Lara Mayer

The ISE Hackathon is the project Lara Mayer is proudest of, and its growth captures much of what she has been trying to build around the show: stronger links between AV, education, startups, investors and public institutions.

What began with a small number of Catalan universities has expanded significantly. At ISE 2026, 60 finalists were selected from more than 300 applications representing 17 universities across Europe. Mayer has helped build the relationships behind that growth, including links with universities, companies, the Spanish government and EIT Culture and Creativity.

Her remit extends well beyond the Hackathon. As head of external affairs & strategic partnerships, she has also worked on Innovation Park, which hosted around 130 startups at ISE 2026, the Investor Forum, the European Latin American AV Forum, Spark and EdTech Congress Barcelona. She was also involved in establishing the ISE Foundation, helping shape its structure and build support from industry, funding partners and government.

Mayer’s earlier career in tourism also proved formative. During the 2020–2022 crisis, she worked in an Austrian tourist destination where hotels and infrastructure closed, helping businesses navigate constantly changing rules and uncertainty.

Today, she wants AV to become more visible outside its own ecosystem and to create more year-round routes for young people, entrepreneurs and adjacent industries to engage with it.