On Friday 22nd November, the EU-funded DigiPLACE project hosted its first public event and launched the call for registration to the project’s Community of Stakeholders. Organised in Bologna, within the professional trade fair Digital&BIM Italia, the DigiPLACE Launch Conference “Towards a European digital platform for construction” gathered close to two hundred attendees and several more watching the live-streaming feed.

Representing the DigiPLACE partnership, Assistant Professor and consortium coordinator Alberto Pavan of Politecnico di Milano, presented the project, listing its goals and ambitions, detailing its timeline and milestones, and introducing its 19 partner organisations.

The conference was opened by Federica Brancaccio, President of Federcostruzioni, and Gabriele Buia, President of ANCE, who highlighted the importance of digitalisation for SMEs. Representing the Italian Ministry for transport and infrastructure, Pietro Baratono addressed in his opening presentation the challenge of connecting national and international digital platforms.
CECE Secretary General Riccardo Viaggi moderated the event, welcoming on stage European Commission representative Ilektra Papadaki, who reminded the audience about the new Commission's priority for a “Europe fit for the Digital Age”. Ms. Papadaki also stressed that cooperation through digital platforms is crucial to achieve the EU sustainability goals.

The second part of the Launch Conference welcomed contributions from experts and project partners from the academic world, the technology sector, the manufacturers and the architects. The speakers tackled the role of digital platforms in construction, sharing experiences and lessons-learnt for the advancement of DigiPLACE. ECTP was represented among the panel through its Secretary General, Alain Zarli, who especially highlighted the importance of data access and data management through Digital Platforms. He mentioned as well the first results of the project obtained within Work Package 3 (led by ECTP), on the level of implementation of digital technologies and platforms in the European Construction sector and other industrial sectors.

The Launch Conference represented an opportunity to gather all the stakeholders of the sector to discuss the latest digital innovations. It was also a chance for the DigiPLACE partners to enhance the project’s visibility and to hold the first DigiPLACE Advisory Board meeting. Within the next months, DigiPLACE will host several national workshops with the aim of expanding the Community of Stakeholders.

Click here to access the presentations made at the Launch Conference.

Source: DigiPLACE Consortium