A STRATEGIC ROADMAP TOWARDS THE NEXT LEVEL OF
INTELLIGENT, SUSTAINABLE AND HUMAN-CENTRED SMEs

The Faculty of Engineering, Chiang Mai University (Engineering CMU), led by Asst. Prof. Wapee Manopiniwes, Assoc. Prof. Chawis Boonmee, Dr. Pongsawat Premphet, and researchers from the Department of Industrial Engineering, welcomed international collaborators — Asst. Prof. Jeong Yongkuk from KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) and PhD Candidate Lars Jakobs from the Free University of Bolzano (Italy) — for a joint factory visit in Lamphun province.

The group visited S.J. Equipment and Care Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of tissue paper products, and Plethora Sports Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a producer of high-quality sports goods. The visit aimed to explore real-world industrial practices, production management, logistics systems, and technology utilization among Thai SMEs.

During the visit, the teams exchanged insights on process improvement, sustainability strategies, and digital transformation challenges in the local manufacturing sector. The discussion also focused on how academic collaboration and applied research could enhance innovation and competitiveness for regional industries.

This activity, organized under the SME50 project, reflects a strong commitment to fostering research collaboration, knowledge transfer, and long-term partnerships between European and Thai institutions — contributing to innovation-driven and sustainable industrial development in Northern Thailand.

As a follow-up to my recent post, I’d like to share some of the outcomes of my secondment to Deakin University under the Horizon Europe SME 5.0 project:
Research
Together with Prof. Chang-Tsun Li, we began drafting a joint publication on the topic of cybersecurity challenges in Mixed Reality (MR) immersive training environments. The work explores how secure, sustainable, and human-centred MR training platforms can be implemented in academic and industrial contexts.
Collaboration
During my stay, I also engaged in a series of workshops and meetings with colleagues from the School of IT and the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment. These discussions opened up avenues for future cooperation in:
• Curriculum development
• Knowledge exchange
• Joint research and teaching opportunities
A special thanks to Prof. Chang-Tsun Li, Dr Adnan Anwar, Dr Je Sen Teh, and Dr Sophie McKenzie for their generous time, insightful discussions, and warm hospitality.
Looking forward to building on this collaboration in the future!

#SME5_0 #EUProjects #HorizonEurope #Secondment #MixedReality #Cybersecurity #ImmersiveTraining #EngineeringEducation #ResearchCollaboration #DeakinUniversity #UniversityOfMalta

Successfully Completed My Secondment at Deakin University, Australia 🇦🇺
I'm excited to share that I’ve just concluded a two-month secondment at Deakin University (Melbourne) as part of the Horizon Europe SME 5.0 project — “A Strategic Roadmap Towards the Next Level of Intelligent, Sustainable and Human-Centred SMEs.”
I was warmly hosted by Prof. Chang-Tsun Li, who supported my visit and helped facilitate valuable academic engagement during my time at Deakin.
This experience has been both academically rewarding and personally meaningful. I’m incredibly grateful for the warm welcome from the team at Deakin, and for the opportunity to reconnect with my home country while proudly representing the University of Malta on the global stage.
Stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll be sharing more about the work done during the secondment and the exciting collaborations initiated!

#SME5_0 #EUProjects #HorizonEurope #Secondment #MixedReality #Cybersecurity #ImmersiveTraining #EngineeringEducation #ResearchCollaboration #DeakinUniversity #UniversityOfMalta

Wrapping up an amazing month at the University of Malta, where we successfully designed and set up a human-robot collaborative workstation in the Digital and Automation Lab. This project focused on recreating industrial-like operations for hands-on learning, with the UR3 robot's kinematic and dynamic models developed in iPhysics to assess joint torques, power consumption, and energy usage. Data was validated through a real-time connection with the robot (Digital Shadow) and an energy meter. Additionally, we worked on two conference papers: one on Digital Twin-based energy assessments in a collaborative workstation (to be submitted to CLF2026) and another on evaluating sustainability in manufacturing using Axiomatic Design (for ICAD2026). We also shared insights on Digital Twins, Axiomatic Design, and energy monitoring, setting the stage for future collaborations.

#Secondment #HumanRobotCollaboration #DigitalTwin #EnergyEfficiency