By Kamil Zidek on Mar 10th, 2024
Analysing and discussing the barriers to empower workers with different abilities to increase their inclusion within SME jobs. Analysing the current requirements and future expectations of technologies and systems for empowering workers to increase the attractiveness of SME jobs.
By Tanel Aruväli on Mar 7th, 2024
I gave a guest lecture for third-year bachelor students at the Pilar campus at Universidad del Salvador. The topic of my lecture was “Increasing Resilience in Manufacturing”. I introduced the ideas, research results, and hands-on experiences from my previous research project at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in the Smart Mini Factory laboratory. I am glad that the students actively participated in the lecture answering my questions and they also had several questions for me. After the talk, they asked to take a photo together with me đ
By Helmut Aschbacher on Mar 5th, 2024
On March 5, 2024, an internal coordination meeting of the secondment participants from Austria (Prof. Helmut Zsifkovits Montanuniversität Leoben, Helmut Aschbacher, Graz Technical University) from Italy (Lars Jakobs, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano - unibz Campus Bruneck) and Germany (Maria Maier, Technical University Munich) took place at Stellenbosch University. In this context, a knowledge exhcnage was carried out and the next milestones were discussed.
By Anika Terbuch on Mar 4th, 2024
Secondment of Dr. Anika Terbuch at Deakin University
Dr. Anika Terbuch has spent a research period at Deakin University in March and April 2024. She was hosted by Prof. Chang-Tsun Li & Dr Thanh Duc Nguyen (School of Information Technology) at Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Campus.
Together with SME 5.0 secondee Michaela Golser, MSc from Free University of Bolzano, and Christopher Gradwohl, Montanuniversität Leoben, she established new contacts at Deakin and strengthened collaborations between work packages. She also established new contacts and cooperations around Victoria.
Her research during the secondment focused on WP 4: Analysis of Requirements for Intelligent SME Factories, with a particular emphasis on Task 4.1: Analysis of Requirements for AI and Big Data Analytics.
By Tanel Aruväli on Feb 29th, 2024
Together with Prof Sergio Salimbeni and Leila Zare we visited the Universidad del Salvador main building and campus in Pilar. Campus with a relaxing atmosphere and the proximity of nature certainly has a good impact on students' creativity. We sightsee the Institute of Architecture, the main library, and spaces with multiple uses.
By Johannes Handler on Feb 29th, 2024
During my time at Deakin University, I had the opportunity to explore various technologies that might be significant for the future of manufacturing. One particular technology I experienced hands-on was augmented reality. I had the chance to participated in a study on the use of augmented reality in manufacturing
Ahmed Khafaga, a doctoral student in a joint program between Deakin University and Coventry University (England), is one of the researchers conducting the study. It focuses on utilizing Augmented Reality (AR) to aid human operators in industrial tasks like assembly, maintenance, or inspection. Its primary goals are to assess the impact of these technologies on the wellbeing and performance of human operators, aiming to foster a more human-centric approach in manufacturing design by enhancing human cognitive ergonomics. The project seeks to understand how AR can improve operator wellbeing and performance, with a particular emphasis on cognitive ergonomics, specifically mental workload and technology acceptance. By aiming for a reduced mental workload from a human-centric viewpoint, the research intends to inform future employers on how to optimize manual assembly designs to benefit operators.
It was an interesting experience to be part of the study and to get a first-hand look at the state of the art of this technology. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this research and it’s potential influence on future workplace designs.
By Michaela Golser on Feb 16th, 2024
I have the honour of reporting on an inspiring meeting that took place in Melbourne last week. Two staff members from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and two staff members from the University of Leoben met at Deakin University, which hosted the secondments.
The meeting centred around the exciting SME 5.0 project, which is funded by the European Union and which the project partners are working on during their stay. In this project, we are working together to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with innovative technologies and digital solutions. We are convinced that this collaboration will strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs and help shape the future of industry.
Deakin University has a long tradition of international collaboration and it was an honour to meet our Australian secondment partners. We exchanged ideas and best practices and learnt about the latest developments in Industry 4.0.
By Sarah Wagner (im Namen von Maria Maier) on Feb 12th, 2024
As part of the SME 5.0 project, funded by the European Union, I undertook a three-month secondment at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. I was warmly welcomed and supported by Louis Louw and Dr. Philani Zincume, to whom I would like to express my sincere thanks.
Together with Dr. Zincume, I explored key questions related to the future of work and learning in manufacturing environments, particularly within the context of Industry 5.0. Our joint research focused on identifying the evolving requirements and challenges that both individuals and companies may face in the transition to human-centric, resilient, and sustainable production systems.
In addition, we investigated the competencies and skill sets employees will need to thrive in these future-oriented work environments.
This collaboration represented an important step in advancing the SME 5.0 project’s objectives and deepening the understanding of workforce development in the context of Industry 5.0.
By Tanel Aruväli on Feb 2nd, 2024
A meeting and networking event with interactive presentations and discussions with two guest speakers; Dr Paul Black, Post-Doctoral Researcher-Cyber Security, Federation University and James Spencer, Security Automation Engineer from Monash University. Dr Paul Black of the Internet Commerce Security Lab (ICSL) examines cybersecurity attack trends and operations, by examining the interaction between the user, the operating system and the attacker. James Spencer provided a thought provoking look at a continuum of attacks ranging from fraud to software exploitation, and how future attacks may be prevented using SOAR. This begs the question: do users need these dangerous permissions all the time, or just at a point in time when they actually need them? After the presentations, I had an interesting discussion regarding cyber security threats for mobile devices and the spread of phishing SMS-s in Australia. I was invited to the event by my co-host Dr. Jack Li at Deakin University