3DEXPERIENCE Forum 2020 is our flagship event, bringing together industry luminaries, innovators, and disruptive startups in diverse sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure, life sciences, and the workforce of the future. This year, mindful of social distancing requirements, 3DEXPERIENCE Forum India was a fully virtual event, centered on the theme “Experience is Human.”
Experience is Human: One Big Idea to Inspire and Guide Industry Leaders
In 2020, as India witnesses an unprecedented period of challenge and change, our ultimate purpose and primary resource in this journey are one and the same: the human being. That’s why our theme for this year was “Experience is Human.”
Our executive team inaugurated the event, with sessions on human-centric innovation and business in the age of experience. Bernard CHARLES, Vice Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Dassault Systèmes, explained what it means to put ‘Human’ at the heart of innovation and how we approach this philosophy. Deepak NG, Managing Director, India, Dassault Systèmes, speaking on business in the age of experience, said “The way we operate has changed, and the adoption of technology will play a major role in helping our customers, our employees, and our partners — the entire ecosystem — to interact in a virtual world and continue the business.”
Next, we delved into industry-specific conversations, starting with Aerospace & Defense (A&D).
How Large Organizations and Startups Are Using the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform for Improved Outcomes
Aerospace & Defense was among the top sectors that saw a major impact from the pandemic. David ZEIGLER, Vice President, Aerospace & Defense Industry, Dassault Systèmes outlined his five recommended imperatives for recovery during the rebound:
- Increasing passenger comfort and rebuilding passenger confidence
- Drive down costs to ensure survivability and versatility
- Inserting sustainable technology with safety and regulations in mind
- Flexible manufacturing for new industrial systems, new rates, and new production methods
- Transforming the supply chain to be able to tap into innovation. Here are the top 10 challenges that suppliers face today https://ifwe.3ds.com/media/suppliers-challenging-road-ebook?raw
To achieve these imperatives, large organizations and startups are applying advanced technology solutions like the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform.
Attendees heard from Lockheed Martin, National Aerospace Laboratories, and General Aeronautics, starting with Renee PASMAN, Director Integrated Systems, Skunk Works, Lockheed Martin. “The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform allows us to deliver on quality and schedules. It covers the entire product lifecycle from conceptual design, through modeling and simulation, to all the way sustenance at the end of life,” she said. At National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), the platform aids in smarter decision-making. Dr. Abhay PASHILKAR, Program Director, Civil Aviation Programs, NAL, said, “We are happy to note that the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform has a well-integrated suite of tools, providing us the ability to quickly search the design space and arrive at what is going to be the optimal solution.”
For drone startup, General Aeronautics, it drives agility and faster solution development. “The product lifecycle management concept is embedded in the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. It provides different views to the different stakeholders so that once the solution has been conceived, we can integrate with our supply chain and optimize it in a virtual world,” said General Aeronautics CEO, Abhishek BURMAN.
After Aerospace & Defense, we explored another critical sector for India: Infrastructure and Agriculture.
Empowering the Workforce in Agriculture through Technology Reinforcement
Dr. R N SAHOO, Principal Scientist, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, commenced this part of the event with an overview of the state of infrastructure in agriculture. He mentioned the lack of technology, uncertainty, low income, and labor-intensiveness as key challenges.
He also shared possible answers: “One approach is to genetically improve the variety of plan types in the production system. The second is to offer financing for input efficiency with respect to available natural resources.” Adding to this, Dr. Ashok DAS, CEO, SUN Moksha, mentioned the need for empowering farmers with the infrastructure necessary to optimally use resources like water and electricity.
“Access to water and electricity is essential for today’s farmers. Technology allows us to maximize every drop of water,” he said. Artificial intelligence (AI), a data-driven cyber-ecological system, and semantic maps can prove extremely helpful. That’s where a platform can help, connecting these components to enable smart, precision-agriculture techniques.
Like agriculture, the life sciences sector has proved to be India’s backbone during these times, which was our next focus area at 3DEXPERIENCE Forum.
How the Open Innovation in Life Sciences Could Speed Up Drug Discovery Progress: Can Hackathon provide a solution ?
Dr. Abhay JERE, Chief Innovation Officer, Ministry of Education, Government of India joined Dr. Anand KRISHNAMURTHY, Industry Process Consultant Senior Manager, BIOVIA, India, Dassault Systèmes, in discussing life sciences innovation.
Dr. Abhay JERE spoke about the Government’s hackathon model and its results so far. “The Government of India has been proactive in inviting innovation during the lockdown, focused on identifying life sciences-related biomedical data solutions for COVID-19. We received 4000+ applications, and we have shortlisted approximately 28 ideas. Already, IIT Delhi came up with the low-cost COVID testing kit that’s been approved by the ICMR,” he said.
Initiatives like these rely on widespread collaboration and knowledge gathering to gain from the collective intelligence of the life sciences community – for example, the ongoing Drug Discovery Hackathon.
“The direction of the open innovation model, where a large number of companies come together. In the second phase of the hackathon, we will work on the identified molecules, and finally, there is fine-tuning to aid drug discovery, we are happy to partner with Dassault Systemes in all the phases of this process,” said Dr. Abhay JERE.
BIOVIA, powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform, is a key enabler for this process.
“BIOVIA is a life sciences modeling and simulation tool that allows industry professionals to handle macro-molecules and protein targets, screening, identifying, modifying, and designing small molecules that modulate the activity of these macromolecules,” Dr. Anand Krishnamurthy explained.
Upskilling and Reskilling the Workforce of the Future through Industry, Academia, and Government Collaboration
In the next session, Dr. E. V. Ramana REDDY, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Karnataka, shared his views on workforce upskilling. “When computers were first introduced, we had to upskill the entire government workforce, and this actually created more jobs. Similarly, as we embrace the smart manufacturing techniques, India will need to upskill about three million people for employability.”
Karnataka has espoused close collaboration between the industry, academia, and government to provide its workforce with 360-degree skills. Dr. E. V. Ramana REDDY highlighted Karnataka’s three dedicated vision groups for science and technology, IT, and startups, which all have representation from these three spheres.
In Karnataka, Dassault Systèmes’ has helped to set up a Center of excellence for A&D that would help industry-specific upskilling for students.
Reimagining the System of Operations and Business Model for the New Normal
As the plenary sessions came to a close, Florence VERZELEN, Executive Vice President, Industry, Marketing, Global Affairs, Workforce of the Future, Dassault Systèmes talked about the needs of businesses during the crisis and the role of the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform.
“What we have experienced during COVID is the disruption in the supply chain, which has disrupted production in the entire production facility. Digitalization, data analytics, and value chain integration let us uncover supply chain opportunities and maximize them for continued production,” she said.
A platform also democratizes access, universalizes collaboration, and drives open innovation to positively impact humanity as a whole. Florence VERZELEN continued, “It is critical to realize that there will not be a single winner after the crisis. Success relies on the survival of the entire ecosystem, and that’s what Dassault Systèmes is trying to enable. All of our tools are available on the cloud for customers to continue to work – whether it is a plant manager, a teacher, or a scientist in Pharma Company.”
This year, at the 3DEXPERIENCE Forum India, attendees were able to network with experts, explore spaces like the 3DEXPERIENCE Playground, Plenary, or Partner Pavilion, and share their experiences.
The Playground featured interactive demo zones for manufacturing, infrastructure, and life sciences sectors offering attendees the opportunity to deep-dive into the various technology levers in action. Our esteemed partners were available at virtual booths to share their perspectives and insights with event attendees.
Eager to understand visitor opinion, feedback, and points of view, we conducted a variety of polls and surveys, gaining insights from our wider community.
As Florence VERZELEN said, we are only entering the next phase of this period or phase “suivante,” where technology, collaboration, and forward-looking ideation is more important than ever before. We thank our esteemed guests for taking time out to share their perspectives, and we hope to have left our attendees with lasting inspiration on the road ahead.
To explore these insights in greater detail, stay tuned as we bring you these sessions from experts on demand.
