Highlights from DrupalCon Vienna 2025

Twenty colleagues from 1xINTERNET attended DrupalCon Vienna last week, contributing to sessions, sharing expertise, and engaging with the wider Drupal community on the platform's evolving AI capabilities.

The conference delivered significant developments, from the announcement of $1 million in funding for the Drupal AI Initiative to compelling sessions on neurodiversity, mental health leadership, and community education. These observations capture the most notable themes and initiatives from the event.

AI makes Drupal’s power more accessible

As leaders in the Drupal AI Initiative, we are seeing first-hand how people are realising the combined benefits of Drupal and AI, including our award-winning project for World Cancer Day.

Drupal's advanced AI capabilities are underpinned by a comprehensive strategy and development roadmap. The $1 million funding commitment announced at DrupalCon Vienna equips the Drupal AI Initiative to drive innovation forward at pace, whilst democratising access through the systematic removal of technical barriers. This strategic investment creates opportunities for market expansion far beyond Drupal's established user base.

Beyond technology: why people matter in AI

Crucially, success in AI is not just about technology, it’s also about people. Vera Herzmann’s keynote “Neurodiversity: An Underrated Superpower in Business” highlighted the value of neurodiverse people and how AI could amplify their potential. 

Herzmann explained that society still keeps considering neurodiversity is a disorder. That there are few studies which focus on the strengths, more on how to address the issues. However, Deloitte's research on neurodiversity in the workplace shows that teams with neurodivergent professionals in some roles can be 30% more productive than those without them.

Notably, Herzmann hypothesised that AI transforms traits often characterised as weaknesses in neurodivergent individuals into distinct strengths. Now more than ever, we need the insights and creativity of people who think differently.

In this context, the combination of Drupal’s technical capabilities, strategic investment, and highly diverse community positions the platform to thrive in the AI era, harnessing both innovation and human creativity to drive real-world impact.

Scaling Drupal’s community skills in AI

The power of Drupal AI has little value if it is in the hands of just a few. Upskilling business leaders and the wider community is a key strategy of the AI Initiative. We are supporting this with the development of AI Workshops.

Christoph Breidert and Frederick Wouters ran a hands-on AI Workshop to equip participants with comprehensive knowledge of Drupal's AI module, covering installation, configuration, and practical implementation. 

Attendees explored pre-built AI features, constructed effective AI workflows, and gained understanding of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology and its application within Drupal. 

The programme guides participants through creating custom agents, ensuring they conclude with both a functional project and the technical competence required to develop sophisticated AI integrations for future implementations.

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Growing future talent - Drupal in a Day

Drupal in a Day is a free special program designed for university and college students and just anybody curious, who wants to get hands-on experience with Drupal. The programme's objective is to cultivate a sustainable pipeline of emerging talent.

The programme's appeal proved substantial: Vienna organisers responded to exceptional demand by tripling capacity from the initially planned 30 attendees to 90 students.

Based on the resounding success at Vienna the community are already putting plans in place to roll the model out to multiple locations around the world.

A rising star shone at DrupalCon

Witze Van der Straeten discovered Drupal during an internship. His first experience of a Drupal event was Dev Days in May, he even won a ticket to DrupalCon Vienna. In the time between events he researched using AI to transform Figma designs into working Drupal front end components.

This came to the attention of Dries, who like Witze spent his nights as a student working on Drupal all those years ago. They have been in regular contact and Witze is now working on AI applications with Drupal Canvas.

It’s a remarkable story of how motivated young people can truly thrive in the Drupal community. We certainly hope some of the 90 Drupal in a Day students are inspired to follow this shining example.

Leading through the storm: my journey with mental health to the C-Suite

Turning to another topic entirely, Diego Costa's session deserves particular recognition.

He spoke of his experience as a leader navigating mental health challenges. Whilst every experience is different, Diego explained how the pursuit of external validation through completing seemingly impossible tasks became his primary motivation. An addiction to recognition that proved unsustainable. The consequence was persistent exhaustion and mental fog.

In his own words …

• “At 1x, roles are structured to align with individual strengths. I concentrate on client-facing work that energises me, enabling me to maintain leadership responsibilities without personal compromise.”

• “My definition of success centres on breaking previous patterns. I dedicate morning focus time to establish daily objectives that provide fulfilment. Attending my children's school events remains non-negotiable, as does my Friday routine of working remotely whilst accompanying my daughter to her horse riding sessions. This flexibility proves essential to my well-being.”

• “Success is not the pursuit of an idealised, stress-free existence. Rather, it is maintaining equilibrium amidst inevitable challenges.”

Diego’s openness resonated strongly with many attendees, highlighting how conversations around mental health are becoming an integral part of leadership in the Drupal community. 

His story served as a reminder that sustainable success depends not only on professional achievement but also on self-awareness and balance. By modelling vulnerability and authenticity, he demonstrated that leadership today demands empathy as much as expertise. 

In a community built on collaboration, recognising the human side of our work is essential to maintaining the energy and creativity that drive progress.

For anyone whose life has been affected by mental health issues, those in leadership roles and team leads this session is highly recommended viewing.

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Drupal leading the way: innovation with purpose and people

It is clear from DrupalCon Vienna that Drupal is leading the way in the responsible and effective use of AI. The community has established a clear strategic direction, backed by significant financial investment and a comprehensive roadmap to deliver it. The $1 million commitment to the Drupal AI Initiative marks a defining moment in Drupal’s evolution, creating the foundations for long-term innovation and broader adoption across industries.

Yet perhaps most encouraging is the health of the community itself. Drupal continues to attract new contributors, foster collaboration across disciplines, and nurture future talent through initiatives such as Drupal in a Day. The shared focus on inclusion, education, and well-being demonstrates that this is a community working together towards a common goal.

The developments unveiled at DrupalCon Vienna – from advances in AI capability to deeper discussions about neurodiversity and mental health – signal a platform and a community both maturing and expanding. With unity of purpose, strong leadership, and an unwavering commitment to open collaboration, Drupal is not merely keeping pace with technological change. It is shaping how technology and people progress together.