The CONFIRM 2022 annual conference took place over 2 days in Salthill Galway on the 23rd and 24th November. It was the Centre’s first in-person conference since 2019 and was a big success. Attended by over 130 delegates from all our RPO’s across the country, the theme of the conference was ‘Smart Manufacturing for a Resilient Economy, Society and Environment.
There were 5 different themed sessions in total over the two days, along with an ongoing ‘Poster Session’, an NENC workshop, a keynote speaker, and an industry focused panel discussion.
Day 1 consisted of:
- Opening welcome address by CONFIRM Director Prof.Conor McCarthy
- Session 1 – Virtual Industrialisation
- Session 2 – Cyber-Physical Systems
- The NENC Workshop with guest speaker Dr.Gerard Kennedy, National Contact Point (NCP) for Horizon Europe Cluster 4 – Digital
- Poster Session
- Keynote Speaker – Jonathan McCrea who spoke on the theme of making ‘The Right Decision’
On the evening of day one, we had the CONFIRM Dinner and EPE awards ceremony
Day 2 consisted of:
- Session 3 – Self Aware Manufacturing Systems
- Session 4 – Testbeds & Prototype Lines
- Poster Session
- Session 5 – Industry Focused Projects
- Industry led panel discussion on the theme of ‘Working with industry in today’s environment – Research supports & models for resilience and success’ The panel were made up of:
- Erik O’Donovan, Head of Digital Economic Policy, IBEC
- Caitriona Mordan, Cluster Manager ATIM – Advanced Technologies for Manufacturing, TUS Athlone
- Dr Toby Sainsbury, Director Future Manufacturing Ireland, Dept Enterprise, Trade & Employment
- Theresa Mulvihill, Engenuity Midlands Engineering Cluster Coordinator
- Closing summary and ‘Best Poster Award, both given by CONFIRM Director Prof.Conor McCarthy
We look forward to welcoming everyone to our 2023 conference later this year.
