SmartMan Conference
On March 30, 2026, the Industry 4.0 – National Technology Platform Association held the SmartMan Conference for the second time this year. The event serves as a premier professional gathering for domestic industrial digitalization, where technology is not the focus for its own sake, but because it is capable of providing real solutions to the most critical challenges facing companies.
At the conference, Dr. Charaf Hassan, Rector of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), was the first to welcome the participants. In his opening remarks, he stated that without industry, nothing would exist, and therefore BME is pleased to receive inquiries regarding industrial digitalization. The rector was followed on stage by Dr. László Monostori, Director General of HUN-REN SZTAKI and Chairman of the Industry 4.0 NTPSz, as well as István Ács, Co-Chairman of the Industry 4.0 NTPSz and Managing Director of Targa Consulting Kft. László Monostori highlighted the research conducted over the past ten years, while István Ács stated that knowledge sharing is one of the most important elements of digitalization.
Richárd Szabados, State Secretary for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Technology, and the Defense Industry, also attended the event. In his speech, he stated that digitalization is now unavoidable in the business sector. Following the State Secretary’s presentation, Dr. László Monostori and Dr. József Váncza, Senior Advisor at HUN-REN SZTAKI, gave a presentation on the topic of artificial intelligence. The presentation used practical examples to demonstrate how artificial intelligence is integrated into manufacturing and how it helps accelerate innovation. The final speaker of the morning was Tamás Jeránek, CEO of Siemens Zrt., who spoke to the audience about the development of Hungarian industry.
The afternoon program featured three panel discussions on the following topics: Cross-sector opportunities—industry collaboration to strengthen digitalization—from agriculture to green energy (A to Z); From IT Investment to Corporate Value Creation – How Is Digitalization Becoming a Key Factor in Corporate Strategy?; Gaining a Competitive Edge Through Automation – SME Success Stories in a Business Environment Depleting Reserves. Tamás Fehérváry, CEO of the Hungarian Economic Development Agency, also participated in the latter discussion.
The SmartMan conference concluded with farewell speeches by Dr. László Monostori and István Ács.
