Industrial production in the digital age
The international research community is meeting at the HWR Berlin over the next three days as part of the prestigious MIM 2019 to explore the implications of industry 4.0.
In his opening address to the conference, Prof. Christopher S. Tang from the University of California in Los Angeles spoke on the topic of “Managing Global Supply Chains in the Industry 4.0 Era”. He underscored the responsibility of researchers in shaping the future: “Rather than just concentring on academic publications, scientists should redouble their efforts towards convincing politicians, industry and the young to grasp the problems of the future and work towards their solution .”
MIM 2019, organized by International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), is the biggest conference of its type. 700 researchers drawn from 51 countries working in the areas of industrial engineering, manufacturing technology, information technology, production and supply chain management and operations research are convening at the Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht (HWR) Berlin. On the agenda, is the comprehensive digitalization of industrial production, its implementation and consequences.
“The interdisciplinary nature of this conference gives it a unique character, and permits us to view the question of manufacturing from a global perspective,” said the moderator of the conference, Prof. Dmitry Ivanov from the HWR Berlin. He stressed that the meeting of experts is seeking to identify synergies as the basis for the establishment of interdisciplinary co-operation and the construction of international working groups.
Speaking in his welcoming address, the President of the HWR, Prof. Andreas Zaby, stressed the significance of universities as the drivers of innovation and economic progress: “The results of research must be implemented and applied. One of our central tasks is to facilitate and strengthen interdisciplinary and international academic exchange and collaboration. We need to work together with partners from industry and society in the development of practical solutions to meet and address the real problems and challenges of our time.” In his keynote speech, Prof. Christopher S. Tang presented a range of specific examples of how block chain technology could be used to increase food safety standards and make high seas transport more efficient and transparent. He highlighted the responsibility of researchers and decision-makers in ensuring that the profits from digitalization are shared equitably throughout the world. In particular, he stressed that the benefits of digitalization must be availabe to developing and emerging nations
The topics under discussion are all drawn from “Industry 4.0” and focus on issues such as risk management, resilient enterprise, digital supply chains and smart operations. These topics are currently the main catalysts of international research and academic output in this area. The German researchers attending the conference are leading authorities in their field; their presence contributes to the global pull of the event.
Addressing the conference in her capacity as Vice President of the HWR Berlin and deputy moderator of MIM 2019, Prof. Susanne Meyer stressed the inherent suitability of the HWR as the organizer of the conference: “The interdisciplinary and practice-oriented nature of the broad-based teaching and research portfolio at the HWR Berlin makes us almost pre-destined for this role. A network of 179 partnerships with universities and other academic institutions on all the continents of the world permits intensive academic exchange for all members of the university from the students to the professorial level. The HWR is the living, breathing embodiment of the principle of internationality.”
Taking place every three years at a different university, the prestigious IFAC/IFIP/IFORS/IEEE “Manufacturing Modelling, Management and Control” (MIM) is one of the most important international gatherings focusing on production management and industrial engineering. The theme of MIM 2019 is “Digital, Resilient and Sustainable Manufacturing 4.0”. Our industry partners are: AnyLogic, BMW, Fraunhofer IPK, Rolls Royce, Siemens, Stadler and SupplyOn.
The main sponsor of the conference is IFAC, represented by TC 5.2 Manufacturing Modelling for Management and Control, TC 1.3 Discrete Event and Hybrid Systems, TC 3.2 Computational Intelligence in Control, TC 4.3 Robotics, TC 5.1 Manufacturing Plant Control, TC 5.3 Enterprise Integration and Networking, TC 5.4 Large Scale Complex Systems, TC 7.4 Transportation systems, TC 9.1 Economic, Business and Financial Systems.
Academic contact
Prof. Dmitry Ivanov
e-mail: dmitry.ivanov(at)hwr-berlin.de
Representatives from the media are very welcome to attend. The conference moderator Prof. Dmitry Ivanov is available for interviews.
Please address all requests to presse(at)hwr-berlin.de
