🚀 IT Academy Week 2026 – Day 1 Recap

IT Academy Week is back! Once again, we are delighted to welcome a group of highly motivated participants from different countries, cultures and companies to beautiful Pontresina, Switzerland.

After a relaxed Welcome Apéro on Sunday evening, the official programme kicked off on Monday morning with plenty of enthusiasm and curiosity. Following the opening, participants got to know one another better, sharing personal insights as well as introducing their respective companies, products and services.

The morning began with an introduction from Lucas F. Kuttler, who officially opened IT Academy Week and set the stage for the days ahead. He was followed by Igor Balashov, who kicked off the first technology discussions of the week. Eveline Hutter then took the group on a deep dive into Würth – a true “hidden giant” whose scope of business and activities is far broader than many might expect. From screws to sculptures and art, all the way to hotels and airports, Würth is, quite literally, everywhere. Her session also explored the important topic of Human Factors in Cybersecurity.

With the Engadin weather on our side, lunch was enjoyed on the sun-drenched terrace of Hotel Saratz Pontresina, which is proudly hosting this year’s IT Academy Week.

In the afternoon, Martin Hirt, former McKinsey Partner, shared his expertise on strategy and decision-making before introducing the software solution Cassandra CEO and discussing its potential applications. His session sparked a lively and engaged discussion among participants.

With that, the formal part of Day 1 came to a close – but the day was far from over.

The group swapped the seminar room for the beautiful Engadin outdoors and headed to the climbing park in Pontresina, where courage, discipline, agility and risk management were put to the test – alongside a healthy dose of fun and team building.

A fantastic start to a week filled with learning, new perspectives, challenging discussions and valuable connections.🏔️

We’ve started the second day already with one of the most current hot topics : AI in today’s corporate world – where Khushnud Irani introduced the topic with a highly interactive discussion of how corporates are handling this topic, to be followed by an interactive hands-on workshop with Igor Balashov and Michael Truch present.

Stay tuned for more updates from IT Academy Week 2026 in Pontresina!

Lucas F. Kuttler, Khushnud Irani, Markus Bierl, Christoph Baeck