Education, education, education – Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2023
Published: 11 May, 2023
The week beginning 5th June 2023 is Manufacturing & Engineering Week (www.mandeweek.co.uk) with the centrepiece exhibitions Design & Engineering Expo, Smart Factory Expo, Maintec and the Drives & Controls zone taking place at Birmingham’s NEC on 7th and 8th June.
Education is a big part of M&E Week and a major attraction is the free-to-attend conference programme that takes place over two Keynote Theatres and six Solutions Theatres. Each theatre offers a comprehensive schedule of free-to-attend presentations delivered by manufacturing and technology experts. Theatre topics include: Automation & Robotics, Digital Transformation, IIoT & Connectivity, Industrial Data & AI, Innovation and Design Engineering. The full programme can be found at https://www.mandeweek.co.uk/conference-agenda .
The Keynote Theatres host a range of opinion leaders talking, or chairing panel sessions, on a wide range of relevant topics. One keynote session, on 7th June, that immediately catches the eye is a panel tackling the question Is Robotics & Automation the Answer to the Skills Crisis? Led by Mike Wilson, CEO of the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) this panel includes those currently working to answer this topic.
Another conference session not to miss on the 7th of June is by Engineers Without Borders UK. Their keynote session will see the launch of a Global Responsibility Competency Compass. The Compass is for those who are struggling to respond effectively to the complexity, uncertainty and challenges of the age. The action-oriented tool, developed through extensive consultation and testing, articulates the essential skills, knowledge and mindsets that engineers increasingly need to deliver the most positive impact on the four principles of global responsibility: responsible, purposeful, inclusive and regenerative. For those who want to achieve something regarding their sustainability challenges then this session is a ‘must see’.
Of great interest particularly to readers of Smart Futures is a case study session on 8th June entitled, The unstoppable rise of Digital Twins. This session, featuring Ben Wilkinson, Head of Digital Technology, and Nipuni Karunaratne, Model Factory Manager, both of Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace covers the company’s introduction of a radical new business model in the 90’s that catalysed the development of early analytics. This model grew over time into a connected ecosystem of Digital Twins and this session will explore that journey and examine the cultural, behavioural and technological factors that enabled it.
Closing out the conference agenda on 8th June is a revealing and fun session called, Inside the UK’s race for space. This session explores space as a growing and exciting manufacturing and engineering sector for the UK and members of the senior team from Spaceport Cornwall will discuss the opportunity that space offers the UK – alongside the valuable engineering lessons learned from the recent launch!
To register for a free pass to M&E week visit: www.mandeweek.co.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/manufacturing-engineering-week/about/
