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NGen, Humber Polytechnic, and Festo Didactic Showcase Canadian Skills at Hannover Messe 2025

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NGen, Canada’s advanced manufacturing global innovation network, Festo Didactic, a leading provider of technical education equipment and solutions, and Humber Polytechnic, a leading Canadian post-secondary institution known for its career-focused, hands-on approach to education, are partnering to demonstrate the strength of Canadian mechatronics skills at Hannover Messe.

HANNOVER, Germany, March 24, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — NGen, Canada’s advanced manufacturing global innovation network, Festo Didactic, a leading provider of technical education equipment and solutions, and Humber Polytechnic, a leading Canadian post-secondary institution known for its career-focused, hands-on approach to education, are partnering to demonstrate the strength of Canadian mechatronics skills at Hannover Messe. This collaboration will feature a skills competition showcasing top students from leading Canadian post-secondary institutions including Humber Polytechnic, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), and Conestoga College.    

“Mechatronics skills are highly sought-after by employers across various industries globally including automation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing,” said Peter Wawrow, Director of Workforce Development Programs at NGen. “This competition is an opportunity to showcase the exceptional talent that Canada and Germany have to offer, and to highlight the importance of investing in workforce development.”

The skills competition will feature four teams of two competitors. There will be three teams from Canada and one team from Germany. These institutions were selected for their strong mechatronics programs and history of producing highly skilled graduates. Humber Polytechnic, led by Director Neal Mohammed, has participated in Canada’s Skills Provincial, National, and International mechatronics competitions, and over the last two decades, has won 47 medals, 29 gold, 14 silver, and 4 bronze.

“Mechatronics is such a high-demand skill set. Every industry needs these skills to keep their operations maintained and competitive. Employers are coming to Humber before our students graduate months in advance to hire them,” said Neal Mohammed, Director of the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation at Humber Polytechnic. “Canada has the capacity to prepare and train students with the right skills, and we are demonstrating it through the Hannover Messe event,” Director Mohammed added.

The competition challenge, focused on an automotive theme, will require students to design and build an assembly line to sort vehicles by colour and deliver them to specific locations, mimicking real-world scenarios in “just-in-time” manufacturing.
In addition to the competition, NGen will host a panel discussion featuring leaders from the three Canadian participating schools, team Germany, and Festo to discuss the importance of mechatronics education and workforce development.

The Mechatronics Competition
Canada Pavilion Hall 7 D28

The four teams representing Canada and Germany will participate over five days at the mechatronics competition. Each day will consist of a different application build where competitors will be challenged to solve a realistic industry challenge. Problem-solving and systems integration skills are an essential part of the competition and will require competitors to be proficient in system-level thinking, troubleshooting and diagnostics, system building, and optimization.

The goal of the competition is to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the skills and knowledge that every technician must have in the field of Industrial Automation and Control Technology. The competitors will be presented with an industrial challenge which they will need to build an automated system and demonstrate their skills in automation, mechanical building, electrical wiring, troubleshooting, logical problem solving, speed execution, PLC programming, and professional practice under a time frame. Teams of two need to demonstrate their ability to integrate these disciplines into a cohesive, efficient, and innovative solution that can solve complex industrial problems. Effective communication, logical thinking, and real-time adaptation to challenges are crucial for success in such competitions. The ability to design, build, test, and refine a system under time pressure is a key element of this competition, making both technical expertise and teamwork essential for success.

“We want to showcase the skills that we have coming from Canada, and the skills needed for advanced manufacturing careers,” said Greg James, Head of Sales at Festo Didactic Canada. “The systems used in the competition are scalable mechatronic systems that mimic industrial standards. Students will be tasked with solving an industry problem by building an automated manufacturing system using Festo Didactic components.”

Participants will be tasked with building a mechatronics system using Festo Didactic’s Modular Production System. The MPS system challenges students to assemble, integrate, and program components to create an automated system that’s capable of completing a specific task. Programming is done via PLC coding.

The teams will compete using the same MPS systems and applications used in the 2024 WorldSkills Competition. Festo Didactic has provided state-of-the-art learning systems for SkillsUSA and WorldSkills mechatronics competitions around the world since 1991.

Festo Exhibit Booth Features
Hall 7, Stand A32
Visit Festo’s exhibit booth to explore innovative learning systems that provide industry-approved education and training for advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0 careers.

NGen Panel Session, “Career Pathways Through Mechatronics Competitions”
Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Time: 4:00 pm
Room: Hall 7 Canada Stage
For questions or more information, contact Peter Wawrow at peter.wawrow@ngen.ca 
Please also visit us in the Canada Pavilion in Hall 7 D28.

About Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen)
NGen is the industry-led not-for-profit organization that leads Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing. Its mandate is to help build world-leading advanced manufacturing capabilities for the benefit of Canadians. NGen works to strengthen collaboration among its membership of more than 9,000 manufacturers, technology companies, innovation centres, and researchers, and provides funding and business support to industry-led initiatives that aim to develop, apply, or scale-up transformative manufacturing solutions in Canada for commercialization in global markets. http://www.ngen.ca/membership

Festo at a glance
Festo, the world’s leading supplier of automation technology and technical education, is deploying its products and services to meet the challenges of digitization and smart production. Founded in 1925, the family-owned company based in Esslingen, Germany supports a wide range of needs for advanced solutions in factory and process automation. In Canada, Festo has been supporting Canadian industry for 50 years, continuously elevating the state of manufacturing in this country with innovative products, optimized motion control solutions and unrivalled support. Globally, some 300,000 customers put their trust in the company’s pneumatic and electric drive products and technology. In addition, Festo Didactic provides state-of-the-art training equipment and educational programs for industrial companies and educational institutions – about 56,000 customers worldwide. The Festo Group registered sales of €3.65 billion in the 2023 financial year and is represented worldwide at 250 locations with about 20,600 employees. About 7.7% of its annual turnover is invested in research and development.
Learn more at festo.com

Media Contact

Bianca Accorsi, Festo, (416) 918-4671, bianca.accorsi@festo.com, www.festo.com 

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Compunnel Unveils State-of-the-Art Noida Office: A Strategic Milestone in AI-Led Transformation and Innovation Ecosystem

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New flagship facility positions India center as AI innovation powerhouse; signals strategic shift to agentic AI across all business operations

NOIDA, India, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Compunnel today unveiled its new state-of-the-art office in Noida Sector 142, covering over 1,35,000 sq ft of built-up area, marking a transformative milestone in the company’s strategic repositioning as an AI-led transformation company. More than a facility expansion, this launch represents Compunnel’s evolution from a trusted consulting and technology services provider into a comprehensive AI-native enterprise partner – leveraging agentic AI approaches across intelligent workforce solutions, digital transformation, and cybersecurity services for global enterprises.

The cutting-edge workspace featuring an on-site gym, modern cafeteria, advanced digital infrastructure, air quality control systems, and innovative design – is engineered to attract and nurture world-class talent while serving as an AI innovation hub. The facility will also house InfoPro Learning, a leader in corporate learning solutions, strengthening the collaborative ecosystem for talent development and enterprise training excellence.

A STRATEGIC INFLECTION POINT FOR GROWTH AND DIVERSIFICATION

Compunnel’s strategic shift towards AI-led operations is fundamentally reshaping how the company serves enterprises and positions itself for exponential growth:

Intelligent Workforce Solutions Reimagined: Compunnel’s strategic investment in Eximius – an agentic AI hiring platform – exemplifies the company’s shift towards autonomous intelligence in talent acquisition. By leveraging AI agents that autonomously match talent, predict hiring needs, and accelerate placements, Compunnel is positioned to significantly advance its #48 ranking among the Top 50 Staffing Firms in the USA. Complementing this, OneGuru – Infopro Learning’s agentic platform for the complete ‘hire to retire’ employment lifecycle, establishes the company as a formidable contender in the HCMS/HRIS market, delivering AI-driven workforce management from onboarding to succession planning.

Security, Risk, and Transformation Solutions: In an era where AI-powered threats evolve faster than traditional defenses, Compunnel is embedding living intelligence into enterprise security frameworks. The company’s modern approach helps organizations transform into a more mature, resilient, and risk-reduced state by leveraging advanced workflows to predict risks, proactively dismantle threats, and turn security from a cost center into a competitive advantage. This is complemented by strong capabilities across privacy and compliance-driven risk management, enabling organizations to protect sensitive data, meet regulatory requirements, and strengthen enterprise-wide governance and risk posture.

Digital Transformation Architected for AI-First Operations: Compunnel Digital is an AI-native digital engineering group built for the enterprises redefining what’s possible in Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Consumer, Retail, and Manufacturing. It doesn’t layer AI onto legacy workflows – it architects intelligent systems from the ground up. Powered by Compunnel AI-OS, the company’s AI-first platform, Compunnel designs digital ecosystems where autonomous agents accelerate delivery, data fabrics power real-time decisions, and machine intelligence works alongside human expertise – turning disruption into competitive advantage.

LEADERSHIP VISION: TECHNOLOGY, TALENT, TRAINING, AND TRANSFORMATION

“Technology – and specifically agentic AI – is the backbone of everything we do at Compunnel. This new center amplifies that engine, bringing together AI innovation, advanced analytics, and our growing portfolio of AI-driven companies under one roof,” said Andy Gaur, CEO of Compunnel. “From Eximius transforming how we staff enterprises, to OneGuru revolutionizing HCMS, to incubating the next generation of AI startups – this workplace represents our commitment to leading, not following, the AI transformation. As we serve enterprise clients globally, this is where breakthrough thinking meets breakthrough execution.”

“For technology and business professionals, the new facility represents more than a workplace. It’s a launchpad for career acceleration. The Noida office will serve as a center for talent development, offering opportunities to work on global projects spanning talent solutions, cloud modernization, data and AI, cybersecurity, and digital engineering for Fortune enterprises across sectors such as banking, healthcare, manufacturing, insurance, government, and more,” said Rakesh Shah, President of Compunnel.

ABOUT COMPUNNEL

Founded in 1994, Compunnel delivers AI-driven workforce solutions, digital transformation, and cybersecurity services to global enterprises. With 30+ delivery centers across the U.S. and global R&D hubs in Canada, Europe, and India, Compunnel serves 23% of Fortune enterprises. Ranked #48 on SIA’s Largest Staffing Firms in the United States and recognized 12 times on the Inc. 5000 list, Compunnel combines deep domain expertise with intelligent automation to accelerate enterprise velocity and build future-ready operations. Learn more at www.compunnel.com.

ABOUT INFOPRO LEARNING

An offshoot of Compunnel, Infopro Learning is a global learning solutions partner that helps organizations transform their workforce development from strategy to scale. For 30 years, they have partnered with the world’s largest and most reputable companies, delivering Managed Learning Services, Leadership Development, Strategic Advisory, and Content Development solutions. Leveraging AI-driven innovation, they help organizations deliver greater impact while optimizing costs. Learn more at www.infoprolearning.com.

ABOUT ONEGURU

OneGuru is an AI-powered talent development platform that improves employee performance by taking learning out of the classroom and into the flow of work. Every employee will get access to a dedicated AI-Agent, equipped with insight from the world’s greatest coaches and the data that drives your business and people forward (HRIS, Performance, LMS). Unlike most agents, OneGuru is designed to be proactive, nudging your team to build their skills, build their careers, and build your business. Learn more at https://oneguru.ai/.

Media Contact:
Email: pr@compunnel.com

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2971872/Compunnel_Noida.jpg

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SUPCON Showcases the Path to Autonomous Operations with Software-defined Controls, Large Industrial AI models and Agentic AI Platforms at Hannover Messe 2026

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HANNOVER, Germany, May 5, 2026 /CNW/ — At Hannover Messe 2026, SUPCON (688777.SH, SUPCON.SW), a global leader in industrial automation and AI, demonstrated how the process industry can move beyond simple data analysis to real-time and autonomous execution. By unveiling its latest advancements in Agentic AI and software-defined automation, SUPCON provided a tangible roadmap for the transition to fully autonomous operating plants.

A central theme of the showcase was bridging the industry’s “execution gap”. While many plants generate vast amounts of data, the challenge remains in acting on that data in a timely, reliable manner. SUPCON’s integrated solution featuring the Universal Control System (UCS), Time-series Pre-trained Transformer (TPT2), and UNS-based IIOT Data Platform (Tier0), enables industrial plants to not only analyze information but to execute closed-loop optimization in real time.

“Industrial AI has reached a critical turning point. It is no longer just about generating insights, but about embedding them within closed-loop controls to achieve peak performance,” said Kenneth Lim, Director of Strategy and Marketing at SUPCON International Business. “Our role is to provide the industry with an open, reliable foundation that allows our customers to scale at their own pace, ensuring that today’s investments remain future-proof for decades of innovation ahead.”

Technical Keynote Highlights: The Path to Autonomous Operating Plants

Through a series of technical keynote sessions, SUPCON reframed autonomy not as a single hardware upgrade, but as a strategic operating model designed to empower the modern workforce.

Real-time Field Intelligence (Smart Field Instrumentation & Ethernet-APL): Moving beyond legacy protocols like HART, SUPCON showcased how Ethernet-APL brings high-speed connectivity directly to the field, turning passive instruments into active sources of real-time intelligence.Building the Unified Namespace (Tier0): To eliminate the “integration tax,” SUPCON introduced Tier0, a UNS-based platform using MQTT pub/sub and semantic structures to create a shared, event-driven data layer that prevents vendor lock-in and unifies fragmented systems.Agentic Application Development (AppBuilder): The Tier0 AppBuilder demonstrated how factory teams can build industrial applications up to 10x faster using natural language and domain-aware agents, moving from costly customization to rapid, user-centric creation.The Autonomous Workforce (Robotics & AI): By utilizing autonomous robots as “mobile sensors” for hazardous tasks like leak detection, SUPCON proved that technology isn’t about replacing humans, but about liberating engineers for high-value creative problem-solving and strategic oversight.Software-Defined Controls: The Universal Control System (UCS) represents a new era of efficiency. By revolutionizing traditional controls architecture, it reduces physical footprints and cabling by up to 90%, directly helping partners meet carbon neutrality goals without sacrificing productivity.Time-Series Pre-Trained Transformers (TPT): Unlike standard Large Language Models, the TPT is purpose-built for industrial time-series data. It consolidates fragmented use cases like equipment health forecasting and bottleneck analysis into a single AI layer for faster scaling.Autonomous Operating Plants (AOP): SUPCON framed “Zero-Touch Operations” not as a single hardware upgrade, but as a total strategic transformation. Addressing the “hidden” barriers of fragmented data and multi-OEM complexity, Autonomous Operating Plants (AOP) are achievable when open architectures and next-generation control systems are designed as a unified foundation from the outset.Self-Optimizing Plants via Closed-Loop AIO: SUPCON introduced Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO) as a revolutionary step beyond traditional DCS and APC systems. By enabling AI to learn from real-time plant data and feed optimized decisions back into control systems autonomously. This closed-loop approach serves as a practical pathway for manufacturers to optimize throughput, energy, and safety simultaneously without manual intervention.

A Partner in Industrial Evolution

By connecting smart field instrumentation, open data platforms, and software-defined control, SUPCON is providing the industry with a practical blueprint for safer, more resilient, and self-optimizing plants. The vision presented at Hannover Messe 2026 establishes that autonomous operations are achievable today when open architectures and next-generation intelligence are designed as a unified foundation.

Resources & Media

Resource Hub & Presentations: global.supcon.com/events/hannover-messe-2026Highlights Video: View on YouTubeNext Event: Join us at Gastech 2026 | 14–17 September 2026 | Bangkok, Thailand

About SUPCON

SUPCON (688777.SH, SUPCON.SW) is a global provider of industrial automation and industrial AI, offering control systems, digital platforms, robotics, and software solutions that power the world’s process and energy industries. Headquartered in Hangzhou, China, with the SUPCON Internal Business Headquarters in Singapore and the regional hubs around the globe, SUPCON is well-positioned to elevate industrial intelligence and drive customer success. Trusted by more than 250 leading enterprises and 39,000+ customers worldwide across major process industries such as oil & gas, chemical and petrochemical, as well as other industries such as power, pulp and paper, building materials, and more, SUPCON is driving the evolution from automation to autonomy–enabling safer, smarter, and more sustainable industrial operations.

For more information, please visit https://global.supcon.com/

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PwC and OpenAI Build a First-of-Its-Kind OpenAI Native Finance Function

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The collaboration aims to help redefine the future of finance by combining agentic AI with human supervision, enabling finance teams to govern, improve, and scale AI agents over time.

NEW YORK, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PwC today announced an expanded collaboration with OpenAI to help create the first of its kind AI native finance function at enterprise scale, combining agentic AI with human supervision to reshape how finance work gets done.

Together, PwC and OpenAI are building AI agents around the core operating rhythms of finance, from planning, forecasting, and reporting to procurement, payments, treasury, tax, and the accounting close. What sets this collaboration apart is its focus on building in the real world, not just designing in theory. For example, PwC and OpenAI are building a procurement agent inside the OpenAI finance organization, and are applying those learnings to additional agents across core finance workflows. That hands-on model is intended to speed innovation, prove the value of an AI native finance function in practice at OpenAI, and continuously improve the offering based on learnings.

Powered by OpenAI native finance capabilities and PwC’s deep expertise in finance, risk, and transformation, the collaboration is intended to move finance beyond task automation toward an operating model where AI agents can execute complex work, collaborate across workflows, and support faster, more insight-driven decisions.

“Finance is at an inflection point, where organizations are moving from process efficiency to intelligent, decision-centric operations,” said Tyson Cornell, US Advisory Leader. “Through our collaboration with OpenAI, we’re helping clients embed agentic AI into the core fabric of the finance function, enabling more proactive insights, stronger controls, and a more adaptive operating model.”

In this new operating model, the role of finance professionals evolves from primarily executing processes to supervising, governing, and improving AI agents over time. Finance teams remain accountable for judgment, controls, and outcomes, while helping define the guardrails, policies, and organizational memory that allow agents to perform more effectively and responsibly. Through MCPs and reusable skills, agents can connect to enterprise systems with the right controls, produce more reliable outputs, and follow consistent operating patterns across finance processes.

At the same time, domain experts can use Codex and OpenAI emerging product surfaces to build bespoke applications for targeted finance workflows — accelerating solutions for accruals, close activities, reconciliations, reporting, and other operational needs without relying solely on traditional software development cycles. This is the foundation of a new kind of finance function: AI native by design, human-governed actions, continuously improving over time.

“Finance has always been about judgment, trust, and making decisions in environments filled with complexity and constant change. AI gives finance leaders a much deeper ability to see around corners and act faster,” said Sarah Friar, CFO at OpenAI. “I believe we’re now entering a moment where the finance function itself gets reimagined to shape decisions in real time. The opportunity here is far bigger than efficiency, it’s about giving finance leaders the tools to operate with greater foresight, agility, and strategic impact across the business.”

This collaboration reflects a broader shift toward an OpenAI native finance operating model, where work begins with intent and is executed by AI agents acting across systems, workflows, and data environments. Through hands-on collaboration, PwC and OpenAI are creating a continuous feedback loop between emerging innovation and real-world execution. This model allows both organizations to rapidly test, refine, and scale capabilities in ways that are practical, enterprise-ready, and closely aligned to the evolving priorities of CFOs.

Co-developing the future of Intelligent Enterprise for Finance

The focus of this collaboration is on practical, high-value workflows where AI agents can execute and coordinate work under human supervision. This includes:

Procurement agents that guide intake, create requisitions, answer policy questions, record item receipt and support procurement workflowsSpecialized agents that accelerate contract review, perform risk assessments, and power other autonomous finance operationsBespoke applications that help automate accruals, accelerate close activities, streamline reporting, and deliver customized dashboards — enabling domain experts to build targeted solutions around enterprise platforms faster and better serve stakeholders.

By leveraging Workspace Agents, Codex and OpenAI emerging product surfaces, the collaboration aims to show how finance teams can move beyond point automation toward an enterprise operating model where agents run repeatable workflows, surface exceptions, and continuously improve how work gets done.

PwC is proud to collaborate with OpenAI in this way within the finance domain, helping shape how an AI native finance function can be deployed with the governance, transparency, and control required in enterprise environments. Together, PwC and OpenAI are translating emerging AI capabilities into enterprise-ready solutions designed to work within existing finance systems, controls, and operating models.

You can learn more about how PwC and OpenAI are helping drive impact here: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/technology/alliances/openai.html

About PwC 

At PwC, we help clients build trust and reinvent so they can turn complexity into a competitive advantage. We’re a tech-forward, people-empowered network with more than 364,000 people in 136 countries and 137 territories. Across audit and assurance, tax and legal, deals and consulting we help clients build, accelerate and sustain momentum. Find out more at www.pwc.com.

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