In March 2023, the first Innovation Day of the Science Center Oberlausitz (SCO-TTi) took place at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences under the theme "People at the heart of Industry 4.M".

SCO-TTi (Science Center Oberlausitz-Technologie-Transfer-innovativ) is an interdisciplinary laboratory at our university, which is based at the Faculty of Economics and Industrial Engineering and cooperates closely with the IPM (Department of Measurement Technology and Process Automation) and the Umgebindehaus Information Center. Within SCO-TTi, the team develops approaches for shaping the digital transformation of the economy and society. The Science Center offers a meeting place for students, scientists, managers, SMEs and citizens, where research, innovation, teaching and technology transfer come together in the context of digitalization.

The aim of the first SCO-TTi Innovation Day was to present the extensive research results, e.g. from large-scale EU projects, and to identify approaches as to how companies in Upper Lusatia can use them in their companies or to start new collaborations. Numerous representatives from the regional economy were present, e.g. Arnell, ATN Hölzel, Diakoniewerk Oberlausitz, Digades, ENO and many more.

Scientists from Infineon Technologies Dresden and Virtual Vehicle Graz gave keynote speeches on current automation and digitalization trends as well as augmented reality (AR) in production and logistics. Participants also had the opportunity to visit the SCO-TTi laboratories and equipment for robotics, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) as part of an exhibition. A workshop was also held in which participants were able to learn how industry in Upper Lusatia can benefit from Industry 4.M.

Dr. Germar Schneider, Senior Manager Factory Integration at Infineon Technologies Dresden, gave a keynote speech on the topic of "IoT Tech Radar - Use Cases of the Internet of Things in the Modern Semiconductor Industry. The path from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 with the aim of establishing sustainable and human-centered manufacturing".

The second keynote speech by Michael Spitzer, Senior Researcher at Virtual Vehicle in Graz, dealt with "Technology-supported working and learning with augmented reality - use cases in machine maintenance and robotics".

During the break, guests were invited to explore and try out Industry 4.M technologies such as augmented reality and e-learning, collaborative robots and automated guided vehicles (IPM: Christian Vogel) and virtual reality (IZU: Jan Fallgatter).

In addition, Daniel Winkler and Fabian Lindner from SCO-TTi presented the Factory4Future project and held a workshop on the topic of how industry in Upper Lusatia can benefit from Industry 4.M.

The 45 participants were enthusiastic about the event and emphasized that the SCO-TTi Innovation Day was an important step towards successful cooperation between universities, industry and society in the region.

The SCO-TTi team would like to thank the Dean and the Faculty of Business, Economics and Industrial Engineering for inviting the guest speakers and for their support during the event. We would also like to thank Leonie Liemich from the Lausitz Life & Technology Alliance for moderating the event and the building technicians for their organizational support.