Exchange visit of the CoP 5 Industrial Modernization with Ai to Emilia Romania and Auvergne Rhone Alpes – Sept 14 to 18, 2026

On September 14, member regions of the Community of Practice (CoP) gathered in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy to discuss industrial innovation driven by digitalization and the adoption of AI. Participants included government officials from Aichi and Hiroshima Prefectures (Japan), the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (France), the Catalonia region (Spain), Sisak-Moslavina County (Croatia), and the Western Greece region. The delegation remained in Emilia-Romagna until September 15 before travelling to France for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes programme, held from September 16 to 18.

Before the study visit, the member regions designed and delivered two webinars on digitalization and AI adoption, engaging regional experts as speakers. The webinars concluded that deep collaboration among institutions, educators, businesses, and civil society is essential to ensuring that trustworthy AI augments rather than replaces human judgment—strengthening regional competitiveness, employment, and social inclusion. The study visit responded directly to this call by demonstrating how these principles are being put into practice in Emilia-Romagna and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. 

Emilia-Romagna: a connected AI and manufacturing ecosystem

In Emilia-Romagna, participants saw how ART-ER coordinates a broad regional ecosystem linking research centres, innovation hubs, industry clusters, technopoles and startup-support programmes. At the DAMA Technopole in Bologna, INFN-CNAF, CINECA and the Leonardo supercomputer demonstrate the scale of computing and data infrastructure available to support scientific and industrial innovation.

Partners such as Artificial Intelligence Research and Innovation Center (AIRI), Fondazione Reggio Emilia Innovazione (REI) and Mister Smart Innovation Center help turn research into practical applications—from smart cities and precision agriculture to manufacturing, health and data-driven decision-making. BI-REX illustrated the value of a “test before invest” model, enabling companies to trial robotics, AI, advanced manufacturing and other technologies in a realistic smart-factory environment before committing resources.

Regional clusters and the European Digital Innovation Hub network further support companies through training, maturity assessments, networking and access to finance. The visit highlighted the importance of coordinated pathways that make advanced technologies more accessible to SMEs.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: human-centred AI, skills and technology transfer

In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the programme focused on the human and organisational foundations of digital transformation. The region combines AI research, industrial clusters, technology-transfer organisations and training providers across Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon and Grenoble.

ITICIA demonstrated a region-wide approach to AI skills, offering learning opportunities ranging from basic awareness and safe use to technical application and expert model development. Its central message was that AI adoption requires practical, accessible support for existing workers and SMEs—not only new technical graduates.

Participants also visited initiatives that make industrial transformation tangible. HALL32 uses connected equipment, hands-on training and worker co-design to show how automation can improve safety and job quality. Clusters including CIMES, Digital League and Minalogic help firms access expertise in digital twins, cybersecurity, AI, microelectronics and deep technologies, while MinaSmart provides a route from AI readiness to deployment.

Looking ahead

The study visit provided practical examples of how regions can strengthen industrial competitiveness while ensuring that digital transformation remains inclusive, human-centred and responsible. The exchanges will help inform future cooperation among IURC partners on AI adoption, skills, innovation ecosystems and support for SMEs.