Programme

– Day 1 –
7 October 2026

7th October (Day 1/3) (CNR, Via Ugo La Malfa, 153 – Palermo)
08:00 – 09:15	Registration desk opens
09:15 – 09:45	Welcome and official opening Carmelo Mineo (General Chair, ICAR-CNR), Winifred Ijomah (Co-chair, University of Strathclyde), Alberto Baesso (Società Italiana Remanufacturing) Alfonso Maurizio Urso (President of CNR Palermo Research Site) Alessandra Narciso (CNR-URI) Antonino Valenza (University of Palermo) Enza Spadoni and Antonio Frisoli (ARTES 4.0)
09:45 – 10:30	Plenary – Prof. Winifred Ijomah (University of Strathclyde, UK) Remanufacturing as a key driver for industrial sustainability
10:30 – 10:50	Break
10:50 – 11:45	Section 1 – Barriers and challenges to market uptake (3 talks)
11:45 – 13:00	Section 2 – Reverse logistics, operations and circular sourcing (5 talks)
13:00 – 14:00	Lunch and poster session
14:00 – 14:45	Keynote – Rajiv Ramchandra (ReCreate, India) Renewal and Rebirth – Remanufacturing and the Vision of a Flourishing World
14:45 – 15:30	Keynote – Engr. Ademola Isaac Agoro (Protogy Global Services Ltd, Nigeria) Remanufacturing for Sustainability in Africa: A Case Study of Hybrid Inverters and Solar Equipment
15:30 – 16:40	Section 3 – Digital ecosystems, DPPs and distributed remanufacturing (4 talks)
16:40 – 17:00	Break
17:00 – 18:30	Section 4 – AI, robotics and human-centred automation (5 talks)

– Day 2 –
8 October 2026

8th October (Day 2/3) (CNR, Via Ugo La Malfa, 153 – Palermo)
08:00 – 09:00	Registration desk opens
09:00 – 09:45	Keynote – Prof. Adewale Basir Ikotun (Automation and Engineering Academy (AEA) Nigeria Ltd) Case study of innovation in an African remanufacturing company
09:45 – 10:40	Section 5 – Inspection, certification and advanced repair (3 talks)
10:40 – 11:00	Break
11:00 – 12:10	Section 6 – Design for remanufacturing, disassembly and re-functionalisation (4 talks)
12:10 – 13:20	Section 7 – Energy, critical materials and material reclamation (5 talks)
13:20 – 14:20	Lunch and poster session
14:20 – 15:20	Case study of medical equipment remanufacturing Gaby Lobban (Zumbudda (Pty) Ltd, South Africa) African perspective Cormac O’Prey (Kestrel Technology Consulting, UK) European and American perspective
15:20 – 16:50	Section 8 – Healthcare, water and essential-service systems (5 talks)
16:50 – 17:10	Break
17:10 – 18:05	Section 9 – Circular infrastructure, construction and Europe-Africa implementation ecosystems (3 talks)
19:00	Social time, food and drinks at the Botanic Garden

– Day 3 –
9 October 2026

This third day will have the following special sessions, consisting of panels of experts (round tables).

*Coffee will be available throughout the day.

9th October (Day 3/3) (Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri, Piazza Marina, 60 – Palermo)
08:30 – 09:00	Registration of attendees
09:00 – 10:00	Welcome and introduction session Chair: Antonino Valenza (University of Palermo) Invited institutional contributions Massimo Midiri (Rector, University of Palermo) (TBC) Roberto Lagalla (Mayor of Palermo) (TBC) Edmondo Tamajo (Councillor for Productive Activities, Sicily Region) (TBC)
10:00 – 13:00	Capacity building (funding and training) session Chair: Winifred Ijomah (University of Strathclyde, UK) Short presentations 10:10 – 10:20 – Dario Cartabellotta (Department of Productive Activities of the Sicily Region) 10:20 – 10:30 – Adriano Fagiolini (ARTES 4.0) 10:30 – 10:40 – Alessandra Narciso (CNR-URI, Italy) 10:40 – 10:50 – Matteo Bragoni (SIMEST, Italy) 10:50 – 11:00 – Edoardo Comparetto (SACE, Italy) 11:00 – 11:10 – Diego Coglitore (APRE) 11:10 – 11:20 – Ahmed Maalel (EURAXESS Africa) 11:20 – 11:30 – Francesco Cappello (Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)) 11:30 – 13:00 – Round table discussion: funding, training, partnerships and capacity building
13:00 – 14:00	Lunch and networking
14:00 – 15:30	Business models session Chair: Federica Maria Rita Livelli (Risk Management & Business Continuity Consultant) 14:00 – 14:30 – Oscar Lopez (Gamesa Gearbox) 14:30 – 14:40 – Introduction of panel members, followed by round table discussion Topics: – Innovative business models – Regulatory barriers – Validation of new approaches – Core collection strategies Panellists Stefano Pietropaoli (Professor of Philosophy of Law, University of Florence, Italy) (TBC) Daniele Rozzoni (Author of the book “When the product speaks: the DPP”) Alberto Baesso (WayPoint, Italy) Adewale Basir Ikotun (Automation and Engineering Academy (AEA) Nigeria Ltd) Ademola Isaac Agoro (Protogy Global Services Ltd, Nigeria) Oscar Lopez (Siemens Gamesa / Gamesa Gearbox) Maurizio Cellura (University of Palermo)
15:30 – 17:00	Communication and societal adoption session Chair: Biagio Semilia (Innovation Island, Italy) Topics: – How to engage society and communicate the importance of remanufacturing – Innovative communication channels Panellists/Specialists Tony Siino (Social Media Manager, Presidenza della Regione Siciliana) Giuseppe Crapa (Società Italiana Remanufacturing) Veronica Chisari (Project YOU(th)CARE4Planet – Interreg NEXT MED 2021–2027) Alberto Baesso (WayPoint) Salvatore Di Marco (Comics School of Palermo) Marco Perniciarto (Partner ADD – Advisor Digitali) Nino Amadore (il Sole24Ore)
17:00	Closing

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