Joseph Schumpeter Forum 2026 in Innsbruck

High-level symposium hosted by the German Friends of the Universities in Innsbruck brings together leading figures from academia, business, and politics | Impulses on innovation & entrepreneurship in government, business & society

Trust, cooperation, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the heart of the high-level symposium

• “The Role of Trust and Cooperation in the Success of People & Organizations”
• “How Can We Foster Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Government, Business & Society?”

On Friday, October 2, 2026, Innsbruck’s historic Kaiser-Leopold-Saal provided the setting for discussions on key economic and societal issues.

At the Joseph Schumpeter Forum 2026, distinguished representatives from academia, business, and politics discussed the role of trust and cooperation as well as innovation and entrepreneurship in government, business, and society.

The forum was opened by Markus Walzl, Chairman of the Deutscher Freundeskreis der Universitäten in Innsbruck e.V. (German Friends of the Universities in Innsbruck); Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Statistics at the University of Innsbruck.

Trust and Cooperation as a Foundation for Success

The first thematic focus, “The Role of Trust and Cooperation in the Success of People & Organizations,” addressed two key factors that are essential both to individual action and to effective collaboration and organizational development.

The discussion featured Martin Kocher, Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank | former Federal Minister of Labor and Economic Affairs | Professor of Economics at the University of Vienna (currently on leave), and Matthias Sutter, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn | Professor of Experimental and Behavioral Economics at the Universities of Cologne and Innsbruck.

The discussion was moderated by Andreas Altmann, Rector of MCI | The Entrepreneurial School®.

How Innovation and Entrepreneurship Can Be Fostered

The second focus addressed the question “How Can We Foster Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Government, Business & Society?” The forum thus explored a topic that connects different areas of business, politics, and society, bringing together perspectives from academia, entrepreneurial practice, and public responsibility.

Panelists included Monika Köppl-Turyna, Director of EcoAustria | Member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Rudolf Sallinger Fund | Professor at Seeburg Castle University and the University of Warsaw | Member of numerous supervisory and advisory boards; Thomas Sattelberger, former Parliamentary State Secretary for Education and Research | former Member of the German Bundestag | former Executive Board Member of Deutsche Telekom AG, Continental AG, and Lufthansa AG; Dieter Althaus, former Vice President Governmental Affairs Europe at Magna International | former Minister-President of the Free State of Thuringia; and Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Austria.

The discussion was moderated by Thomas Eppinger, Editor at Der Pragmaticus.

With its two thematic focal points—trust and cooperation as well as innovation and entrepreneurship—the Joseph Schumpeter Forum 2026 brought together diverse perspectives from academia, business, and politics and placed key questions affecting people, organizations, government, business, and society at the center of the discussion.