On October 24-25, 2022, Wrocław University of Science and Technology will host CETEF’22 – Central European Technology Forum. CETEF has been a flag event organised by the Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology (IZTECH) in co-operation with technical universities and high-tech industries since 2014.

This year’s edition of the Forum is organised under the auspices of the European Commission and  under the patronage of the European Parliament by IZTECH, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology and Polish Federation of Engineering Associations with KGHM as the event’s strategic partner.

The aim of the Forum is to create an international platform for discussion on the European policy for further development of technical branches critical to effective digital transformation as well as facilitate networking to enable implementation of large European high-tech projects and present the potential of Polish technology and research in view of the EU funding programmes, in particular those pertaining to digital and energy transformation.

Participants of the Forum will be stakeholders representing 17 countries of Central Europe, including:

• executives and management members of research and development centres and project managers responsible for digital transformation,
• managers responsible for the development of technological infrastructure for industry and services,
• managers of companies specializing in the design and integration of industrial automation systems and logistics automation systems,
• representatives of institutions, ministries and government agencies distributing and allocating funds for supporting digital transformation in the European economy.

The Young Scientist Day organised by the Polish Association of Doctoral Candidates and Council of Young Scientists will be an accompanying event of the Forum.

The Forum’s confirmed participation include, among others, Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Cristian-Silviu Buşoi, Chairman of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament and Peter Droell, Director for Prosperity, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission.

The dynamic development of information technologies has indubitably enabled digitalisation of all areas of social and economic life. Nonetheless, it appears to be insufficient. As a matter of fact, digitalisation depends largely on the technical advancement of numerous complementary fields: automatics, robotics, mechatronics, electronics, photonics, as well as smart energy grids and smart transport networks. Carrying out effective digital transformation is impossible without simultaneous development of those disciplines.

Part of the CETEF’22 program is a day of five thematic conferences in:

• development trends in automation and robotisation of the European industry
• breakthroughs in medtech
• cybersecurity
• novel biomedical technologies in diagnostics and therapy
• innovative technologies in non-ferrous metallurgy.

The thematic conferences will open with keynote addresses from outstanding international experts:

• Robotics and AI: Ivan Petrović, Member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Chair of the International Federation of Automatic Control Technical Committee for Robotics, Professor of University of Zagreb,
• Biomedical Engineering: P Wolfgang Drexler, Director of the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Chair of the European Association of Biomedical Imaging,
• Cybersecurity: Kai Rannenberg, Professor of Goethe University in Frankfurt and National Institute for Informatics in Tokyo, Chair of the Strategic Advisory Group on Industry 4.0/Smart manufacturing of the ISO Technical Management Board, Vice-Chair of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS), Coordinator of  CyberSec4Europe.

In the aftermath of the pandemic and in the face of the ongoing war in Ukraine, CETEF’22 will be a  hybrid conference.

More information at: www.cetef.eu.

IZTECH was established in 2008. Its members are companies and research centres representing different high-tech branches. The Chamber’s mission is to integrate the community, support high-tech initiatives and promote Polish technological solutions in Europe and the world. The Chamber took an active role in the process of consultations for the European Commission’s New European Innovation Agenda. Our position was presented at the session with Mariya Gabriel,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth on June 29, 2022 at the European Parliament in Brussels during the 1st European Innovation Area Summit.

”On October 24-25, 2022, Wrocław University of Science and Technology will host a Round Table on Digital Transformation, a discussion combining the New European Innovation Agenda with the European digital transformation strategy. We are pleased to co-operate with companies and R&D centres as well as organisations representing experienced engineers, PhD candidates and young scientists. We invite you to actively participate, together with outstanding European researchers and practitioners, in a debate on the development of technical branches that determine effective digital transformation. We hope the exchange of ideas and expertise will be fruitful. Join us in Wrocław!” – Dr Zygmunt Krasiński, President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology (IZTECH)