 2021)

In early October EUROSPINE 2021, a meeting of up to 2,000 leading spinal experts from 49 countries, will take place in Vienna. The hybrid event places a strong emphasis on facilitating in-person exchange between attendees at Vienna’s landmark congress venue Messe Wien. The event will provide a space for important discussions regarding diseases and contemporary treatment methods to take place on topics ranging from treating spinal trauma and tumors, to diagnostics and surgical techniques.

The decision to host the congress in Vienna, moreover, was made in early 2021, as its planning security and flexibility, outstanding meeting infrastructure and long-standing connections to partners in the city appealed to the event organisers. Having hosted the event in 2010, the return to this easy-to-reach destination in central Europe was an obvious choice for EUROSPINE. Petra Krepler, Local Co-Host of EUROSPINE 2021 and head of the Spinal Center at the Orthopaedic Hospital Vienna-Speising, commented: “The EUROSPINE Annual Congress in Vienna will be the scientific highlight of the year 2021 for all spine professionals and experts in Europe and around the globe. We are certain that Vienna’s welcoming, multicultural ambience makes it the perfect location to reconnect with old friends and unlocking new synergies.”

Vienna Meeting Fund: Support for Events in Vienna

Since 1 May 2021, Vienna has been offering financial support for local events within the framework of the "Vienna Meeting Fund 2021-2023". The total volume of funding amounts to four million euros. The offer is aimed at national and international organisers who are planning meetings in Vienna until 31 December 2023. Applications for funding can be submitted continuously until 03 December 2023 or until the funds are exhausted via the website of the Vienna Convention Bureau.