The OpenTwin International Ideathon 2026 offers practical insights into how Digital Twins are implemented across Europe and how these experiences can inform future projects.

The Ideathon brings together projects and stakeholders from public administration, infrastructure, research and practice who are working with Digital Twins or are planning related initiatives. It focuses on insights from ongoing projects, as well as the discussion of successful approaches and shared challenges.
The event provides an opportunity to gain hands-on insights, exchange experiences and connect with projects and stakeholders from across Europe.

By participating, you will gain:
• Insights into current approaches to developing and implementing Digital Twins across Europe, including cross-border projects
• A shared understanding of key challenges and enabling factors
• Opportunities for exchange on data infrastructure, interoperability, governance, scalability, and mobility data spaces and standards.
• Insights into a wide range of application projects, as well as networking opportunities.

Programme Overview

10.00 am – Welcome and Opening Remarks
Christian Schlosser, Ph.D. | Head of Unit – Digital Transformation of Construction | Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV)

10.10 am – Introduction: Digital Twins in Infrastructure, Mobility and Cities
Marie Blüml, Jonathan Fuchs | Think Tank iRights.Lab

10.20 am – Keynote: Advancing National Digital Twins in the UK – Insights from the National Digital Twin Programme
Alexandra Luck | Programme Director | National Digital Twin Programme UK

10.50 am – Workshops:
Break Out Session 1: Interoperability, Data and Technical Infrastructure
Impulse: Waseem Al Uslam Peer | Deutsche Bahn AG | FP1MOTIONAL
Breakout-Session 2: Organisation, Governance and Scalability
Impulse: Niccolò Fattirolli | olivoENERGY | Begonia
Breakout-Session 3: Mobility Data Spaces and Standards
Impulse: Sophie Meszaros | Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communitites | European Data Space for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities (DS4SSCC)

11.40 am – Round II of Workshops

12.30 pm – Lunch Break

01.30 pm – Workshop Synthesis

02.00 pm – Panel and Discussion: Digital Twins across Europe – Collaboration and Lessons Learned
Monika Heyder | Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities (OASC) | Local Digital Twins & Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms
Jonas Merbeth, Ph.D. | Daten- Kompetenzzentrum Städte und Regionen (DKSR) | Twin4Resilience
Andreas Heckmann, Ph.D. | German Aerospace Center (DLR) | MOTIONAL
Anna-Riitta Kallinen | ARKCON (Helsinki) | RAVA3Pro

02.45 pm – Closing Remarks
Christian Schlosser, Ph.D. | Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV)

03.00 pm – End

The event is organised by iRights.Lab as part of the mFUND-funded OpenTwin project, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Transport.