The world of industry in times of transformation

The debates of the Congress will focus on the current challenges faced by the industry. Currently, this sector is undergoing dynamic changes, raising many questions about its future. These questions will also be asked at the Congress. Are we in a time of crisis? How to deal with it and how to prepare for the coming, difficult times? Can transformation in both ecological and digital terms be the way to success?

These are the issues that will be raised during the discussion.

The Industry Next Congress will last three days this year, from May 30 to June 1, 2023, a day shorter than the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair gathering world-class exhibitors, leaders in the field of production automation, metallurgy and metal processing. Here, live around the Congress Stage you will be able to see working machines and robots as well as innovative technologies.

No longer a producer – now a creator

On the first day of the Congress, the opening lecture will be given by Dr. Maciej Kawecki, promoter of science and technological innovations, science journalist appointed by the European Commission as the Digital EU Ambassador. - The speech will be a journey through technologies created in Poland and around the world, which try to solve the five biggest crises - health care, climate, relations, raw materials and economic - announces the speaker.

Dr. Maciej Kawecki, in his work to popularize science, Polish solutions and an innovative approach, focuses on a man who understands that technology is only a tool enabling people to make positive changes in the world. Keynote Speaker in his lecture entitled "No longer a producer – now a creator" will share his thoughts on current data, AI intelligence and climate transformation. The lecture will be an attempt to answer the questions that increasingly bother people around the world: What is the power of data today? What is the future of the world and data handling? What is the impact of AI on all of us? Will Chat GPT and other parallel emerging AI's cause the disappearance of some professions? What is the direction of climate transformation? What are examples of technological solutions that fit into this trend in different segments: energy recovery, water acquisition, heat management?

At the very end of his lecture, Dr. Maciej Kawecki will talk about his visit to London at the headquarters of DeepMind, the creators of AlphaFold, and will explain why every technological solution should be viewed opto-sceptically today.

Direction: Digitization and AI

As part of the INDUSTRY NEXT congress, experts representing the Metal Processing Cluster will take part in a discussion panel entitled "Digitalization, internationalization - impulses for the development of the manufacturing industry".

The agenda includes a discussion on the paths of building the competitiveness factors of the Polish engineering industry, export models and directions, the issues of automation and digitization of processes, and generating production efficiency.

Many companies facing the challenges of digitization no longer ask whether to follow this trend, but how to finance innovative technologies. Experts from the Future Industry Platform Foundation will talk about the tools available in Poland to support the transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises towards the industry of the future. They will discuss the tools of FPPP, EDIH and laboratories of the future, as well as the cooperation between universities, research institutes and companies in order to contribute to innovation within Industry 4.0.

In turn, the panel addressed primarily to all investors who know that they want to invest in modern and even intelligent robotization, automation and digitization and are looking for proven companies that will accompany them in this process of change will be prepared by the Polish Automation and Robotics Forum Employers Association.

The experts of the Poznań Science and Technology Park will present trends and challenges related to digital transformation and its impact on the functioning of enterprises. The discussion will cover such topics as: the impact of modern technologies on business processes and the resulting challenges in the context of changing organizational culture, adapting business models to the changing trends in digital transformation.

Properly implemented and managed digitization is an undoubted benefit for the industry. The experts of the DBR77 Platform, called the Amazon of the world of industrial robots, know this. They will manage the discussion panel entitled: Is it already a crisis? And what's next? organized as part of the Industry Next Congress, will allow for good planning of digitization processes in industrial companies, while enabling employee development and adaptation to new requirements. t is hard to imagine a modern industry without the support of AI. The Congress panel entitled: Artificial Intelligence in business will be led by Łukasz Grala, mentor, futurologist, CEO of TIDK. The invited panellists will discuss the future of AI as well as how the clients understand it. There will also be the issue of the use of artificial intelligence in medicine and AI in the context of Industry 4.0.

The industry "plays" green

During the panel discussion "Green transformation of industry: how to do it?" the stage of the Industry Next Congress will be taken by experts from the Waste Management and Recycling Cluster - National Key Cluster, who will talk about changes towards a circular economy, support for innovative and digital transformation of enterprises. They will address the topic of critical raw materials so important for the green transformation of the economy and the necessary new activities related to recycling. The green transformation requires bold investments, which is why the panel will include proven solutions and good examples.

- The green transformation is the way to innovation and cooperation. Important factors affecting the development of enterprises and competitiveness on the market are the implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions, research and development activities and the circular economy, which is a key element of the European Green Deal. This translates into the regulatory and business environment in which companies operate. Circular Economy is the economy of resources and the search for "win-win" business models, i.e. those that are beneficial to the environment, economically viable and socially acceptable. An important element in the development of the circular economy is cooperation, which should benefit all stakeholders, and I see building a supply and value chain as an inseparable element of thinking about modern business – announces the debate Katarzyna Błachowicz, Vice President of the Management Board of Klaster, moderator of the panel.

The European green industrial transformation also poses many challenges to the aluminium industry. On the one hand, aluminium is a material subject to production regulations resulting from the EU climate policy, but on the other – it is a raw material necessary for the production of all kinds of products that allow meeting the ambitious environmental policy goals. – Aluminium is therefore a key material from the point of view of European industrial policy. The development of the aluminium industry serves to make the EU economy independent of external suppliers. - assesses Andrzej Michalski-Stępkowski, president of the Polish Aluminium Association. This issue will be the axis of the panel prepared by PSA entitled: "Aluminium. Green future,

Experts from the Future Industry Platform Foundation will talk about the dependencies and challenges related to the acceleration of the construction of the smart-grid network and the new organization of the functioning of the energy market. The debate is a response to the need of accelerating the energy transformation in Poland and the role of smart grids in this transformation. Participants will learn more about new forms of energy generation and consumption management (Virtual Power Plants, Distributed energy resource management systems), the functioning of microgrids and local generation in industrial installations. They will also hear about preparations for the implementation of smart grid solutions and the conditions of digitization in energy companies.

However, these are only some of the issues that will be presented at the Industry Next Congress during the ITM INDUSTRY EUROPE fair. The regularly updated program is available on the organiser's website. Visitors of the MTP fairgrounds will have an opportunity to visit the exhibition of the Modernlog Trade Fair of Logistics, Transport and Storage, the Subcontracting Industrial Cooperation Fair, and the Work Safety in Industry Exhibition.