The Manufacturing Technology Centre’s seventh annual digital manufacturing conference will be held during Digital Manufacturing Week as a virtual and hybrid event for the first time.
The MTC is joining forces with The Manufacturer magazine to deliver its highly respected Digitalising Manufacturing Conference virtually on November 9, and then as a two-day hybrid event at Exhibition Centre Liverpool on November 10 and 11 aligned with the Smart Factory Expo.
The conference, bringing together some of Europe’s leading experts on the digital revolution that is sweeping through the manufacturing industry, will aim to help UK manufacturers embrace the latest digital technologies and improve their businesses.
MTC chief executive Dr Clive Hickman said: “We have been supporters of Digital Manufacturing Week and The Manufacturer for many years. It is one of the most significant events in the manufacturing calendar and is always inspirational. We are delighted to bring one of our core events to the week, and run it both as a virtual event and an in-person event in Liverpool.”
Nick Hussey, CEO at publishers of The Manufacturer, Hennik Research, said: “The UK has, for too long, suffered through a lack of coordinated and structured support activities such as events, and bringing such a major event to DMW is hugely significant. We are delighted to be able to accommodate the event, with all its delegates and sponsors, as a key feature of DMW.”
The three-day Digitalising Manufacturing Conference will include a panel of international manufacturing experts examining initiatives and approaches to digitalisation around the globe. They will identify the challenges and opportunities for UK manufacturers, and where they can learn from the experience of manufacturers in Europe and beyond. The conference will also focus on the practical implementation of industrial digital technologies and skills, giving manufacturers a better understanding of the journey ahead of them, the challenges along the way, and practical advice on how to tackle them in manageable steps and ultimately make the right decisions for their business.
The conference will be opened by Katherine Bennett CBE, chief executive of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, with day two of the conference set to be opened by former chief executive of Siemens UK and co-chair of the Made Smarter UK initiative, Juergen Maier. Other speakers at the conference include Ben Sheridan, the lead for industrial digital transformation at BSI, Merete Nørby, international senior consultant at the Manufacturing Academy of Denmark, Riika Virkkunen of VTT Finland, and Eurico Assuncao, representing European training and qualification initiatives in manufacturing. The conference will also have representation from Make UK, techUK, Europe’s largest application-oriented research organisation Fraunhofer, and GAIA X – a collaboration between business, politics and science from Europe and beyond, to create a federated and secure data infrastructure.
Paralympic gold medal-winning canoeist Emma Wiggs MBE will give an inspiring keynote presentation on day three of the conference when the focus is on skills. Emma worked with the MTC in developing her state-of-the-art canoe paddle.
The conference will explore methodologies to support a successful digital transformation and hear from those who have started their journey, how they approached it, obstacles encountered, and lessons learned to guide others looking to transform their business.
Nandini Chakravorti, associate director at the MTC said, “This is the seventh MTC digital manufacturing conference and the first to be held both as a virtual and hybrid conference in Digital Manufacturing Week. This event is now firmly established as the major conference in the manufacturing calendar. It is a must for anyone in manufacturing wanting to be part of developing a national strategy in manufacturing industry and exchanging best practices and lessons learnt with the community.”
The MTC was founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd. The MTC’s industrial members include some of the UK’s major global manufacturers.
The MTC aims to provide a competitive environment to bridge the gap between university-based research and the development of innovative manufacturing solutions, in line with the Government’s manufacturing strategy. The MTC is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK.
Further information about the MTC Digitalising Manufacturing Conference can be found at www.digitalisingmanufacturing.com
