Introducing the Research Centres & Innovation Hubs: InterAct
As part of the ‘Making Manufacturing Smarter Webinar Series’, this webinar will present the findings of the research and outline how future research could support UK manufacturers with their digital investment challenges, as well as showcase the work being undertaken to bring historical technology adoption stories to life, to help address the human side of digitalisation.
Watch the recording
InterAct is a £4.4 million, Made Smarter Innovation funded, Economic and Social Research Council-led network that aims to bring together economic and social scientists, UK manufacturers, and digital technology providers to address the human issues resulting from the diffusion of new technologies in industry. Our long-term vision is to build a strong, vibrant, interdisciplinary community to support UK manufacturing in the adoption and development of digital technologies that will result in a stronger, more resilient, manufacturing base. The future of manufacturing is dependent on successful digitalization, but UK manufacturers struggle with their investments in digitalization. This threatens lost business opportunities and missed innovation cycles. What can we learn about digital technology adoption from history? As part of the InterAct network, an interdisciplinary team from Aston and Cranfield Universities are reviewing historical cases of industrial transitions. By identifying cases related to mechanisation, electrification and computerisation, we aim to support successful adoption of industrial digital technology for digitalisation of manufacturing. As part of the InterAct Network, a team from Aston University is using a systematic literature review method to identify the range of technological, organisational, and social barriers that inhibit effective digital investments and how manufacturers should overcome these.
The webinar will present the findings of the research and outline how future research could support UK manufacturers with their digital investment challenges, as well as showcase the work being undertaken to bring historical technology adoption stories to life, to help address the human side of digitalisation.
This event is part of the Making Manufacturing Smarter Webinar Series
Made Smarter has an integrated approach across leadership, skills, innovation, and adoption. The Innovation Challenge focuses mostly on research and innovation across multiple sectors and how digital technologies such as AI, Robotics & Automation, Additive Manufacturing, AR/VR, IIoT, and Digital Twins can make the manufacturing supply chain processes more efficient and productive, whilst creating company growth.
The Made Smarter Research Centres and Innovation Hubs represent a key component in the UK’s approach to commercialise the emerging technologies and creating that national level growth element through creating early-stage, transformative innovative ideas, that cover both the technological and societal aspects. The centres and hubs target a specific area to drive that growth and collate engagement across the entire innovation landscape.
The webinars are a platform to come learn, ask questions, network, and form connections with people across industry, academia, and government.