This month there is news from PI UK, PI Germany, PI South Africa, and PI Australia. PI UK is supporting UK’s first Industry 4.0 Summit and reports on their recent Manchester seminar. PI Germany celebrates well-attended seminars in 2016 and looks forward to 2017. PI South Africa announces a new PI Training Center. PI Australia in cooperation with University of Technology, Sydney announces a seminar introducing Industry 4.0.
PI UK
PI UK will be supporting next year’s Industry 4.0 Summit, the UK’s first dedicated conference and exhibition for Industry 4.0. The conference will look at key issues surrounding Industry 4.0, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), smart factories and digital manufacturing, and feature government policy, strategies, business models, and a 
number of Industry 4.0 case studies. PI UK will have a strong presence at this event, where we will be hosting a Round Table discussion featuring our key technologies for IIoT, PROFINET, and IO-Link.
Alongside will be the Factories of the Future Expo, which will showcase the latest technologies and developments in automation, IIoT, sensors, software, industrial networking and big data. More about the event
PROFIBUS, PROFINET and IO-Link seminar: Attended by over 50 designers, engineers and decision-makers, this free-to-attend seminar, organized by PI UK and hosted by Siemens at their Manchester premises, addressed the key practical issues arising from the use of digital communications technologies in automated manufacturing and process industry applications. Details here
PI Germany
With more than 650 participants overall PI Germany finished their series of workshops in 2016. PI Germany organized workshops for developers and end user regarding the following topics:
- PROFINET
- PROFIsafe
- PROFIdrive
- IO-Link
The dates for 2017 are already fixed. Most of the workshops are in German language and the participation is free of charge.
PI South Africa
A new PI Training Center (PITC) was accredited by PI in South Africa at Siemens 
Proprietary Limited. All PITCs are audited to ensure that they meet the high standards set by PI. The new PITC was audited by Andy Verver. They present the following courses:
- CERTIFIED PROFIBUS Installer Course
- CERTIFIED PROFIBUS Installer with Trouble shooting Course
- CERTIFIED PROFIBUS Engineers Course
- CERTIFIED PROFIBUS Installer with Engineers Course
- CERTIFIED PROFIBUS System Design Course
PI Australia
PI Australia will develop an Automation Information Seminar addressing the challenges faced by Australian industry as it transitions to a digital age of industrial innovation commonly referred to as Industry 4.0.
The proposed presentation will feature some of the world’s most innovative manufacturing 
sites, to show how data from sensors plus plant and machine connectivity can turbo-charge productivity levels.
To be held in the second-half of 2017, it will be viewed by undergraduates studying electrical and automation disciplines such as mechatronics. Students will gain a better understanding of the measurement and communication roles Fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet technologies play in process and manufacturing industries.
“The rate of change in IT and OT technology today is simply mind boggling,” said Associate Professor Quang Ha from the School of Electrical, Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), who will host the first presentation.
“The challenge UTS faces is to prepare our bright young students for a new era of ‘smart factories’, when automation and data exchange will manifest in manufacturing, relying on cyber-physical systems, the Internet-of-Things and cloud computing.”