Siemens CEO named adjunct professor at Swinburne for Industry 4.0 work

Siemens Australia chief executive and chair Jeff Connolly has been named as an adjunct professor at Swinburne University of Technology follow the company’s contributions to advancing industry with data and automation under Connolly’s leadership.

The local division of the German technology company has to date donated more than $1.5 billion in software and innovation grants to the Australian education sector, of which Swinburne received $135 million to underpin the development of a ‘Factory of the Future’.

Swinburne’s deputy vice-chancellor (research and development), professor Aleksandar Subic, presented Connolly with the certificate at the Australian ambassador to Germany’s Berlin residence during a welcome function for the Hannover Messe industrial trade fair.

Subic said the award recognises Connolly’s “expertise in advanced manufacturing business and his many contributions to driving the Industry 4.0 strategy and industry transformation in Australia”.

“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.”

One example of which is Siemens’ MindSphere internet of things platform hosted at Swinburne University, which launched last year to bring businesses and academia together to explore advanced manufacturing techniques, smart city programs and innovation in health and transport.

“Swinburne is proud to be involved with both Jeff and Siemens as we continue to work together to create economic and social impact through positive industrial transformation,” Subic added.

Connolly said at the welcome function that the recognition from Swinburne is an “acknowledgement of 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.”