Decision: No conference-scale IT event sits inside a strict 30 km of Schauenstein. Chur (≈25 km [1]) hosts a small recurring circuit — KI-Meetup GR, KMU-Impuls AI/Innovation evenings at ibW, GRdigital networking — all weekday early-evening, free, German-language. For an actual tech-conference anchor, look to Davos Tech Summit, 1–4 Jul 2026 (Physical AI, 31 km direct / 47 km road [2]), whose Saturday family day slots cleanly into a Sat-evening Schauenstein dinner [10].
Geography
Fürstenau sits in the Domleschg valley, ~25 km southwest of Chur down the A13 [1]. A strict 30 km radius captures Thusis (3 km), Sils im Domleschg, Domat/Ems, Chur, Tiefencastel and the Lenzerheide approaches. Davos is 31 km as the crow flies but 47 km by road via Tiefencastel–Wiesen [2] — technically outside the line, in practice the only nearby place that hosts conference-scale IT events. Vaduz, the OST Buchs campus (~35 km from Chur) and Bad Ragaz all sit further out [16].
Inside the 30 km circle — Chur’s recurring tech scene
Chur is the only city in the radius with an actual IT/digital programme, and it is firmly meetup-scale: 1–3 hour weekday events, mostly hosted at ibW Höhere Fachschule or FH Graubünden, organised by the cantonal digitalisation association GRdigital [17] and the Bündner Gewerbeverband. Free, German-language, ~30–80 attendees. Useful if you’re already there for dinner; not a trip-anchor on its own.
| Event | Date 2026 | Venue (Chur) | Topic | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KI-Meetup GR Nr. 6 | Wed 18 Feb (past) | ibW Höhere Fachschule | Ambidexterity: agility + governance in AI transform. | Free, ticket required | [4] |
| KI-Meetup GR Nr. 7 | Wed 20 May (past) | FH Graubünden, SIL | “AI beyond the hype” — Süsstrunk + Weichselbraun | Free, ticket required | [3] |
| Bündner KMU-Tag | Wed 20 May (past) | Chur | Cybersecurity for SMEs · AI for online visibility | Free | [5] |
| KMU-Impuls “Innovation” | Mon 1 Jun, 17:30 | Aula ibW | Innovation: idea → market | Bündner Gewerbeverband members + open | [6] |
| FH Graubünden AI-Webinar “Agentic Leadership” | Mon 1 Jun | Online (FHGR) | New job profiles through AI agents | Free, registration | [15] |
| GRdigital Generalversammlung | Wed 17 Jun, 16:00 | Aula ibW | GRdigital AGM + public supporting programme | GRdigital members + invited | [6] |
| KMU-Impuls “KI in Bündner KMU” | Thu 27 Aug, 17:30 | TBD (Chur) | Deploying AI in Graubünden SMEs | Bündner Gewerbeverband members + open | [6] |
| Wirtschaftsforum Südostschweiz | Fri 9 Oct | AREON Eventhalle | Regional business forum (500–600 attendees) ⚠ not pure IT | Paid | [7] [8] |
| FH Graubünden Infotag | Thu 29 + Sat 31 Oct | FH Graubünden | Open day, all study programmes incl. CS/Data Science | Free | [9] |
| Digital-Café Chur | Tue 2 Jun, 13–14 | Mensa Münzmühle | Walk-in digital help (Red Cross + Kanti students) | Free, no registration | [14] |
Notable absences inside 30 km: no Reddit r/programming-style hackathon, no Swiss IT Forum stop, no swissICT chapter event, no dev.events listing for the Graubünden capital. The Chur IT scene is institutional (FHGR, ibW, GRdigital) rather than community-driven.
Just outside the line — Davos as the conference magnet
Davos is 31 km direct / 47 km road [2]. It technically falls outside the 30 km framing; for any weekend trip planning purpose, treat it as the only “real conference” option in striking distance.
| Event | Dates 2026 | Venue | Scale / topic | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56th World Economic Forum | Mon 19 – Fri 23 Jan | Davos Congress | The WEF — political/economic, not a tech conference but tech threads run throughout | [12] |
| Davos Innovation Week | Mon 19 – Fri 23 Jan | Mountain Plaza Hotel | Innovation/blockchain/AI/investment — runs in parallel to WEF | [11] |
| Alpine Tech Forum (Davos) | January (during WEF) | Davos | AI, robotics, mobility, tourism — paired with a Zurich edition Mon 22 Jun 2026 | [13] |
| Davos Tech Summit | Wed 1 – Sat 4 Jul | Davos Congress, Platz | Physical AI / robotics; Sat is family/public day; speakers: Siegwart (ETH), Pavone (NVIDIA), Prorok (Cambridge) | [10] |
How to pair this with a Schauenstein dinner
| Window | What’s on | Pairing logic |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-Jan | WEF + Innovation Week + Alpine Tech Forum cluster | Book Schauenstein months ahead — lodging across Graubünden is tight |
| Sat 4 Jul | Davos Tech Summit final day (family-friendly) | → Drive 47 min back down to Fürstenau for evening service. The clean fit. |
| Mon 1 Jun | KMU-Impuls “Innovation” at ibW Chur, 17:30 | Pre-dinner if you’re staying nearby; Mon is a regular Schauenstein slot |
| Thu 27 Aug | KMU-Impuls “AI in Graubünden SMEs”, 17:30 | German-only; only relevant if SME/AI angle matters to you |
| Fri 9 Oct | Wirtschaftsforum Südostschweiz, AREON Chur | Business forum, not IT-pure ⚠ — open Schauenstein the next night |
| Sat 31 Oct | FH Graubünden Infotag | Useful only if scouting CS/data-science programmes for someone |
| Any other Sat | Nothing | The Schauenstein dinner is the event |
Gaps and stale signals
- KI-Meetup GR Nr. 8 is the obvious next iteration after Nr. 7 (May 2026) [3]; the series cadence (~3–4 months) makes a Sep–Oct 2026 date plausible but it is not yet listed on the GRdigital calendar.
- AREON Eventhalle opens September 2026 [8] — the Wirtschaftsforum on 9 Oct is one of its first announced events; expect more late-2026 / 2027 congress bookings to land here that aren’t yet visible.
- OST Technologietag (Tue 9 Jun 2026, Buchs SG) is a real engineering conference but Buchs is ~35 km from Chur and well outside the Schauenstein 30 km circle [16]; flagged for completeness, not as a recommendation.