UX Connect 26 Program

in Aarhus on June 9 - 10

The conference is tailored for everyone working with design and sustainability, from beginners to experts, and features 2 packed days with a carefully curated mixture of talks, workshops, activities and world class facilitators, thought-provokers, speakers and session leads.

Below you can find the current conference program - improvements will happen

Program

Monday, June 8
17.30 - 21:00 Social event at Aarhus Street Food
Everyone who is in town is invited to join us for an informal dinner

Tuesday, June 9
8:30 - 9:30: Breakfast and registration
9:30 - 9:45: Welcome & Opening
by our host Jens Hofman, Vertica and our moderator Janus Boye, Boye & Co

Will AI lead to an explosion in creativity as predicted by Open AI’s Sam Altman?
Can you be a design advocate for a sustainable future – and still work with AI?

We’re facing a paradox:
Can we build responsibly using tools that aren’t exactly green?
How do we ensure that unsustainable technologies (like AI-powered search) don’t get to hide behind ‘usability’ as an excuse?

In this opening session, Kristina Larsen from VIA University College will lead a conversation with Thorsten Jonas on the big topics in design today.

Thorsten is a sought after expert at the intersection of design and sustainability, keynote speaker and founder of the SUX Network. He is guiding teams and companies in crafting sustainable, responsible and ethical digital products and co-leads the UX committee for the UX chapter of the W3C Sustainable Web Design Guidelines. As co-host of the SUX Podcast, he interviews thought leaders from around the globe and shares insights and strategies for integrating sustainability into product design processes.

We won’t pretend to have all the answers –but we will ask the questions that move the conversation forward.

More details coming soon

10.50 - 11:20 Coffee & networking

I built one of the most complex AI systems in the world. It bridges the digital and physical world, has five autonomous agents with distinct specialisms, a diagnostic engine, a real-time sensor network, and a parliamentary debating chamber where two AI systems with opposing philosophies argue about what to do when the data is ambiguous.

What surprised me though wasn't the technology. It was that every hard problem turned out to be a design problem. How often should a system interrupt your day? What does trust look like when a system is wrong in confident, articulate ways? What happens when you give humans a conversation and they start treating it as a relationship? What does a user actually do with "confidence: 72%"?

This talk draws real, tested answers to these questions from a system that's been running for months - answers that apply whether you're designing the future for financial services, for healthcare, for consumer products, or for anything where a user has to decide whether to trust what a machine is telling them.

more details coming soon

12:30 - 13.30 Lunch

more details coming soon

14.30 - 15.00 Coffee & networking

more details coming soon

more details coming soon

16.30 - 17.00 Coffee & networking

17.00 - 18.00 A unique Aarhus design experience

Join us for a brief walk to see something special….more details coming soon

18.30 - 22:00 Social event

Everyone is invited to join us for an informal dinner at MARAIS bistro.bar on Guldsmedgade

Wednesday, June 10

6:30 Morning Run

We meet in front of Vertica for a relaxed 25 minute run

8:30 - 9:30 Breakfast and networking

9:30 - 9.45: Morning welcome - what did we learn yesterday? Plans for today

Let us talk about professional identity, responsibility, and judgment in uncertain times.

Many UX professionals are working in an environment where expectations shift faster than roles can adapt. AI, organisational pressure, and ongoing uncertainty make it harder to rely on established answers, familiar methods, or accepted best practices.

Rather than attempting to predict the future of UX, this session looks at what happens to professional roles when clarity disappears. When there are fewer clear answers, judgment, responsibility, and sense-making become central to the work.

The session begins with a short framing input, followed by facilitated reflection and conversation. Participants will be invited to explore their own experiences, compare perspectives with peers, and reflect on how they navigate uncertainty in their daily work.

The aim is not to provide answers, tools, or frameworks, but to create space for shared reflection. Participants should leave with a stronger sense of orientation and confidence in their professional judgment.

10.30 - 11.00 Coffee & networking

More details coming soon

more details coming soon

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch

more details coming soon

Key lessons learned, big questions and what happens next

2.45 - 3:00 Goodbyes and see you next year!