Irene Fialka

INiTS Universitäres Gründerservice Wien GmbH

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Irene Fialka is CEO of INiTS, Vienna’s University Business Incubator (UBI) supporting entrepreneurs with R&D-based business ideas serving all academic institutions in Vienna. Dr. Fialka graduated in genetics at the University of Vienna and worked as postdoctoral fellow at the University of Geneva as well as at the I.M.P., Boehringer Ingelheim’s basic research institute in Vienna. She joined INiTS (founded in 2002) in its early days in 2004. Since then, she has helped to develop services for hi-tech-startups in diverse industries and worked with founders of innovative startups, in particular life sciences startups, e.g. the founders of Lexogen, Marinomed, Miracor, mySugr, Origimm, S-target. Dr. Fialka became CEO of INiTS in 2012. Under her leadership INiTS was awarded three times by UBI Global (ubi-global.com) as one of the TOP ranked UBIs in the world. The track record of successful startups that went through INiTS’ intense incubation program in their early days also contributed to the great development of the startup ecosystem in Vienna, one of the rising stars amongst the startup hubs in Europe. INiTS’ startups have proven to be extremely successful in raising funds (12 x the average UBI-supported startup according to UBI Global) and finding strategic partners, e.g. for licensing deals or exits. To further support the collaboration between corporates and startups Dr. Fialka and her team launched the HealthHubVienna (healthhubvienna.com) in 2018, an acceleration program for international health startups. This open innovation initiative is performed in collaboration with academic institutions as well as companies such as Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer and Uniqa. As an open innovation practitioner Dr. Fialka also lectures startup and innovation related topics at universities.

Previous events where participated as a speaker

HVCA-Portfolio Investment Conference 2019

Construction Industry 2026

19th March 2026 Hotel InterContinental Budapest

Together again at the top of the profession! Our "Portfolio Construction" conference, now in its seventh edition in 2026, has become perhaps the most important business meeting of the domestic construction industry, with the participation and support of the key players of the profession. The event will explore the most pressing and topical financial, business, regulatory and efficiency issues affecting construction industry players with industry opinion leaders. The "Portfolio Construction 2026" conference is not only a full-day professional and opinion leader forum, but also one of the most effective business networking meeting places for industry players, where, in addition to presenting the future of the market, we will offer a full-day premium meeting and a casual evening of standing for participants. In addition to the professional and content presentations in the conference programme, we will offer our partners the opportunity to present themselves with an experiential and/or product presentation interface, stand or service to the more than 500 leading construction industry players attending the event. Together, let's continue to build the domestic construction industry in difficult times! Join us at the awards ceremony! Join us for a standing reception, networking, bars and informal professional discussions after the conference. Let's celebrate the domestic construction industry together!

Details & tickets

AI in Business 2026

18th March 2026 Hotel InterContinental Budapest

The AI revolution is not yet over, it is just getting started: the first enterprise GenAI solutions and tools to support work and internal processes are ready and performing in real life. Almost everyone has done the obligatory homework, but the work and the real AI transformation is just beginning. Beyond the still-isolated AI solutions that have emerged from the Proof of Concept phase, the brave pioneers can now move to a new level: once AI is proven, it is time to extend and educate well-performing AI solutions to the entire organisation, there will be where the transformation of the core business, the complete transformation of the core business, can take place. We will spend a full conference day looking at what changes AI will bring to business. Instead of side-talk, we'll showcase business strategies, real-world solutions, AI adoption methods and use cases in workshops, technology deep dive sessions, expert presentations and panel discussions.

Details & tickets

Portfolio Insurance 2026

17th March 2026 Marriott Hotel, Budapest

The Hungarian insurance market will reach a turning point in 2026: the transformation of the regulatory environment, the final phase of the implementation of the Ethical 2.0 framework, and the rapid advance of technology and AI-based innovations represent both a major challenge and a new growth opportunity. The strategic directions of the government and the MNB - including the introduction of individual TKM, the higher return potential expectation of unit-linked recommendation, and the full implementation of product supervision rules - are strongly shaping the life insurance market. The conference will also focus on the experience and expectations of the March home insurance campaign, pricing and mobility trends shaping the future of motor insurance, and the practical challenges of digital and AI-driven solutions such as automated claims settlement, personalised pricing and cyber compliance. 2026 will also be a defining year for vendors and intermediaries as digitisation, regulatory expectations and changing customer needs demand a new operating model. The conference's panel discussions, presentations and interactive programmes will provide practical guidance on how to create more transparent, customer-centric sales, manage the transformation of intermediary channels and identify new business opportunities. In keeping with Portfolio's tradition, the event will explore issues relevant not only to insurers, but also to insurance intermediaries, brokers, legal and consulting firms, IT service providers and other suppliers, while providing an excellent networking platform for industry players to inform strategic decisions in 2026.

Details & tickets

25 years of Portfolio Conferences

The Portfolio Group's event division has been shaping the professional events market for over two decades, continuously in a market-leading position. We organize 60 business conferences and nearly 10 awards ceremonies nationwide each year, setting the direction in 9 industries: economy, agriculture, real estate, healthcare, finance, automotive, energy, IT, sustainability. We reach 40,000 participants annually. The name Portfolio Events is a guarantee of high-quality professional content and outstanding B2B and B2C networking – in premium hotels, exclusive environments, with business networking and lead generation opportunities. So far, more than 7,000 speakers and nearly 50,000 companies have participated in our events: experts, top executives, decision-makers, opinion leaders, owners. Join us and level up - we provide the top community of the domestic business sphere!

Videos

Gallery

Speakers

Join us

Follow, like, subscribe, listen to us, and write to us on the following channels:

Newsletter

Subscribe to our exclusive event newsletter: news, events, and offers firsthand.

Become our sponsor

Greater reach, stronger brand building, wider network, and new business opportunities.

More information