Siemens Australia Chairman and CEO, Jeff Connolly said he was excited by the possibilities of this announcement.
“The fourth industrial revolution describes the impact on manufacturing, but the reality is that it has significant implications for energy, healthcare, transport, building and construction, engineering, sustainability as well as advanced manufacturing – all part of the RMIT approach,” Connolly said.
“The announcement comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is fundamentally forcing Australians and Australian businesses to look for new ways to keep the engines of the economy running.
“It’s fitting to establish an Industrial Digital Innovation Hub because digitalisation has no borders and we have to learn how our economy can participate in ways which won’t require us to be in a factory or an office or at a site, Connolly said
The new hub will be the cornerstone of a number of initiatives being explored as part of the MoU by the three organisations in a collaborative approach to education and training.
Festo Didactics’ Australian and New Zealand Manager, Damien Sinclair said digitalisation and the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies are opening a world of opportunity for the future workforce.
“As we encompass more Industry 4.0 and advanced manufacturing technologies, we also see an increase in cohesion and interlinking of learning. No longer is there such a divide within different areas of academia and industry,” he said.
“COVID-19 has changed our mindset for how we work and what is possible.
“It has created a great transformation in our learning environment, showing how opportunities exist and how we may further embrace digitalisation, virtual and mixed reality platforms and continuous digital learning as key parts of the future in education, manufacturing and broader workforce environments.”
Story: Karen Phelan