Paper Sessions

Workshop Sessions

Interoperable Manufacturing-as-a-Service Ecosystems: AI Agents, Cloud Marketplaces, and Data Spaces for Agile and Trustworthy Manufacturing Collaboration

This workshop explores how interoperable architectures, explainable and generative AI, and multi-agent systems can unlock Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS) at scale. Building on MaaSAI's vision—an ecosystem where autonomous provider/consumer agents negotiate capacity, a cloud marketplace orchestrates services, and a dynamic semantic catalogue enables discovery—we will convene researchers, integrators, standards bodies and industrial users to co-design the next wave of interoperable MaaS infrastructures. Participants will examine reference models that connect enterprise systems with edge/IoT assets; experiment with patterns for secure point-to-point messaging and sovereign data exchange; and debate how xAI-enabled recommenders and scheduling engines can be audited, trusted and certified across supply networks. The workshop is hands-on and outcome-oriented: attendees will work through live templates (ontology stubs, capability maps, KPI scorecards) and take away implementation checklists that can be applied to pilots and products. The program directly addresses I-ESA themes such as AI model interoperability and integration with IoT/edge computing, ensuring strong topical fit with the 2026 edition.

Core topics include: (i) interoperable MaaS marketplaces and service life-cycles; (ii) provider/consumer agents for automated negotiation and planning (xAI + GenAI); (iii) semantic interoperability—MaaS ontologies, dynamic catalogues, and searchability across sectors; (iv) secure, sovereign data exchange and P2P messaging; (v) edge-cloud orchestration for real-time shop-floor feedback and dynamic rescheduling; (vi) benchmarking methods and KPIs for flexibility, lead time, resource use and trust/compliance; (vii) industrial showcases from MaaSAI pilots and DIH ecosystems. Outcomes will feed a public post-workshop report capturing consensus design patterns and open research challenges.

Chairs
Supply Chain Resilience in Manufacturing-As-A-Service (MaaS): Smart Manufacturing Networks (SMNs) to Support the Industrial Resilience

This workshop will focus on technologies, innovative solutions, and research addressing supply chain resilience and Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS). The emphasis is on the dynamic adaptation of supply chain interactions and production processes in response to unexpected events that disrupt normal manufacturing operations.

Disruptions may stem from major crises such as pandemics, natural disasters, or geopolitical conflicts, but also from localized issues such as supply delays, machine breakdowns, or other complications that critically impact production continuity.

These challenges highlight the need for supply chains that are more agile, resilient, and adaptive. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies and innovative strategies enables organizations to respond effectively to disruptions, fostering robust and dynamic supply networks

The workshop will particularly address Smart Manufacturing Networks (SMNs) - connected, coordinated industrial ecosystems that integrate programmable MaaS capabilities. SMNs provide enhanced visibility and control, allowing production networks to proactively manage disruptions and sustain operations efficiently.

Through the discussion of innovative strategies and practical industrial cases, this workshop will illustrate the transformative role of SMNs in building resilient supply chains.

Chairs
Data Spaces for Circular Manufacturing: challenges and solutions - From Data Interoperability to Data Sovereignty for a twin transition of Manufacturing Industry

Data Economy and Circular Economy are two of the major innovation trends in these recent years, providing an original interpretation of the so called twin transition of the European Manufacturing Industry. On the one side Data Economy aims at the valorisation (and in certain cases also monetisation) of the Data produced along a manufacturing value chain, paving the way towards cross-company collaboration and interoperability and enabling advanced AI applications. On the other side Circular Economy aims at the sustainability of the Manufacturing industries, through the implementation of 9R virtuous circles such as for instance Re-use, Re-pair, Re-furbish, Re-manufacturing, Re-cycling. The Workshop aims at discussing how recent technology developments such as Data Spaces and Digital Product Passports can create the infrastructure where Data and Circular Economy could symbiotically flourish and provide competitive advantage for European Manufacturing Industries, and SMEs in particular.

Chairs
Circular Economy ecosystems Redesigning Skills (CERES) - Valorizing innovating ideas: winning proposals from CERES Hackathons

This workshop aims to showcase the outcomes of a unique international hackathon journey on Circular Economy and sustainable industrial transformation. Conducted across Bulgaria, Denmark, Cyprus, and Italy between December 2025 and February 2026, the hackathon series brings together students, professionals, and companies to collaboratively design practical solutions for real industrial challenges. The workshop will share experiences, methodologies, and key insights from this cross-border initiative, inspiring future collaborations between education, research, and industry.

Goals of the workshop:

  • To present the structure, process, and results of the Circular Innovation Hackathons organized in four European countries.
  • To highlight the impact of cross-sector collaboration in addressing challenges related to Circular Economy.
  • To discuss lessons learned, innovative solutions developed, and the potential for scaling these initiatives within education and industry.
  • To engage participants in an interactive exchange of ideas, fostering new partnerships for future Erasmus+ and sustainability-driven projects.

The workshop will guide participants through the four-part hackathon journey, illustrating how interdisciplinary teams tackled real-world sustainability challenges provided by companies. The session will include:

  • Designing the Hackathon: Identifying topics and business challenges, engaging students and workers, and building sponsorships and incentives (study, research, and work opportunities).
  • Collaboration in Action: How higher education (HE) and vocational education and training (VET) participants co-created innovative and circular solutions.
  • Industry Engagement: The role of companies as challenge providers, mentors, and sponsors, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation.
  • Results and Impact: Presentation of the most promising solutions addressing climate change, circular economy transition, and the European Green Deal objectives.
  • Interactive Discussion: An open dialogue with participants to explore how hackathons can serve as catalysts for sustainable transformation and experiential learning across borders.

Through this workshop, attendees will gain inspiration and practical insights into how hackathon-based collaboration can drive systemic change towards a circular and resilient European industry.

Chairs
Enabling Automated Model Generation with agentic AI through interoperability frameworks: Exploring Opportunities and Challenges from Business Process to Simulation Models

The recent emergence of agentic AI, autonomous, reasoning, and tool-using AI systems is reshaping how models of industrial systems are created, maintained, and utilized. Instead of static or rule-based automation, agentic AI enables dynamic, context-aware generation and adaptation of business process and simulation models.

In industrial practice, however, this potential can only be realized if such AI agents can interoperate effectively across data silos, tools, and digital representations of assets. The Asset Administration Shell (AAS) provides a standardized interoperability framework that allows AI systems to access structured, semantically rich, and machine-interpretable information about assets, processes, and their relationships.

This workshop explores how agentic AI can leverage AAS-based interoperability to automatically generate, refine, and manage business process and simulation models within production and manufacturing environments. Participants will engage with hands-on examples, discuss conceptual and technological challenges, and outline a joint vision for integrating AAS-driven interoperability with next-generation AI modelling agents.

Goals:

  • Understand the principles and architecture of agentic AI for automated model generation in industrial contexts
  • Explore how interoperability frameworks such as the AAS enable AI agents to discover, interpret, and integrate asset and process data
  • Demonstrate how agentic AI can automatically construct or update business process and simulation models from AAS-based information
  • Identify limitations and research challenges regarding semantics, industrial application, scalability, validation and human trust of the model creation

Content and Topics Covered:

  • Introduction to agentic AI and its relevance for automated model generation
  • The Asset Administration Shell as an interoperability foundation for AI agents
  • Architectures for AAS-integrated AI agents (e.g., autonomous reasoning over asset data, workflow orchestration)
  • Hands-on example: generating or updating BPMN or simulation models from AAS data
  • Discussion of technical and ethical challenges: data trust, transparency, explainability, and human oversight in AI-generated models
  • Outlook: convergence of AAS, digital twins, and agentic AI for self-configuring and self-optimizing manufacturing systems
Chairs
  • Enno Müller, Fraunhofer IPK, Germany
  • Thomas Knothe, Fraunhofer IPK, Germany