Australian manufacturing: the road ahead

Convention 2014, Australia’s largest ever engineering event, will feature a forum on the future of Australia’s manufacturing sector. The forum will bring leaders of industry and academia together to debate the challenges that lie ahead and the role of innovation.

The forum is one of the many events planned for the convention, which is being organised by Engineers Australia in Melbourne from 24-28 November. The ‘Future of Manufacturing in Australia’ forum will be facilitated by RMIT University’s Dean of Engineering Professor Aleksandar Subic, who believes integrating Australian manufacturing into the global value chain will help stimulate growth.

Aleksandar Subic, Dean of Engineering, RMIT University

“The focus on Australian manufacturing has moved away from traditional low-cost, high-volume manufacturing to high-value-add manufacturing driven by innovative design, new materials and processes,” he said.

According to Professor Subic, manufacturing areas such as aerospace, defence and medical manufacturing are currently showing potential for growth. “The forum will paint a broad picture of the Australian sector, examine current opportunities for industry and take a closer look at new products and technologies that will help shape the industry in the years ahead,” Prof Subic said.

Other keynote speakers for the forum include the CEO of Siemens Australia, Jeff Connolly; the CEO of Innovative Manufacturing CRC, Professor Murray Scott; and the GM of Boeing Research & Technology, Dr Michael Edwards. They will address questions and exchange experiences and knowledge on how the shape of manufacturing is changing as well as the capability for growth and wealth creation in Australian manufacturing.

The Manufacturing in Australia forum will be held on 28 November from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm. For event details and ticketing, visit http://www.convention2014.org.au/attend/schedule/future-manufacturing-australia-forum.