TalTech attends the MANUFUTURE Conference 2023 to discuss the future of manufacturing
On November 23 and 24, the annual MANUFUTURE Conference kicked off at the Gipuzkoa Technology Park in San Sebastian (Spain). Some representatives from the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) were invited to attend the event, which gathered more than 100 participants including high-level policymakers, industrial sectors and key societal stakeholders from all around Europe to share ideas about people, technology, and innovation. This conference is promoted by ManuFUTURE-EU technology platform, which encourages European industrial companies to innovate collaboratively with research and development entities.
The organising committee included EIT Manufacturing, MONDRAGON Corporation, IDEKO, Tecnalia, Tekniker, and the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA). The conference featured key speakers from European manufacturing research and development entities, and the European Commission.
This year’s theme encouraged to “anticipate the future“, with an agenda full of different activities, including simultaneous workshops and plenary sessions, allowing attendees to gain insightful ideas.
During the conference days, participants discussed the expectations of businesses in education, especially in the field of digital skills. Businesses expect universities to be able to offer a practical and modern teaching that prepares students for the complex digital challenges of the industrial world.
Therefore, the challenges highlighted by companies that need to be addressed are very closely aligned to the objectives of the MERIT project. It was clear from the debate that companies expect a boost from the education system:
- Teaching automation systems, industrial robot handling and programming.
- Universities are expected to focus on teaching the integration of IoT devices into industrial processes, including practical examples and applications.
- Companies highlighted the need to develop university-level skills in big data analytics, with a particular focus on predictive maintenance and process optimisation.
- Teaching Industrial Cyber Defence.
More information at the event’s official website.
