Frequently asked questions
These were the most common questions about GAIA Conference 2025, with our answers.
Venue and travel
When and where was GAIA Conference 2025?
GAIA Conference 2025 on 10–11 April 2025 had two parts: the workshops on Thursday 10 April, and the conference on Friday 11 April, both at Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg, Sweden. Tickets for the workshops and the conference were sold separately, so you could attend the parts that suited you best. The conference was held in person; meeting others in the AI, machine learning, data science, and data engineering community is integral to the experience.
How did attendees get to Svenska Mässan?
Svenska Mässan, the largest congress centre in Gothenburg, is in Gothia Towers, Mässans Gata 8, next to Korsvägen, Scandinavium, and Liseberg. Attendees came by tram or bus (Korsvägen) or train (Liseberg Station), or parked at the Focus parking garage, which has an indoor walkway to Svenska Mässan. The closest airport is Landvetter Airport (GOT). GAIA Conference 2025 used the Congress Foyer, Congress Hall, and room H1+H2 on the northwest side of Svenska Mässan, with entrance 8, next to Scandinavium.
Was the venue accessible?
Yes, the whole event was wheelchair accessible through ramps and elevators, and guide dogs were welcome. Svenska Mässan describes its accessibility on its accessibility page.
Were there hotels nearby?
Yes, Gothia Towers includes a hotel in the same building, and plenty of other options are within walking distance. We did not offer hotel packages.
Tickets
How were tickets sold?
We sold tickets for the workshops and the conference separately, and the price rose closer to the conference, which sold out.
Did you offer discounts for students?
Yes. Students, including PhD students, paid 400 SEK for the conference on 11 April.
Was VAT included in the ticket price?
No VAT was added. We are a Swedish non-profit association, and in 2025 we sold our tickets ourselves, which the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) exempted from VAT.
At the conference
What did attendees need to bring?
Only their ticket, and a laptop for some of the workshops. A cloakroom was available during the conference, though we were not responsible for items left there.
What food and refreshments did you serve?
We served breakfast and lunch, something sweet in the afternoon, known as “fika”, and coffee throughout the day. After the conference, we hosted our After Conference mingle with sparkling wine and non-alcoholic options. Everything was included in the ticket price. Attendees registered their dietary needs with their ticket, since we placed the food orders two weeks before the conference and the kitchen could not manage non-medical diets such as ketogenic or Atkins.
Which was the official language of the conference?
English. All talks and workshops were in English, possibly with a healthy portion of the local “Gothenburg English” dialect.
Did you record the GAIA Conference?
Yes, we recorded the talks, and all of them are on our YouTube channel. We did not record the workshops.