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SATN Conference Looks into The Future

SATN Conference Looks into The Future

The International Conference hosted by the South African Technology Network (SATN) in partnership with the Durban University of Technology (DUT) ended on a high note with the focus of the last day of the conference being on, “The 4th Industrial Revolution and Sustainable Futures”.

The three-day conference started on Tuesday, 11 September and concluded on Thursday, 13 September 2018 at Elangeni Hotel in Durban. The overall theme of the conference was “4th Industrial Revolution: Role of Universities”.

Local and international industry experts, academics and researchers made ground-breaking inputs on the future that will be shaped by new innovations emanating from the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Prof Chris Adendorff who is the Professor in Future Studies at the Nelson Mandela University said it is important for the current generation to anticipate and prepare for the future in the context of changes that will come with new innovations.

“We started experiencing the 4th industrial revolution as early as 2012, and what we are going to experience now is even more complex. Lifi will replace Wifi, it is faster than Wifi, Lifi can be as fast as 1 Gbps,” said Prof Adendorff.

He added that the new generation will not accept limitations and they will come up with technologically advanced solutions for challenges. “By 2025 one in three jobs will be done by robots, in 2030 about 2 billion jobs won’t exist. This is going to have a huge impact on the labour market. But the big question is, are we preparing our kids for this eventuality?” he said.

Ryan Hamilton from DUT’s Technology Station presented on some of the innovative enterprises that they are assisting as the Technology Station to enhance their services and products through technology innovation.

“The main aim of the Technology Station is to provide companies with subsidised services and assistance in product design, prototype development and tooling design, development and manufacture. Ultimately the main objective is to assist these companies to become more competitive via technology transfer,” said Hamilton.

SATN CEO, Dr Anshu Padayachee thanked everyone who participated in the conference including speakers, industry partners and universities. “This conference has been absolutely amazing because we managed to look ahead into the future on what we can expect,” she said.

She said the conference also exposed them to challenges that needed to be addressed before the next conference. “Some of the identified challenges include collaborating with the industry, academic staff up-skilling and re-skilling and we also need to include the voice of the students more going forward,” added Dr Padayachee.

Pictured: DUT’s Ryan Hamilton speaking during the SATN International Conference on Thursday, 13 September 2018.

Nduduzo Ndlovu

 

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