Industry in Transition – Innovation, Energy and the Future of Production

Picture a production line where machines exchange data in real time, energy use appears on a dashboard instead of disappearing into overhead costs, and people and technology develop side by side. For a growing number of companies, this is alreadyeveryday reality.

Switzerland and North America are at the very heart of this transformation, allowing us to take a closer look at how industries are reshaping the way we produce, work, and create value.

With connectUS 2027, we discover how forward-thinking organisations are responding to an industry in transition. Across a seminar week in Switzerland and a study trip abroad, you'll gain firsthand insights into how industries can grow more resilient, forward-looking, and connected.  

Benefits for Students

Earn 5 ECTS credits while stepping out of the lecture hall and into real production environments. You visit leading companies in Switzerland and North America and talk directly with engineers and decisionmakers. You see how the topics from your studies play out in practice. Along the way, you build a network with industry contacts and fellow students from all FHNW programmes. On top of that, you gain international experience that sets your CV apart.

Benefits for Our Partners

connectUS 2027 gives you direct access to our delegation: motivated final-year students from all FHNW programmes. You are invited to our one-week seminar in Switzerland, where you can contribute as an expert speaker, run a workshop or join our closing panel discussion. At the career fair, you present your organisation at your own booth and meet delegates in person. In speed interviews, you talk to a selection of candidates that matches your preferences. Throughout the project, your logo appears on our campus activities, newsletters, website and social media channels.

Four Topics, One Question

All focus areas lead back to the same question: how can innovation guide industries through a future shaped by both data and people? Energy intelligence, human-centred automation, advanced manufacturing and industrial AI each cover one part of the answer.

Energy Intelligence

Every product has an invisible second story: the energy it took to make it. Real-time data is beginning to bring that story to light, showing where energy is lost, when, and what could be done about it. Along the way, we look at how companies turn thistransparency into lower consumption, greater resilience and a competitive edge.

‍Human-Centred Automation

Every industrial revolution has changed the way people work. As AI takes over routine tasks, creativity, empathy, critical thinking and collaboration remain the true drivers of innovation.  

We meet organisations that prepare their workforce for constant change through reskilling and lifelong learning, with people at the centre of Industry 5.0.

Advanced Manufacturing

Step onto a production floor where machines talk to each other and processes adapt in real time. Our visits show how automation is shifting from fixed sequences to autonomous decisions. They also show how Switzerland and North America approachinvestment, flexibility and precision in strikingly different ways.

Industrial AI & Digital Trust

Factories, supply chains and energy grids are turning into data-driven systems, and their value depends on whether people can rely on them. In conversations with experts, we discuss governance, cybersecurity and data integrity, and what it takes for companies, employees and society to trust the technology shaping industry.

Two Continents. Shared Questions

Switzerland and North America are both hubs for innovation, the energy transition and cross-border collaboration. By bringing the two perspectives together, connectUS 2027 gives students a platform to compare approaches, question their own assumptionsand take new ideas home. This exchange deepens cross-cultural understanding and sparks fresh thinking for tomorrow's industries.

None of this would be possible without the partners behind connectUS 2027. Their support helps us bring students and industry together, exchange knowledge and generate real impact. Interested in becoming a partner? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us.

To all FHNW students: follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to stay up to date, and join our delegation to experience this firsthand. Applications for connectUS 2027 are open now. Find all the details and apply on our website.

Your connectUS Team 2027

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