ASD Fest in Brno: aerospace and defense careers festival, Oct. 27

Valérie Čížková, director of the agency Bite Marks Media, and her colleague Marina Rebar are launching the first Aerospace & Defence Fest (ASD Fest) in Brno. Its goal is to show young people that careers in the aerospace and defense industries are open to more than pilots and soldiers. The event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the Brno exhibition center (hall G1, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.); admission is free.

Čížková and Rebar had been nurturing the idea for the platform for a long time. Bite Marks Media specializes in media communication and employer branding, and its clients include many companies from the aerospace and manufacturing sectors. “For years we have been trying to come up with original ways to reach the younger generation and get them excited about careers in technology,” says Valérie Čížková. One such idea grew into a platform that brings together industrial companies, the public sector and experts with young people looking for their professional path.

The organizers deliberately avoided the format of a dull career fair. Instead, it is a dynamic educational and networking festival that explains strategically important industries clearly and in context. Brno will showcase the entire defense, aviation, science and technology ecosystem, from industry and development to space exploration and the security forces. Visitors can expect drones, robots, virtual reality and simulators operated by pilots, as well as by special police, army and firefighter units. Discussions will cover the threats of crises and blackouts, deepfakes, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and a separate block will be devoted to space. Young people will be able to talk in person with specialists, engineers and recruiters.

The turning point on the road from idea to realization came at the end of May, when the Bite Marks Media team managed to bring on the Czech arms and technology holding Omnipol Group as general partner. The long-term idea immediately turned into a concrete project with an ambitious goal: to hold the first festival as early as 2026. “Building the program, securing production and aligning the expectations of all participants in such a short time is a challenge on a completely different scale. It showed what a huge role is played by a team able to take responsibility and keep a common course,” says Čížková.

The organizers’ ambitions go beyond recruiting staff and a single festival. The project is meant to become a space for exchanging know-how, new acquaintances and long-term ties within the Czech aerospace & defence ecosystem. “At first we conceived ASD Fest primarily as a career platform, but during preparation it turned out that the market needs much more. So the festival naturally acquired a strong B2B strand: we want to create a place where companies, institutions, universities and experts can meet, build contacts and open up opportunities for business cooperation,” explains Marina Rebar, Business Developer at Bite Marks Media.

Both organizers stress that the story of ASD Fest is also the story of the people at Bite Marks Media, whose work, dedication and mutual trust made it possible to turn the original idea into a real project.