Siemens CEO recognised for work on Industry 4.0

Siemens Australia Chairman and CEO Jeff Connolly has been recognised for his contributions to Industry 4.0 in Australia, and has recently been named as an adjunct professor of Swinburne University of Technology.

Swinburne’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Development) Professor Aleksandar Subic presented the certificate to Connolly during a welcome function for industrial trade fair Hannover Messe in Germany.

“This award recognises Jeff’s expertise in advanced manufacturing business and his many contributions to driving the Industry 4.0 strategy and industry transformation in Australia,” Subic said. “No other individual has contributed so much to Australia’s journey through the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He is an advocate and thought leader and, as a company, Siemens has invested an incredible amount of time, resources and effort to bring this capability to life across Australia.”

Subic said Swinburne is proud to work with both Connolly and Siemens to create economic and social impact through positive industrial transformation.

In 2017, Connolly established and led the Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Taskforce in Australia, which has a similar structure to Germany’s Plattform Industrie 4.0 Group. It mirrored the approach of key work streams to address areas such as the future of work education and training, research and development, standards, cybersecurity and Industry 4.0 test laboratories.

The company has donated over $1.5 billion in software and innovation grants to the Australian education sector, $135 million of which went to Swinburne for the development of a ‘Factory of the Future’.

Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), Siemens and Swinburne have collaborated to implement the ‘Industry 4.0 Apprenticeship’ program, which is designed to teach students technical engineering and information technology skills. It has already produced job-ready graduates who are working in many technology-related fields.

Finally, the government has committed $6 million across six university partnerships, one of which was Swinburne, to develop Industry 4.0 test laboratories and help prepare businesses for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Connolly said the recognition from Swinburne acknowledges “the relevance in Australia of Germany’s holistic framework for dealing with the profound societal consequences of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

“Successfully competing in the future world is all about urgent pursuit of global best practice in both what we do and how we do it. We must be interconnected and enabled by the right tools and the right skills.”

Swinburne’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Development) Professor Aleksandar Subic, Siemens Australia CEO Jeff Connolly, Australia’s Ambassador to Germany Lynette Wood and Siemens’ global Member of the Managing Board Cedrik Neike.