This year, the 15th Technology and Innovation Management Conference appears in a totally different dress: We are happy to invite you to our INC Technology and Innovation Summit!
Under the headline technology meets innovation „Towards an Intelligent and Sustainable Future”, we will experience technological as well as methodological enablers for innovation in two parallel streams:
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| INC members (virtual) | Free of charge |
| Virtual participation (price excl. VAT) | 295.00 € |
We look forward to exciting presentations, innovative impulses and interactive discussions together with you.
Toni Drescher, Susanne Aghassi, Patrick Kabasci, Anne Loos, Dr. Myron Graw
The TIM-Stream of our Technology and Innovation Summit aims at enabling participants to implement successful technology and innovation management (TIM) approaches in their own businesses. The stream will focus on practice-based impulse speeches given by top-level speakers from industry and research, introducing successful approaches on selected fields of modern technology and innovation management: from the right culture and mindset to organization and processes and the conception of separate innovation paths.
Experience and discuss current challenges and successful practices in TIM through case studies and selected stimuli from industry and applied research in technology and innovation management.
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Industry 4.0 – What are the best practices and learnings of those companies which have already thoroughly introduced it? Learn about the challenges of scaling individual pilot applications in single machines or lines to the whole production network. Some companies have experienced, that limiting industry 4.0 to their own production creates barriers to achieve value elsewhere. In the end they have perfect data about their own production – but then lack transparency into other corporate functions or supply chain partners. We will present approaches and discuss experiences to make full use of the gained flexibility by ensuring proper end-to-end integration in the company and with the supply chain. We will also talk about how to drive forward to the more ambitious goals of industry 4.0 – optimized integrated planning, the use of AI in production, and the use of your production network to enable new digital business models.
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Dr. Martin Watzlawek, Senior Advisor and Consultant in Strategy & Innovation
The AI Innovation Stream offers an overview on the numerous facets of Artificial Intelligence in industrial practice. The spectrum of topics ranges from innovation approaches in AI technologies to specific expert talks of implementers from research and industry. How do you teach an AI ethical behavior? What advantages does Edge AI hardware offer companies in terms of data sovereignty and response speed? Successful AI players and top-class speakers will share their expertise, best practice examples and strategic considerations with the participants.
Join the exchange with pioneers, experts, practitioners as well as international players and get started with AI in your company and business.
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How can the spread of hydrogen as a climate-neutral energy carrier and mobility driver be advanced? The Hydrogen Stream is dedicated to questions around the establishment and enlargement of a hydrogen economy. Already today, hydrogen production, utilization & infrastructure technologies are heavily subsidized with several billion euros. However, prices of components & systems are still not widely competitive. The industrialization of the related technologies highly depends on upscaling effects like production, norms, standards and infrastructure. Missing component innovations and material standards prevent the expansion of a hydrogen economy.
Become part of our Hydrogen Stream to expand your network and identify new potential innovation white-spots in the hydrogen economy.
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The INC Invention Center on the RWTH Aachen Campus is the place where visionaries and future planners redefine your business. Whether agile hardware development, stress testing or start-up screening, we make your company ready for the future. With targeted training offerings, your employees will become chief technology managers and gain the tools they need to meet upcoming challenges. Check your “Innovation Readiness Level” and put together the program that will give your company the new spirit of innovation you need. As an INC Partner, you will have an influence on the main topics on which we focus our activities in R&D and consortia projects.
Managing Director INC Invention Center
Toni is founder, engineer, consultant, and CEO. Worldwide, he finds new approaches, strategies and methods from technology and innovation management and shares his knowledge with the INC Invention Center network. He serves both corporations and medium-sized companies in implementing their innovation strategy.
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Division Engineering of Adaptive Systems EAS & InnovAItion Campus
Anne Loos is CEO of the InnovAItion Campus and head of Business Development at Fraunhofer IIS/EAS. At Fraunhofer her focus lies on AI customer projects. The mission of the campus is to become a cross-sectoral one-stop-shop for Artificial Intelligence and to create an internationally visible ecosystem for the rapid implementation of AI lighthouse projects.
Director Business Unit »Innovation Excellence«, INC Invention Center
Susanne feels at home in technology management. For the INC, she puts her theoretical approaches into practice with passion and dedication. Many years of experience as a consultant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT) and at KEX AG have made her a sparring partner who is known for her competence in analysis and solutions.
Director Business Unit »Sustainability«, INC Invention Center
Dr. Myron Graw supports the Invention Center and the KEX Knowledge Exchange AG since its foundation. He is an enthusiastic industrial engineer and fascinated by technologies and trends. Above all, assessing the influence on the economic performance of companies and helping to shape innovation is simply more than just a job for Myron – it is his passion.
Sustainability is not just a buzzword for him, but an absolute necessity. In his eyes, technology offers the opportunity to combine the aspect of sustainability with modern life.
Director Business Unit »Digital Operations« & Hong Kong, INC Invention Center
Patrick Kabasci studied computer science and economics at RWTH Aachen University. After numerous positions in research, logistics, and the semiconductor industry, he started his Industry 4.0 path in 2013 at the Fraunhofer IPT and KEX Knowledge Exchange AG.
Since 2018, he has been leading Industrie 4.0 in an international context and production and supplier networks of European companies, with a focus on China and Turkey.
We will continuously amend new information here, so please feel free to return anytime.
Prof. Piller is considered one of the leading experts on customer-centric value creation, such as mass customisation, personalisation and open innovation. His current research focusses on the need (and challenges) of established companies to transform themselves in the face of disruptive business model innovations and to create appropriate organisational structures and cultures to do so.
Being an innovator, investor, intrapreneur, and entrepreneur Rob has experienced many sides of innovation. Today, he supports corporates and startups to make a high impact. The focus is on finding and developing innovation talent, as gaining the skills and mindset is at the core of every success.
Johannes Mayer studied mechanical engineering and management at the TU Munich. He currently works as a Brand Ambassador for senseering GmbH and at the WZL of RWTH Aachen University in the digital transformation department. He is intensively involved with data-driven business models, blockchain-based use cases in an industrial context, and the pricing of industrial data.
During the last ten years, Dr. Biba Visnjicki was actively developing cross-disciplinary Innovation and Digital Transformation, combining new approaches to technology development with accelerated know-how transfer. In her current role of Global Head of Digitalisation at Tembo group, she is responsible for the overall digital transformation of the group, opening new avenues for Tembo to support its customers.
As head of the Strategic Technology Management department at the Fraunhofer IPT, Marc Patzwald supports manufacturing companies with strategic issues in the areas of technology, innovation, and resilience. He currently obtains his doctorate on the topic of developing resilient technology strategies in a volatile corporate environment, drawing on relevant and practical experience.
Since 2010, Dr. Mario Pothen has been working as a research assistant at the Fraunhofer IPT, initially in the area of CAx technologies and laser material processing, and since 2018 as head of the Competence Field “Digitalization and Interconnection”. Additionally, he is the research manager of the “International Center for Networked, Adaptive Production ICNAP”.
As an intrapreneur, Dr. Daniel Rüschen designs the lifelines of tomorrow’s buildings. With a small team at the Aachen campus, he runs the fuzzy front end of Viega’s innovation process.
As of November 1, 2019, Prof. Alexander Martin is a director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen, Germany. Since 2010, he has headed the Chair of Economics, Discrete Optimization, and Mathematics at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Prof. Martin’s research areas include studying and solving general mixed-integer linear and nonlinear optimization problems, including the development of suitable models, their mathematical analysis, and the design and implementation of efficient algorithms to solve them. Since 2018, he has headed the ADA Lovelace Center for Analytics, Data, and Applications.
Dr Tobias Thaler is responsible for the development of digital and data-based solutions in Environmental Sciences at Bayer AG. True to its mission “Foster Environments Where We Work, Live and Play”, Environmental Science develops innovative solutions in the areas of vector control, professional pest management, forestry, vegetation management, and turf and ornamentals. Environmental Science offers not only innovative products but also new digital and data-based services that facilitate the daily work of its customers.
Antonela Sisejkovic studied Electrical Engineering & Information Technology at the University of Zagreb in Croatia. For the INC Invention Center, she worked on various projects around the topics of digitalisation and Industry 4.0. Currently, her focus as a project manager is on the topic of artificial intelligence. Supporting companies in identifying the right digital solutions and using them successfully is just one of her many thematic focuses.
IONIQ Skincare is a manufacturer of smart skincare products. The company is a corporate startup of the Swiss WAGNER Group, a foundation-owned hidden champion in industrial coating equipment, and launches in June 2021. As founder and CEO of IONIQ Skincare, Valentin Langen knows the challenges and success factors of technology transfer, innovation, and transformation from his own experience. Before joining the WAGNER Group as assistant to the CEO, he did his doctorate on competitive strategies. Valentin Langen is a lecturer for leadership and intrapreneurship and an advisory board member for medium-sized companies.
After studying physics and researching in the USA, Dr. Klaus Knobloch worked at Infineon since 1998 on the technology development of numerous automotive microcontrollers as well as smartcard product lines from 0.25 µm to most recently 40 nm. With the start of the new Infineon Development Centre for Automotive Electronics and Artificial Intelligence in Dresden in 2019, he took over the research area “Hardware Concepts for AI Accelerators”. New approaches such as analog or neuromorphic solutions are key for efficient and safe edge AI, for example for radar signal processing in cars.
The Energy Storage business unit at the Fraunhofer IPT develops production technologies for hydrogen economy products such as electrolyzers, fuel cells, and pressure tanks. One focus is on upscaling production volumes to exploit cost reduction potential and make hydrogen technologies competitive. Mr. Müller studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and is doing his doctorate on thermally assisted forming processes.
Dr. Jens Struckmeier is a physicist, inventor, and entrepreneur from Germany. Whilst still a student, he was responsible for the planning of the first passive house in North Rhine-Westphalia, integrating an innovative heating system. Between 2000 and 2003 Jens worked as a project lead in device and software development in Santa Barbara, USA. From 2004 to 2009 he successfully managed a German nano-biology instrumentation company. In 2009 Jens started developing water cooling systems for data centers, which led to the foundation of the green computing business Cloud&Heat Technologies. Since then, the vision of the Dresden-based company has been to make sustainability the driver of digital innovation. Cloud&Heat develops, builds, and operates energy-efficient, green, secure, and scalable (edge) data centers, meeting the growing demand for distributed and high available IT infrastructures. Jens is not only the driving force behind the company’s hardware development but is also focused on a variety of other topics, such as data security, AI, AR, VR, and blockchain
Birger is a strategist focusing on the interfaces and potential synergies within the energy landscape. He has a background as a mechanical engineer and master of business administration (MBA). After different positions in large capital projects at Vattenfall, he currently is project manager for the first data center that is directly integrated in a district heating system to most efficiently reuse the heat utilizing his experiences in both, the data center and energy utility world.
Prof. Dr. Rüdiger-A. Eichel holds the Chair of Energy Conversion and Storage at RWTH Aachen University and is also scientific director of the Institute for Energy and Climate Research (IEK-9) at Forschungszentrum Jülich. He is also the founding director of the “Competence Centre for Sustainable Electrochemical Process Engineering” (ELECTRA) of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Prof. Eichel coordinates the national lighthouse project “Kopernikus P2X – Research, Validation and Implementation of ‘Power-to-X’ Concepts”, as well as the Helmholtz Network of Excellence “Electrochemical CO2 Valorisation” and is involved in several large-scale projects on the Green Hydrogen Economy.
With “Digital Ventures”, Thorsten Krüger took over responsibility for digital business models at Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen GmbH (MR) in 2013, in which central IT solutions for operators of electrical grids in asset management increase the availability of operating resources and reduce running costs in the long term. This model gains complexity through the combination of conventional data collection (offline) and the direct connection of field devices (edge computing). Furthermore, Thorsten Krüger is a member of various cross-industry clusters and initiatives for the exchange of experience of digital business models.
After studying technical chemistry and economics, Dr Stefan Girschik held various international management positions at the REHAU Group, most recently as Deputy Group CEO. Since 2019, he has now been CEO of the Meraxis Group, which was formed from the merger of two globally active trading companies in the polymer industry. One of his strategic goals is the digitalisation of the industry. In a rather conservative industry, the Meraxis Group is thus positioning itself as a technology leader. By specifically promoting digital innovations, it is not only actively driving its own growth course, but also the circular economy. Dr Girschik has already demonstrated his affinity for digitalisation and innovation as co-founder of the multi-award-winning Innovation & Digi Lab “Unlimited X” in Munich.
Martin is currently Senior Advisor in Strategy & Innovation. He has 20 years of industry experience in designing strategy and innovation processes and structures. He acts as an innovation leader believing in servant and agile leadership. Most recently he has been a Member of the Board of REHAU Automotive.
Martin will give an overview of the most relevant and popular cognitive biases that influence decisions in innovation management. He will address the major risks on the strategic, portfolio, and project flight levels if these cognitive biases are not managed carefully. For each of the cognitive biases, he will describe ideas and hints on how innovation leaders can be aware of the risks and improve their decision making in innovation.
Fatlinda is a certified expert in the field of digital transformation and is well versed in the latest trends in the IoT/AI world. With her pedagogical approach, she finds the right words to make complicated technical contexts of the expert fields understandable for users and decision-makers. Furthermore, she is very interested in the acceptance of technologies concerning their users, but also with the entire company structure and organization.
Joined HKPC in 2018, Edmond spearheads digital transformation, industry, and enterprise 4.0, plus reindustrialization through advanced manufacturing. Previously with General Electric for 20+ years, his experience covered information technology, internal audit, and finance functions with assignments in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Greater China, and United States across plastics, healthcare, capital, power, aviation, transportation industries. Edmond held both commercial and business roles with regional or global responsibilities for rail, mining, renewable energy, marine, energy storage, thermal power generation industries, with hands-on leadership in digital transformation and product development for sizeable organizations.
Law Lap Yan, Lyan is a Senior Advisor at HKPC and is responsible for Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing, and Reindustrialisation. He also acts as Centre Manager for the HKPC Centre, Hong Kong Industrial Drone Technology Centre, and The Hatch. Lyan Law Lap Yan is a certified blockchain expert and machine learning trainer. He has over 20 years of experience in the IT and manufacturing industry, with numerous successful projects in the fields of new business development for Industry 4.0 and smart technologies as well as IoT and data analysis.
Andy Heinig is the head of the department Efficient Electronics at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Division Engineering of Adaptive Systems EAS. In this position, he is responsible for various hardware design projects for the acceleration of AI. On the one hand, this includes the adapted design of chips for edge AI, for example with the help of chiplets or state-of-the-art packaging solutions. On the other hand, it also includes chip design for data centers as a counterpart.
Dr.- Ing. Max Ellerich is responsible for business development at NEUMAN & ESSER ENERGY in Übach-Palenberg and supports the company’s transformation into a supplier of green technologies, especially in the field of hydrogen. Dr. Ellerich previously worked for 3 years as chief engineer at the Chair of Production Metrology and Quality Management at the WZL of RWTH Aachen University and headed the Quality Management department.
Daniel Führen studied physics at RWTH Aachen University and has been working at the INC Invention Center for more than four years. Here he supports companies in technology and market-related issues and is currently responsible for projects in the field of the “Hydrogen Economy”. The focus of these activities is the challenge of enabling companies to participate in the hydrogen economy.
KEX Knowledge Exchange AG is a professional information service provider for technology and market information. Intelligent knowledge management systems as well as the comprehensive connection to exclusive information sources and a unique network of experts enable an effective scanning, scouting and monitoring of technologies and markets. The company supports entrepreneurial decisions from the identification of competitively relevant technologies, to the monitoring of markets, competitors and M&A candidates, to new business fields.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is one of Germany’s most important industrial applied research facilities for the development of microelectronic systems. The scientists in the Division Engineering of Adaptive Systems EAS, located in Dresden, develop key technologies for the connected world of tomorrow.
Major aspects of their work are the design of reliable microchips and complex electronic systems in leading-edge semiconductor technologies as well as the corresponding design methods. Furthermore, they focus on the development of intelligent sensor systems, the analysis of large amounts of data as well as on new approaches for distributed control systems. Tailored to current industrial needs and future challenges, the researchers work on adaptive and robust technological solutions in a broad range of applications such as mobility and industrial automation.
The aim of the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT is application and industry-oriented research and development for companies from the entire manufacturing industry. They implement the results of their work directly into the operational practice of their customers. The industry focus of the Fraunhofer IPT ranges from automotive engineering and its suppliers, in particular tool and die making, to aerospace, precision mechanics and optical industries, and machine tool manufacturing.
The increasing pressure for emission-free mobility and CO2 footprint reduction in all industrial sectors is sharpening the focus on hydrogen as an energy carrier. Therefore, companies who want to offer competitive products in the energy sector and in the field of mobile drive systems must develop system and industrialization competencies contributing to the hydrogen economy. Although technical solutions for the generation, storage and conversion of hydrogen into electrical energy in the form of fuel cells and electrolysers have been in the market for a long time, these solutions are still not competitive due to their high manufacturing costs.
Objective of the Center FCI is to significantly improve the economic efficiency of these systems through an interdisciplinary, pre-competitive approach for applied research and implementation of new materials, designs and production technologies.
The 14th TIM conference under the motto “Innovation 2030 – Managing the Technological Transformation” was held for the first time as a “Digital TIM Series”. In a total of seven “Digital TIM Series” events, together with top-class experts from industry and academia, we discussed how the TIM can respond to the radical changes in the markets and fulfill its performance mandate to shape the technological transformation.
At the 13th TIM Conference under the motto “Collaborate to Innovate – Making the Net Work”, more than 100 experts and executives from the manufacturing industry engaged in lively discussions about the challenges of collaboration in the innovation environment.
The 12th conference was held under the motto “Agile Invention: Hype or Game Changer?”. The Fraunhofer IPT and its spin-off the INC Invention Center once again welcomed more than 100 experts and executives from industry to the Quellenhof in Aachen on October 25 and 26, 2018.
The 11th conference was held under the motto “Managing Breakthrough Innovations” and included an in-depth presentation of successful innovation approaches from both industrial practice and science. Fraunhofer IPT and the INC Invention Center once again welcomed more than 150 experts and managers from industry to Aachen’s Quellenhof on October 18 and 19, 2017.
Susanne Aghassi studied computer science and psychology with a focus on knowledge management, web technologies, and CSCW/eLearning. Since 2014, she has built up the KEX Knowledge Exchange together with other partners. Since 2018 she is our center director of the Invention Center. With the newly founded business unit “Innovation Excellence”, she is taking on new challenges and is responsible for expanding methodological and consulting expertise in the area of TIM. Susanne Aghassi is the ideal contact person for questions about methodologies and processes in technology and innovation management, ambidexterity between core and disruptive innovation as well as change management, agile/digital transformation, and new work & leadership. She is looking forward to interesting insights into the practical challenges of innovative, technology-oriented companies. Book an exclusive Expert Talk with Susanne Aghassi and look forward to an attentive and curious listener who can provide an initial assessment of the situation with a fresh and competent external view and consider together with you how to concretize and address the issue.
Dr. Olaf Enge-Rosenblatt – Group Leader, Fraunhofer IIS, Department of Adaptive Systems Development EAS
Eventmanagement
INC Invention Center
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Executive Director
INC Invention Center
Campus-Boulevard 30
52074 Aachen
Telefone +49 241 51038 601