Two-day annual data and AI festival in Münster, Germany, at MCC Halle Münsterland. The fourth edition (d:u27) runs 13–14 April 2027. Organised by Datenbusiness GmbH, the event combines keynotes, panels, masterclasses and networking in a festival format, drawing over 17,000 attendees according to the organiser.
data:unplugged (abbreviated d:u) is an annual festival for data science, artificial intelligence and related technologies, held in Münster, Germany. It was launched three years before the current edition and has grown into what its organiser describes as Europe's largest data and AI festival. The event is produced by Datenbusiness GmbH, a company based in Münster (Schlossplatz 18, 48143 Münster). Its positioning is explicitly practitioner-facing and community-oriented, with a deliberate festival aesthetic: live music acts have appeared alongside technical keynotes in past editions, and the event is described by attendees as combining rigour with a social atmosphere. The primary target audience is German-speaking professionals, with a particular emphasis on the Mittelstand (German small and medium-sized enterprises) as well as large corporates, startups and the public sector.
The 2027 edition (d:u27) is confirmed for 13–14 April at MCC Halle Münsterland, Münster. Ticket pre-order is open via the organiser's shop (paylogic platform). The d:u27 is described as the fourth edition of the festival. According to the organiser, d:u27 will feature more than 17,000 attendees, 350 speakers and 80 masterclasses across 5 stages. Ticket categories include a Festival Pass and a Group Pass. In parallel with the festival track, the organiser introduced a satellite event: d:u Deep Dive Berlin, running on 11 June 2026 at Kraftwerk Berlin as a focused practitioner day under the theme "AI meets Business." The Deep Dive is a separate event and not a substitute for the Münster festival.
data:unplugged occupies an April spring slot, placing it after the European winter conference cycle and before the dense autumn season. Within the German market, it competes for data and AI professional attention with events such as DMEXCO (digital marketing, Cologne, autumn) and various vertically focused AI gatherings, but its festival format and Münster location give it a distinct identity. Across Europe, the late-April window is relatively open for large-scale AI gatherings, which has contributed to d:u's ability to attract high-profile keynote speakers from German industry, politics and international tech. Speakers at the 2026 edition (d:u26) included Dr. Jarek Kutylowski (Founder, DeepL), Dr. Wladimir Klitschko, Markus Lanz, Mona Neubaur (Minister for Economy and Energy, North Rhine-Westphalia), Dr. Herbert Diess, and Jonas Andrulis.
Details on specific masterclass topics and stage programming for d:u27 had not been published at the verification date.
Both. The organiser uses "festival" as the primary descriptor, and the format reflects that: a main stage capable of hosting a live music act sits alongside technical masterclasses. Attendee testimonials and speaker quotes consistently emphasise atmosphere, community and the non-corporate tone as distinguishing features. The content is serious and practitioner-oriented, but the experience is designed to feel unlike a conventional trade conference.
The main website and most event communications are in German. English is used for the international-facing pages and for some speaker and sponsor materials. The primary speaker and attendee community is German-speaking. International attendees are not excluded, but speakers at past editions have predominantly presented in German. The d:u27 English-language content on the site does not specify a bilingual or fully English programming track.
Yes, but the event is primarily German-market oriented. The Münster location, German-language programming and Mittelstand focus make it most relevant for professionals based in the DACH region. International attendees with German market interests or DACH partner relationships would find the event useful.
MCC Halle Münsterland is Münster's principal large-scale event venue, located in the city centre adjacent to the Schloss (Münster Palace). The facility hosts concerts, conventions, trade fairs and major public events. Münster is a mid-sized university city in North Rhine-Westphalia, approximately 85 km north of Dortmund and 65 km east of the Dutch border. It is accessible by Deutsche Bahn intercity services (approximately 1 hour from Cologne or Dortmund) and by car via the A1 motorway. The event organiser provides links to negotiated hotel rates through a dedicated hotel booking portal (tomas.travel) for attendees, referencing dates around the festival period. MCC Halle Münsterland's capacity accommodates the festival's stated attendance of over 17,000 for d:u27.
Datenbusiness GmbH is the Münster-based company behind data:unplugged. Its registered address is Schlossplatz 18, 48143 Münster (contact: hey@data-unplugged.de). The company operates data:unplugged as its flagship event, alongside the d:u Match talent platform, d:u Education, the d:u Podcast and the annual Hackathon. The festival format and growth trajectory, from a first edition three years before d:u27 to a claimed 17,000 attendee festival, indicate a fast-scaling event model. Premium sponsors for d:u26 included Microsoft, Snowflake, adesso, SAP, AWS, Deutsche Telekom, DeepL, Cloudera, Canva Enterprise and Fiege, indicating the event draws enterprise-level corporate participation at sponsorship level.
data:unplugged is the largest practitioner-facing data and AI gathering in German-speaking Europe, differentiated from conventional trade conferences by its festival format, live entertainment and explicit focus on the Mittelstand as primary audience.
Tickets for d:u27 are available for pre-order via the organiser's paylogic shop (accessible from data-unplugged.de/festival/tickets-2027). Two categories are listed: Festival Pass and Group Pass. Specific pricing for d:u27 was not published on the main site at the time of verification. A ticket shop opening date of 8 October 2026 was mentioned for the d:u26 ticket launch, which may indicate a similar late-2026 opening for d:u27 passes. The event is separate from the d:u Deep Dive Berlin (11 June 2026), which has its own ticket pathway.
Münster is served by Münster/Osnabrück International Airport (FMO), approximately 25 km from the city centre, with connections to Frankfurt, Munich and selected European destinations. Direct intercity train connections operate from Cologne, Dortmund, Hamburg and Amsterdam (via Osnabrück). The venue (MCC Halle Münsterland) is walkable from Münster Hauptbahnhof.
Yes. The organiser provides a hotel booking link via the tomas.travel portal with pre-negotiated rates. The link includes hotel options for the festival dates and is accessible from the FAQ and hotels page on the event website.
Yes. The organiser operates a volunteer programme accessible at volunteer.data-unplugged.de.
| Official website | https://www.data-unplugged.de/ |
| English site | https://www.data-unplugged.de/en |
| Register / tickets d:u27 | https://www.data-unplugged.de/festival/tickets-2027 |
| Ticket pre-order (paylogic) | https://shop.paylogic.com/c946efec81054e789a33a30ef3481dc2 |
| Programme | not yet published |
| d:u Match (talent) | https://talents.data-unplugged.de/ |
| d:u Hackathon | https://makeit.data-unplugged.de/ |