Industry really can be "extraordinaire"
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." This quote, attributed to the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, could have been the perfect slogan of this weekend's Extraordinary Factories (L'Usine Extraordinaire) event in Marseille. ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ was there.
Today, the industries that drove the industrial revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries are reinventing themselves to keep pace with the world of innovation and ever-evolving technologies.
L'Usine Extraordinaire, a major exhibit that took place from 14 to 16 November in Marseille, France, offered members of the general public the opportunity to encounter close to 80 industry actors in just a few hours, each of them showcasing the ways in which "big industry" is a source of innovation ... and exciting careers.
Digitalization, the internet, big data, virtual reality ... these techniques are already revolutionizing production. A fourth industrial revolution is underway, and Industry 4.0 will require new resources to take on the jobs of the future. By showing that factories of today are nothing like factories of the past, the three-day L'Usine Extraordinaire event aimed its messaging at middle and high school students—the employees of the future—with hands-on displays, robotics, connectivity, simulations, mockups, conferences and videos all designed to stimulate interest in the wide variety of careers made possible by industry.
At the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ stand, a constant stream of visitors was welcomed by volunteer guides from the ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ Organization as well as representatives from three French companies with large contracts at ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ: CNIM, Daher and Air Liquide.
