Background:

Smart manufacturing requires financial mechanisms for technology, infrastructure, and R&D, including funding strategies and capital access. Moreover, non-financial tools like policies and incentives enhance collaboration and innovation. To address challenges like financial barriers and implementation complexities, public-private partnerships, equitable capital distribution, and increased collaboration are essential.

Keynote Speakers:

Mr. Magnus Brunner, Federal Minister of Finance, Austria 

Mr. Peter Hanke, City Councilor for Finance of the city of Vienna 

Mr. Andreas Matthä, Chief Executive Officer of ÖBB 

Mr. Michael Höllerer, general director of Raiffeisen Landesbank Lower Austria and Vienna 

Speaker from Huawei 

Topic:

Panel Discussion:

•  How accessible are international funding resources for large companies such as railways undertakings, SMEs with no R&D department and start-ups?
•  What are the precautions when it comes to private public partnership and venture capital in public infrastructure?
•  Which public incentives – other than money – are most effective in order to foster technological change?
•  What are the current regulatory obstacles for smart manufacturing on a national/European/global level?
•  Are international technical/regulatory standards mainly a burden – or a necessary tool for technological development, especially on a fragmented continent like Europe?

Panelists:

•  Mr. Zhong Wu, Director-General, Finance Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC)
•  PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University (Tsinghua PBCSF):

-Mr. Bibo Liu , Assistant Dean, Associate Professor

-Mr. Jianfeng Yu, Chair Professor of Finance, Director of Research Center for Asset Management

-Mr. Xing Hu, Associate Professor

•  Ms. Henrietta Egerth, Managing Director of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG
•  Ms. Birgit Niessner, Director of Economic Analysis and Research Department of OeNB
•  Mr. Gernot Netinger, Managing Director ÖBB-Finanzierungsservice GmbH, Head of Group Finances
•  Mr. Nitan Pathak, Head of Unit of Institutional Client Relationships
•  European Investment Fund

Workshops:

These workshops will facilitate discussions on both financial and non-financial strategies essential for advancing smart manufacturing. Participants will examine mechanisms for technology integration, infrastructure enhancement, research, and investment, while also considering non-financial levers such as regulatory policies, incentives, and collaborative frameworks promoting innovation and knowledge exchange.

• Workshop 1: Andre Felker(Backbone One) 
• Workshop 2: ORIS