CORE Innovation Group at the 2026 International Smart Factory Summit
CORE Innovation Group at the 2026 International Smart Factory Summit
Maria Lentoudi, Events and Stakeholder Engagement Manager
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The 7th International Smart Factory Summit (ISFS 2026) took place from 24–26 June 2026 at Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne, bringing together leading smart manufacturing innovators, industry representatives, research organisations, and policymakers from across the globe to shape the future of industrial transformation.
Organised by our long-standing partners Swiss Smart Factory (SSF), Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Summit provided a unique platform for international collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the development of future smart factory ecosystems. CORE Innovation Group was proudly represented by its Co-Founders and Managing Partners, Dr. Nikos Kyriakoulis and Stefanos Kokkorikos, reinforcing the company's commitment to strengthening international partnerships and advancing industrial innovation across Europe.
Presenting the Greek Smart Factory
As part of the session "International Smart Factory Hubs – Status and Opportunities for Collaboration",Dr. Nikos Kyriakoulis presented CORE Innovation Group's vision and workflow for the Greek Smart Factory (GSF), a national initiative that aims to become a distributed smart manufacturing ecosystem connecting manufacturers, technology providers, research organisations, and academia through real industrial applications.
Under the presentation entitled "Greek Smart Factory: A Distributed Paradigm", Dr. Kyriakoulis described the Greek Smart Factory as the missing bridge between research excellence and industrial implementation, enabling innovative technologies developed through European research projects to be validated, demonstrated, and ultimately adopted by industry.
Rather than being a single physical location, the Greek Smart Factory follows a distributed model, bringing together existing pilot lines, industrial demonstrators, digital infrastructures, and specialised laboratories across Greece into one collaborative innovation ecosystem.
During his presentation, Dr. Kyriakoulis outlined both the opportunities and the challenges involved in establishing such an ecosystem, highlighting the importance of building strong collaboration between industry, technology providers, academia, investors, and public authorities.
A central message of the presentation was the catalytic role of European funding in transforming research outcomes into industrial value. By supporting research and innovation pilots, companies can implement state-of-the-art technologies with minimal financial risk, while successful demonstrators gradually evolve into permanent Greek Smart Factory services that accelerate industrial digital transformation.
The presentation also showcased the role of the Twin4Twin Horizon Europe project, which has laid important foundations for the development of the Greek Smart Factory by fostering collaboration, technology validation, and knowledge transfer between leading European smart factory ecosystems.
International collaboration for the future of manufacturing
The session brought together representatives from smart factory initiatives across Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, and South America, who exchanged experiences, discussed regional approaches to digital manufacturing, and explored new opportunities for international cooperation.
The discussions highlighted the growing importance of smart factory hubs as drivers of industrial competitiveness, technological innovation, resilience, and sustainable economic growth.
Shaping Industry 5.0 together
Held under the theme "Shaping Industry 5.0 Together: Human-Centricity, Sustainability and Resilience", this year's Summit explored how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics, digital twins, and advanced manufacturing, can empower people, improve resource efficiency, and create more resilient production systems.
Through keynote speeches, expert panels, interactive workshops, and industrial site visits, participants examined the societal and economic impact of deep technologies and their role in shaping the next generation of manufacturing ecosystems.
