The first vertical-connect took place 10 years ago and was an experiment. The driving questions were: Is it possible to bring these related yet very different industries together and establish something like a common culture?

Are the participants also interested in taking a close look at their own processes, reflecting on their thoughts, and sharing them with others—peeking into areas outside their own industry, taking an interest in them, even if there may be no immediate benefit? What exactly are the others doing...and why? How can we all improve?

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The two topics in 2015 were ‘work positioning’ and ‘emergency planning & rescue’. It was a pleasure to listen to the speakers talk about their field of work and watch them demonstrate their common practices and techniques. Mutual networking began with the unfolding of the different areas. Over the years, many contacts have been made, collaborations established, and, above all, horizons broadened and doors opened. After highlighting the peculiarities of the respective industries in the early days, we now want to shine the spotlight on the points where two areas or groups of people meet for the next edition of the forum:

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At the vertical-connect 2026, we want to shed light on the topic of interfaces. An interface between people arises, for example, in training situations, between entrepreneurs and customers, or generally in teams, with all the different individuals and positions. Interfaces between people and machines are becoming more and more of an issue; they are as frightening as they are promising, but certainly not something we should blindly run away from. And then there are the countless points of contact between different sub-areas, disciplines, and technologies. Wherever different individuals and areas meet, there can be friction and conflict, there can be potential for growth, connections can develop and often something new emerges, perhaps even something bigger!

The vertical-connect OK is already going crazy with ideas.