INDUSTRY 4.0 IN THE EU AND AUSTRALIA
Industry 4.0 refers to the emergence of advanced manufacturing systems that integrate a range of physical and digital technologies (AI, robotics, sensor technologies, nanotechnologies, computer simulation, blockchain, IOT, big data, 3D printing) within machine networks that are in many respects self-organizing and self-monitoring. Industry 4.0 is recognized as crucial to the current revival of European manufacturing and forms a central plank in the development of Australia’s Digital Economy Strategy and other initiatives designed to facilitate and support the transition to new and future industries. The Industry 4.0 in the EU and Australia research theme will develop expertise, gather information and inform debate and engagement activities on Industry 4.0 policy initiatives and concerns, including: Regional and Sectoral differences in technology adoption and engagement with global value chains; new business models, cultures of collaboration and access to resources and technology; and, new jobs and new skill requirements.
EU-AUSTRALIA CREATIVE INDUSTRIES POLICY
The category ‘Creative Industry’ covers economic sectors in which wealth and jobs are generated through the exercise of creative thought, skills and talents along with the exploitation of intellectual property. While the EU has possessed historically deep roots in craft production, and has long included the arts, architecture and design, contemporary developments, most notably digitisation have led to a massive expansion in the range and the economic significance of Creative Industries – including media and new media, creative services (e.g. VR simulation for training/education) web services and new forms of design thinking. The Creative Industries are also recognized as providing key links between the arts, culture, business and engineering, that are necessary for underwriting innovation as an engine of growth.EU-Australia Creative Industries Policy: will engage with Creative Industry policy debates in Europe and Australia, including the design of business models and skills for digital markets and policy platforms for nurturing local and regional creative economies.
MIGRATION, MOBILITY AND CULTURAL IDENTITIES BETWEEN THE EU AND AUSTRALIA
From the proliferation of global travel, tourism and transport to the desperate dispersal of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, the world has never witnessed such waves of human mobility. The global and regional migration of peoples, the transformation and negotiation of cultural identities, and the movement of goods, ideas, and transport are all issues facing the European Union and Australia. They all bear upon European integration and EU-Australia relations and critically, they are all interconnected. These mass movements and cultural shifts are additionally interwoven with the use of new technologies that shape the experiences of migration as well as bordering practices.The Migration, Mobility and Cultural Identities research theme will enhance the knowledge base and develop expertise on global and regional migration of peoples, the transformation and negotiation of cultural identities, and the movement of goods and ideas.
