Social Events
Graz Old Town on Foot – Sunday Sep 15, 1800 to 2000 – max 250 participants!
Graz tempts you — narrow alleys, monumental buildings and contemporary architecture. Enjoy a pleasant stroll through one of the most fascinating historic city centres in Europe, which, at the same time, presents a young, cheeky and innovative face. Although the Graz centre is relatively small you may wish to bring good walking shoes.
We will depart from the MesseCongressGraz conference centre right after the Sunday tutorials have finished at 1730 hrs, 10 groups of 25 persons at a time, the latest group will leave around 1800 hrs.
While this tour is free for registered conference participants, you have to make sure you select it during online registration as spaces are limited and will be assigned on a first-come first-serve basis.
Welcome Reception – Monday Sep 16, 1830 to 2030, all welcome!
The traditional opener of the conference will be held at the MesseCongressGraz conference centre right after the General Assembly of ISCA has finished on Monday at 1830 hrs.
We will have plenty of space at the lower level of the conference centre, connecting the exhibition foyer with the pleasant outdoors Messepark, and additional indoor areas in case of inclement weather.
Watch out for the Freigarten Blås and their music, enjoy a few good drinks and Styrian fingerfood to get a head start into the week.
Student Reception – Tuesday Sep 17, 1830 to 2030, students only!
Student life in Graz can be really hard with zillions of cafés, bars, chess, billiards, playing cards… this is what turned Nikola Tesla into one of the most successful university drop-outs in the world.
As a Serb born in Croatia, he enrolled at Graz University of Technology in 1885 to study physics with special interests into the emerging field of electrical engineering. In 1887 he quit after having completed all first year courses with the best possible grades. Rumors have it that he spent more time in the cafés than on campus, only to become an extremely successful inventor with an international career in Hungary, France, and the US.
His creativity and entrepreneurial spirit is a role model for our local students and elsewhere. In 1937 he received the Doctor honoris causa degree from Graz University of Technology.
The student reception will be held at the Nikola Tesla Laboratory, a huge high-voltage testing facility named after our alumnus on occasion of his 150th birthday in 2006.
The spectacular views inside and outside the hall – with installations supporting experimentation up to 1.5 million Volts – will be complemented with the spectacular performance GIF-Frenzy by Christof Ressi and by the singing and speaking Tesla coil developed by Nikolaus Juch who enrolled in our EE program when he was only 15 years old.
Our student coordinator Kathi Pollack has used his Tesla coil to invite you for the student reception - please watch the video below and note that the sound source actually originates from direct excitation of acoustic waves in the electric arc!
Reviewer Cultural Event – Tuesday, Sep 17, 1900 to 2100, reviewers only!
Jazz music has a long tradition in Graz — the University of Music and Performing Arts established the first academic Jazz education on the European continent in 1965. Their Big Band will entertain the INTERSPEECH 2019 reviewers in the main hall of the MUMUTH, the House of Music and Music Drama with its innovative architecture inaugurated 10 years ago — a high-tech research laboratory for the arts.
As organizers of the conference, we take this opportunity to say thank you to our large body of reviewers for delivering meticulous and timely reviews which are center-stage for an excellent scientific program.
The Dancing INTERSPEECH Soirée, an Austrian Ballroom Extravaganza at Stefaniensaal – Wednesday, Sep 18, 1900 to 2400, all welcome!
Don’t be afraid – neither will we force you to dance nor to dress up, just take it easy, sit back and enjoy the show. But don’t be shy either – if you actually like to dress up in your long robe or tuxedo and if you like to try out Vienna waltz while in Austria, the Dancing Interspeech Soirée will offer the unique opportunity to let your fairy tales come true. We will invite Professor Eugen Brenner from our Technical Informatics lab who is the president of a dance sport association to act as the MC for this evening of surprises.
The traditional Congress building located in the Old Town is a venue for staging all kinds of events at a prime city-centre location, among which the traditional “Ball der Technik” organized since more than 150 years.
Within the building, the most prominent hall is the Stefaniensaal which is renowned for its superb acoustics, and enjoys a reputation as an excellent concert hall.
Food at this Gala Dinner occasion will be served buffet-style only, so be prepared to settle for a spot at one of the bar tables in the numerous halls.
Due to the large number of expected conference participants
we plan to offer the option to extend the location by
alternating between the Congress building and the
neighboring Universalmuseum Joanneum,
the largest of its kind in Central Europe.
The complete music program containing information about the artists of all events will be included in your conference bag, and can be downloaded here.
