How Industry 4.0 provides a new innovation system for the post-Corona world

The digital future is here and now. Join us for a public seminar by Professor Frank Piller to discuss how our innovation system needs to adapt to benefit from digital technologies and business models – now more than ever to counterbalance the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Industry 4.0 (I.40) is among the most significant digital change agents in our industrial system. While the discussion of I.40 often focuses on its underlying technologies, this talk will explore I.40 business models. Based on a multi-year study conducted in collaboration with more than 100 multinationals and technology leaders, Professor Piller will discuss the competences, structures and governance of Industrial Data Ecosystems.

The focus will be on the development of smart products and adjacent services (so-called cyber-physical systems), and addressing the specific challenges of designing and deploying this new class of offerings. Our shared experience of physical distancing and new abilities to get things done virtually in the last months will give these offerings a strong boost.

Building on experiences from recent research projects with companies like Adidas (developing a smart sports shoe) and Ford (developing novel mobility services), among others, Professor Piller will explain the core priorities of developing smart solutions, and corresponding business ecosystems, across diverse industries. The talk will also cover algorithm-based services, complementing smart products in a business ecosystem.

Throughout the talk, Professor Piller will share experiences from his work with a German government taskforce in Industry 4.0 in the Post-Corona world and current practices of pioneering companies in this field.

Emeritus Professor Roy Green will offer introductory remarks and Dr Krithika Randhawa will facilitate this public seminar to channel conversations between academics, practitioners and policy-makers in our innovation ecosystem.

Presenters

PROFESSOR FRANK PILLER (@masscustom) is a professor of management at RWTH Aachen University, Germany's leading institute of technology and its national center for production engineering. At RWTH, he leads the Institute of Technology & Innovation Management, is the Vice Dean at the RWTH School of Business & Economics and academic director of the Executive MBA program. His research interests include open innovation, mass customization, managing disruptive innovation, and implications of new information technologies for new product development. Over the last years, his group at RWTH Aachen has established itself as one of the leading German research centers on innovation strategies in the age of Digital transformation, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things. He is the Chairman of a cross-industry group hosted by VDI (Verein Deutsche Ingenieure) to develop standards for platform-based digital business models, a member of the Scientific Board of Germany’s National “Platform Industry 4.0” by Acatech, and a member of the Advisory Council of Germany's main AI/ML stakeholder platform, "Lernende Systeme" by BMBF & BMWi. In addition to his academic endeavors, Frank has engaged with several companies and delivered executive workshops for many Fortune500 companies. Currently, he serves as a board member and active investor of doob AG, a pioneer in 3D printing and 3D modelling.

EMERITUS PROFESSOR ROY GREEN is Special Innovation Adviser and Chair of the Innovation Council at the University of Technology Sydney. Roy has worked in universities, business and government in Australia and overseas, most recently as Dean of the UTS Business School. He has chaired the Australian Government’s Innovative Regions Centre, CSIRO Manufacturing Sector Advisory Council, NSW Manufacturing Industries Advisory Council and Queensland Competition Authority, and served on a number of industry reviews and inquiries. Currently, Roy chairs the Port of Newcastle and Advanced Robotics Manufacturing Hub and is a board member of the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre

DR. KRITHIKA RANDHAWA is a senior lecturer of innovation and entrepreneurship at the UTS Business School. Her research examines innovation management, with a special focus on open innovation, crowdsourcing, innovation communities, digital business models, platforms and ecosystems. Her research has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Knowledge Management, International Journal of Production Economics and R&D Management, and recognized with Best Research Paper Awards at the World Open Innovation Conference and the Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management. Krithika is Associate Program Chair of the World Open Innovation Conference, and is a member of the Academy of Management, DRUID Society, European Group for Organizational Studies and Strategic Management Society. Krithika has implemented research projects in collaboration with the London School of Economics on the global benchmarking of management practices in the manufacturing and health sectors for the Australian and New Zealand Federal government, and Queensland and NSW Health departments. Prior to joining academia, she gained management experience in the service industry with a track record of launching luxury hotels and driving innovation projects

About the CBSI Global Conversations Series

The CBSI Global Conversations Series seeks to generate focussed discussions with experts across the globe, as we begin to develop ideas, plans and hopes for a post COVID-19 world.

This event is a collaboration between the Centre for Business and Social Innovation and UTS Innovation & Entrepreneurship Unit