Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SMART 4.0 (Smart Manufacturing Advanced Research Training for Industry 4.0)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-06-01 do 2024-08-31
Overview: SMART 4.0 is a MSCA co-fund fellowship programme aimed at providing world-class training and research opportunities to sixteen post-doctoral fellows in Smart Manufacturing. Implemented by CONFIRM Centre, a dedicated Science Foundation Ireland funded research centre for mart manufacturing, its network brings together 9 Irish research institutions, 120+ industry partners and international collaborators, constituting an excellent dedicated training environment for the fellows.
Context: SMART 4.0 is a training, mobility and career development programme, which offered 24-month fellowships for incoming mobility of experienced researchers. Due to the applied nature of the host CONFIRM Centre, SMART 4.0 included a compulsory period of secondment in industry and a bespoke training program with an acute focus on technical and transversal upskilling. SMART 4.0 has published 3 international open calls for applicants through an applied and individually‐driven, bottom‐up approach, ensured fellows had full freedom to choose their core research topic with due regard to industry end‐use applications, and their chosen Irish host institution and supervisory team, and has attracted 16 exceptionally talented researchers, with strong gender balance.
Objectives: The overarching objective of SMART 4.0 was on delivering the next generation smart manufacturing leaders with strong “systems-level thinking” and interdisciplinary skills to help drive Industry 4.0 forward for Europe. The role of industry is paramount from SMART 4.0 program design through to implementation due to its critical importance to Europe’s economy. Furthermore, SMART 4.0 was committed to tackle gender inequalities, paying specific attention to attracting and supporting female researchers within smart manufacturing, with a gender balance ratio of 31% women, bucking the EU trend of approximately 20% women in advanced manufacturing.
Context: SMART 4.0 is a training, mobility and career development programme, which offered 24-month fellowships for incoming mobility of experienced researchers. Due to the applied nature of the host CONFIRM Centre, SMART 4.0 included a compulsory period of secondment in industry and a bespoke training program with an acute focus on technical and transversal upskilling. SMART 4.0 has published 3 international open calls for applicants through an applied and individually‐driven, bottom‐up approach, ensured fellows had full freedom to choose their core research topic with due regard to industry end‐use applications, and their chosen Irish host institution and supervisory team, and has attracted 16 exceptionally talented researchers, with strong gender balance.
Objectives: The overarching objective of SMART 4.0 was on delivering the next generation smart manufacturing leaders with strong “systems-level thinking” and interdisciplinary skills to help drive Industry 4.0 forward for Europe. The role of industry is paramount from SMART 4.0 program design through to implementation due to its critical importance to Europe’s economy. Furthermore, SMART 4.0 was committed to tackle gender inequalities, paying specific attention to attracting and supporting female researchers within smart manufacturing, with a gender balance ratio of 31% women, bucking the EU trend of approximately 20% women in advanced manufacturing.
Work performed: The work performed during the entire project included, through an international peer review process, the hiring of 16 international and excellent Post-Doctorial researchers to Ireland to carry out smart Manufacturing Research fellowships in specific domains including sensor development, digital twins, manufacturing of smart materials, interoperability, data analytics and machine learning, and other areas. Each SMART 4.0 fellowship provided training, mobility and career development through a 24-month fellowships for incoming mobility of experienced researchers. Each fellowship included a period of secondment in industry and a bespoke training program with an acute focus on technical and transversal upskilling.
Results: The main results achieved for the SMART 4.0 programme included the creation of 16 Industry 4.0 thought leaders who are now contributing to increased R&D capacity and Innovation in Ireland, Europe and beyond; Supported highly educated, in-demand skills for current and future workforce; Through carrying out of beyond state-of-the-art research in smart manufacturing the fellows’ published over 20 papers in internationally leading journals and presentations at leading conferences; through extensive outreach and dissemination activities delivered a strong increase in the positive perceptions of smart manufacturing in Ireland, Europe and beyond.
Results: The main results achieved for the SMART 4.0 programme included the creation of 16 Industry 4.0 thought leaders who are now contributing to increased R&D capacity and Innovation in Ireland, Europe and beyond; Supported highly educated, in-demand skills for current and future workforce; Through carrying out of beyond state-of-the-art research in smart manufacturing the fellows’ published over 20 papers in internationally leading journals and presentations at leading conferences; through extensive outreach and dissemination activities delivered a strong increase in the positive perceptions of smart manufacturing in Ireland, Europe and beyond.
SMART 4.0 has enabled CONFIRM Centre to host international talent in relevant scientific areas to deliver Industry 4.0 and continued to support increasing Europe’s critical mass in the field of smart manufacturing through its disruptive RD&I outputs. SMART 4.0 has enabled Confirm to strengthen its international networks and visibility at a global level, enabling it to continue to support increasing Europe’s critical mass in the field of smart manufacturing through its disruptive RD&I outputs. Furthermore, the program has successfully attracted a high proportion of high calibre female researchers, demonstrable of CONFIRM’s and SMART 4.0’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. The main demonstratable impacts from the SMART 4.0 programme are,
• Positive perceptions of smart manufacturing
• Creation of 16 Industry 4.0 thought leaders
• Increased R&D capacity and Innovation in Ireland, Europe and beyond
• Sustainable R&D through increased collaboration and partnerships
• Significant contributions to international relations, profile and reputation of Ireland in Europe and the World.
• Increased Competitiveness of Irish research and enterprise
• Highly educated, in-demand skills for current and future workforce
In addition, SMART 4.0 has a strong impact on European Industry in so far as each fellow availed of a 3-month secondment in the non-academic sector. The secondments aimed to immerse the fellows’ in a non-academic setting with the view to learning and understanding of the practices and needs of the non-academic sector. Five companies, including J&J, Analog Devices, Robotics & Drivers, Collins Aerospace, Lufthansa Technik Shannon (LTTS), offered numerous placements for the fellows, where they worked on smart manufacturing projects. This activity had a dual impact, in so far as it significantly contributed to the fellows’ CPD and exposed Industry to the talent pool of the SMART 4.0 fellows, where they helped these industry partners solve difficult problems. Some standout projects that go beyond SOTA were the implementation of machine learning algorithms for 3D printing the repairs for metallic turbine blades at LTTS; the deployment of a 5G communications system to control mobile robots in J&J, and the development of a future factory demonstrator at Analog Devices.
Conclusions: SMART 4.0 has been a highly successful training and mobility programme, has delivered on all its milestones and deliverables, has produced 16 world-class researchers who are now contributing to European Industry and Academia, has significantly contributed to the movement toward gender equality in the manufacturing sector, and through effective outreach and publication has significantly improved the positive perceptions of the manufacturing sector as a desirable domain to work in.
• Positive perceptions of smart manufacturing
• Creation of 16 Industry 4.0 thought leaders
• Increased R&D capacity and Innovation in Ireland, Europe and beyond
• Sustainable R&D through increased collaboration and partnerships
• Significant contributions to international relations, profile and reputation of Ireland in Europe and the World.
• Increased Competitiveness of Irish research and enterprise
• Highly educated, in-demand skills for current and future workforce
In addition, SMART 4.0 has a strong impact on European Industry in so far as each fellow availed of a 3-month secondment in the non-academic sector. The secondments aimed to immerse the fellows’ in a non-academic setting with the view to learning and understanding of the practices and needs of the non-academic sector. Five companies, including J&J, Analog Devices, Robotics & Drivers, Collins Aerospace, Lufthansa Technik Shannon (LTTS), offered numerous placements for the fellows, where they worked on smart manufacturing projects. This activity had a dual impact, in so far as it significantly contributed to the fellows’ CPD and exposed Industry to the talent pool of the SMART 4.0 fellows, where they helped these industry partners solve difficult problems. Some standout projects that go beyond SOTA were the implementation of machine learning algorithms for 3D printing the repairs for metallic turbine blades at LTTS; the deployment of a 5G communications system to control mobile robots in J&J, and the development of a future factory demonstrator at Analog Devices.
Conclusions: SMART 4.0 has been a highly successful training and mobility programme, has delivered on all its milestones and deliverables, has produced 16 world-class researchers who are now contributing to European Industry and Academia, has significantly contributed to the movement toward gender equality in the manufacturing sector, and through effective outreach and publication has significantly improved the positive perceptions of the manufacturing sector as a desirable domain to work in.