The figure of the engineer is key in the digital transition process towards the new industry 4.0. The need for qualified and specialized professionals to respond to the challenges of digital development in the industry is increasingly evident. According to a recent study prepared by the Spanish Engineering Observatory, the state will need 200,000 more engineers in the next ten years.
Currently, some 750,000 work in Spain, in a sector with only 2% unemployment. But more qualified and specialized professionals are needed to face industry 4.0, so the calculations indicate that 20,000 new engineers will be needed every year in the next decade.
What profiles should these engineers present? What are companies looking for in these professionals? To discuss the importance of engineering in this process, the TecnoCampus has organized the conference "The value of engineering in industry 4.0" on December 2. The conference wants to show the importance of industry 4.0 as a driver of the economy and the role played by the engineer as a key element of this transformation.
Throughout this day, different presentations and round tables will be held to answer questions such as the role of industry and engineering in the economic and social development of Catalonia and the European Union, especially in the textile sector.
Likewise, an important part of the event will focus on the role of new engineers in responding to the challenges posed by Industry 4.0.
As Jordi Ayza, an industrial engineer and professor at the Tecnocampus Higher Polytechnic School, explains, companies today “look for so-called soft-skills in engineers. That they be creative, enterprising, good communicators, and that they take ownership of the company's problems”. He also assures that professionals "with a broad vision" are required, capable of adapting to different projects. For many companies, continues the TecnoCampus professor, systems integration is the main challenge that engineers must respond to in order to make effective digitization possible.
All of this will be discussed at the TecnoCampus conference. This will begin with two presentations: "The role of engineering in the competitive capacity of the country's economy, in the new framework of Industry 4.0" by Mr. José de Gea, researcher at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). ), and "Challenges and opportunities offered by Industry 4.0 to Catalan companies", by mr. Xavier Gallardo, managing partner of Novatec Advisors.
The round table entitled: "New human capital requirements to compete" will then take place. In it will participate Txus Baquero, general director of Multivac Production Spain, who will provide the point of view of a multinational company in Catalonia; Josep Moré Pruna, general director of Hidrocolor, vice president of the National Confederation of the Textile Industry TEXFOR, which will represent the sector of local SMEs; and Joan Mora Bosch, CEO of Kriter Software, who will speak from the experience of a software development and consulting company. computing. Internal and customer challenges.
The second round table will address "Higher training levels and Industry 4.0". In this case, it will have the participation of Dolors Castro Notario, coordinator of professional education (FP), who will explain how Vocational Training is adapted to the demands of Industry 4.0. Josep Centelles, from the College of Graduate Engineers and Technical Engineers of Barcelona, will review the evolution of the role of the graduate engineer in the company and how it adapts to the needs posed by Industry 4.0. Pere Homs, general director of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia, will present how the technical curriculum of the master engineer is updated and the challenges that he must face. Finally, Julian Horrillo, director of the Technology department, will talk about the use of 4.0 technologies and the skills needs of companies according to the result of the study carried out recently from Tecnocampus, as well as the initiatives to support the implementation of Industry 4.0. from the TechnoCampus.
