A new industrial revolution, the alleged 4th one, is under way and is expected to transform all industry sectors. Sensors, wireless communication, artificial intelligence, IoT and big data among others are bringing our industrial world into a new digital era.

On 19 April, the European Commission presented a set of measures for the digitisation of European industry and to speed up the standard setting process.

By the end of 2016, the EU executive is planning to adapt existing laws to address regulatory gaps in regards to data ownership, liability, safety aspects and security.

Possible discussions points:

•  Which are the legislative gaps to be addressed?
• Do we need a common EU legal framework to enable the digitisation of the industry?
• Is standardisation in the hands of the public or the private sector?
• As for interoperability, what is the way forward to achieve it?
• How should data ownership be addressed?
• With regards to the expected amount of data generated ("big data"), where should data be stored? Is cloud the solution?
• How do we build adequate security leading to a trusty environment?
• How do we handle the data created by machines? Is the General Data Protection Regulation relevant?
• Considering the different national legislations on data localisation, how do we move forward in securing a free glow of data in Europe and across borders?

Speakers include:

Khalil Rouhana Director, Dir A - Digital Industry, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Adrian Harris Director General, Orgalime

Stefanie Ellen Stündel Senior Manager Digitalisation, Innovation and Healthcare, BDI/BDA The German Business Representation

Dr-Ing Eike Permin Head of department "Production quality”, Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT

Moderator: Mathias Coopmans Principle Business Solution Manager, SAS South West Europe