Programme

– Day 1 –
7 October 2026

7th October (Day 1/3) (CNR, Via Ugo La Malfa, 153 – Palermo)
08:30 – 09:00	Registration desk opens
09:00 – 09:30	Welcome and official opening Carmelo Mineo (Chair, CNR-ICAR), Winifred Ijomah (Co-chair, University of Strathclyde), Alberto Baesso (Società Italiana Remanufacturing) Alfonso Maurizio Urso (President of CNR Palermo Research Site) Marco Conti (Director CNR-DIITET department – TBC) Alessandra Narciso (CNR-URI) Antonino Valenza (University of Palermo) Enza Spadoni and Antonio Frisoli (ARTES 4.0)
09:30 – 10:15	Plenary – Prof. Winifred Ijomah (University of Strathclyde, UK) Remanufacturing as a key driver for industrial sustainability
10:15 – 10:35	Break
10:35 – 11:30	Section 1 – Barriers and challenges to market uptake (3 talks)
11:30 – 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) Global prospective of remanufacturing
14:45 – 15:30	Keynote – Engr. Ademola Isaac Agoro (Protogy Global Services Nigeria Ltd) 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)
08:45 – 09:30	Keynote – Prof. Adewale Basir Ikotun (Automation and Engineering, Nigeria) Case study of innovation in an African remanufacturing company
09:30 – 10:25	Section 5 – Inspection, certification and advanced repair (3 talks)
10:25 – 10:45	Break
10:45 – 11:55	Section 6 – Design for remanufacturing, disassembly and re-functionalisation (4 talks)
11:55 – 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)

– 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 – 10:00	Welcome and introduction session Chair: Antonino Valenza (University of Palermo) Massimo Midiri (Rector of the University of Palermo) (TBC) Roberto Lagalla (Mayor of Palermo City) (TBC) Edmondo Tamajo (Councillor for Productive Activities of the Sicily Region) (TBC) African Ambassadors (names TBC)
10:00 – 13:00	Capacity building (funding and training) session Chair: Winifred Ijomah (University of Strathclyde, UK) Short presentations 10:30 – 10:40 – Dario Cartabellotta (Department of Productive Activities of the Sicily Region) 10:50 – 11:00 – Alessandra Narciso (CNR-URI, Italy) 11:00 – 11:10 – Matteo Bragoni (SIMEST, Italy) 11:10 – 11:20 – Edoardo Comparetto (SACE, Italy) 10:30 – 10:40 – Diego Coglitore (APRE) 10:40 – 10:50 – EURAXESS Africa (speaker TBC) 11:40 – 11:50 – Francesco Cappello (European Enterprise Network) 11:50 – 12:00 – Adriano Fagiolini (ARTES 4.0) Round table discussion
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 Round table discussion Topics: – We need innovative business models – Are we allowed to apply remanufacturing? – Are current regulations a barrier to implementing/validating novel business models? – How do you achieve suitable core collection, depending on the selected business models? Stefano Pietropaoli (Professor of Philosophy of Law at the 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, Nigeria) Ademoula Agoro (Protogy Global Services Limited, 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: – What can be the best way to engage society and spread the importance of remanufacturing? – Innovative communication channels. Panellists/Specialists Giuseppe Crapa (Società Italiana Remanufacturing) Veronica Chisari (Project YOU(th)CARE4Planet – Interreg NEXT MED 2021–2027) (TBC) Alberto Baesso (WayPoint) Representative from Comics school of Palermo (TBC) Web Creator/Influencer (TBC) Representative from Sole24Ore (TBC) Representative from repair cafes (TBC)
	Closing

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