INSIDE Connect 2026
INSIDE Connect 2026 took place in Palermo — 30 September–1 October 2026
European digital systems roadmapping forum
Connecting Europe’s digital systems community in Palermo
INSIDE Connect 2026
INSIDE Connect 2026 brought together industry leaders, researchers, policymakers and innovators from across Europe for two days of strategic discussions, networking and collaboration on the future of electronic systems and semiconductor technologies.
What brought us together
- Connected with Europe’s digital systems ecosystem
- Explored future technology roadmaps and innovation priorities
- Exchanged perspectives with industry, academia and policymakers
- Discussed collaboration opportunities and EU initiatives
- Experienced the historic setting of Palermo
Event highlights
Strategic Keynotes • Technology Roadmaps • Networking Sessions • Cultural Tour • Social Dinner • International Community
The global INSIDE community gathered in Palermo, Southern Italy, on 30 September and 1 October 2026
for the European digital systems roadmapping forum.
The city provided a distinctive setting, combining a strong academic and research foundation
with a vibrant cultural backdrop.
INSIDE Connect 2026 brought our interdisciplinary community together to discuss emerging priorities,
exchange perspectives and explore a shared direction for Europe’s digital systems ecosystem.
Thank you to everyone who took part.
Army Officers’ Club
P.za Sant’Oliva, 25, 90141 Palermo PA, Italy
Looking back at INSIDE Connect 2026
INSIDE Connect 2026 featured two days of keynotes, workshops, industry showcases and networking. The programme brought together ideas, people and innovation from across Europe’s digital ecosystem.
The event focused on the following themes:
Programme
Explore the programme from INSIDE Connect 2026 below.
Programme
INSIDE Connect 2026
All times are local to Europe/Rome.
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Wednesday 30 September 2026
Registration and Welcome Coffee
Entrance
INSIDE Connect Opening
Main Plenary
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09:00 – 09:10
Paolo Azzoni, Secretary General, INSIDE Industry Association
Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni, President, INSIDE Industry Association
Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni
INSIDE Industry Association
President
National and regional strategies for digital innovation
Main Plenary
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09:10 – 09:20 Welcome speech
Fabrizio Ferrandelli, Municipal Councilor for Digital Innovation
Fabrizio Ferrandelli
Municipal Councilor for Digital Innovation
View LinkedIn profile (opens in a new tab)Filippo D'Arpa, Chief Executive Officer, Distretto Tecnologico Micro-Nano Sistemi
Filippo D'Arpa
Distretto Tecnologico Micro-Nano Sistemi
Chief Executive Officer
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09:20 – 09:50 Building ECS value chain future: national perspectives
Francesco Tenuta, Head: Critical Raw Materials Unit, Member of the Italian Strategic Fund Steering Committee, Ministry of Enterprises & Made in Italy (MIMIT)
Francesco Tenuta
Ministry of Enterprises & Made in Italy (MIMIT)
Head: Critical Raw Materials Unit, Member of the Italian Strategic Fund Steering Committee
Francesca Galli, Head of the Technical Secretariat, Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca (MUR)
Francesca Galli
Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca (MUR)
Head of the Technical Secretariat
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09:50 – 10:00 Italian and European perspective on ECS value chain
Fabrizia Vigo, Public Affairs Director, ANFIA
State of Affairs: Chips Act 2.0, MFF/ECF/FP10, WP 2027
Main Plenary
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10:00 – 10:45
Paolo Azzoni, Secretary General, INSIDE Industry Association
Networking Break: Connect & Exchange
Terrace – coffee break area
Projects Exhibition
Global Semiconductor Power Shift: Europe, US & China
Main Plenary
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11:15 – 11:35 Presentation by Valeo/INSIDE
Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni, President, INSIDE Industry Association
Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni
INSIDE Industry Association
President
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11:35 – 11:55 Presentation by LIMES
Giuseppe De Ruvo, PhD Student, LIMES
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11:55 – 12:15 Presentation by German Marshall Fund (GMF)
Antonia Wunnerlich, Fellow, Innovation and Competitiveness, German Marshal Fund
Antonia Wunnerlich
German Marshal Fund
Fellow, Innovation and Competitiveness
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Building Europe’s Next-Generation Chips with RISC-V
Main Plenary
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12:15 – 12:45
Michael Chapman, CEO, CORTUS
CADETTI: the Italian Competence Center
Main Plenary
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12:45 – 13:00 Meet the Ecosystem
Cristina De Luca, Director of International Relations and Partnerships, Chips IT Foundation
Cristina De Luca
Chips IT Foundation
Director of International Relations and Partnerships
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Networking Lunch: Connect & Exchange
Garden – lunch area
Projects Exhibition
The Future of Compute: Brain-Inspired and Unconventional Computing
Main Plenary
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14:00 – 14:30
Wilfred van der Wiel, Professor of NanoElectronics, UT-EEMCS
Autonomous Systems
Main Plenary
Parallel Session 1
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14:30 – 15:34 Enabling the Trillion Sensor Economy with Ultra-low Power Edge Computing
Michele Mastella, CTO & CoFounder, Neuronova
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15:34 – 15:55 Agentic AI for Robotic Autonomous Systems
Marco Di Felice, Full Professor in Computer Science, University of Bologna
Marco Di Felice
University of Bologna
Full Professor in Computer Science
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15:55 – 16:10 Brain-Inspired Compute for System-Level Autonomy
Mahmoud Akl, VP of Software, SpiNNcloud
Engineering the Next Generation of European Chips
Room 2
Parallel Session 2
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14:30 – 14:50 How High-performance CPU Contribute to Europe AI Strategy
Vincent Casillas, CTO, SiPEARL
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14:50 – 15:10 Computing Evolution for the AI Edge
Giulio Urlini, R&D Program Manager, STMicroelectronics
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15:10 – 15:30 PHOENIX: A National Hub for Chiplets and AI-enabled EDA – Aligning with Europe’s Chips Act Priorities
Andrea Pinna, Executive Vice President, Socio-Economic Partnerships, Sorbonne Université
Andrea Pinna
Sorbonne Université
Executive Vice President, Socio-Economic Partnerships
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Application-driven Innovation Across the ECS Value Chain
Room 2
Parallel Session 2
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16:00 – 17:00 Panel DiscussionModerators:
Dimitrios Serpanos, President, CTI
Panellists:Andrea Pinna, Executive Vice President, Socio-Economic Partnerships, Sorbonne Université
Andrea Pinna
Sorbonne Université
Executive Vice President, Socio-Economic Partnerships
View LinkedIn profile (opens in a new tab)Gianluigi Ferrari, Full Professor, Università di Parma
Mladen Berekovic, Prof. Dr.-Ing., University of Lübeck
Mladen Berekovic
University of Lübeck
Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Markus Tauber, Chief Scientific Officer, Research Studios Austria
Markus Tauber
Research Studios Austria
Chief Scientific Officer
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Networking Break: Connect & Exchange
Terrace – coffee break area
Projects Exhibition
Autonomous Systems
Main Plenary
Parallel Session 1
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16:15 – 16:30 Europe’s Robotics Future: Opportunities and Challenges in the Age of Embodied Intelligence
Juha Röning, Professor, University of Oulu / ADRA
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16:30 – 16:45 Efficient Edge Intelligence for Autonomous Drones and Robotics
Michele Magno, Professor and Head of the Project-based learning Center, ETH Zurich
Michele Magno
ETH Zurich
Professor and Head of the Project-based learning Center
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16:45 – 17:00 Interoperable Multi-domain Autonomy
Alberto Bianchi, Senior R&D / technology strategy, Leonardo S.p.A
Alberto Bianchi
Leonardo S.p.A
Senior R&D / technology strategy
Software-defined-X
Software-defined-X: the Future of Digital Systems
Main Plenary
Parallel Session 1
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17:00 – 17:25 Hardware plasticity: unlocking the true potential of AI with software-defined hardware
Keith Shea, CEO, D-Chiplet
Functional safety in AI
Trust in Motion: Making Physical AI Safe
Room 2
Parallel Session 2
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17:00 – 17:30 Trust in Motion: Safety & Availability for Physical AI Beyond HW Redundancy
David Baca, Head of Quality, Safety, and Security, Apex.AI
Return to the hotels and reach the meeting point
Meeting point in front of Army officers' club at 18:15
Discovering Palermo: heritage & innovation walk
Palazzo Fatta
Evening networking dinner
Palazzo Fatta
Thursday 1 October 2026
Networking Break: Connect & Exchange
Terrace – coffee break area
Projects Exhibition
08:55 – 10:45Parallel sessions — choose a track
Software-defined and AI-defined Mobility
Main Plenary
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08:55 – 09:15 ECAVA Evolution and Future Opportunities
Michael Paulweber, Executive Adviser SW defined Vehicle (SDV) and Automated Driving, AVL List GmbH
Michael Paulweber
AVL List GmbH
Executive Adviser SW defined Vehicle (SDV) and Automated Driving
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09:15 – 09:35 A Hardware Architecture for the Digital Vehicle of the Future
Patrick Pype, Director Strategic Partnerships at NXP, NXP
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09:35 – 09:55 Software-Defined Systems Across Domains: Shared Technologies for the Future of Mobility
Mario Gartner, Director of Product Management – Aerospace, TTTech
Mario Gartner
TTTech
Director of Product Management – Aerospace
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09:55 – 10:45 Open discussion
CEI-Sphere
CEI-Sphere Deep Dive – Edge to Cloud in Industrial Optimization and Productivity
Room 2
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08:55 – 09:00 CEI-Sphere Introduction
Paolo Azzoni, Secretary General, INSIDE Industry Association
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09:00 – 09:15 Hourglass Model 2027 as a Business Canvas
Antonio Kung, Co-founder – Executive board, Trialog
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09:15 – 09:55 Presentation and Analysis of the “Stand-up 3” Questionnaire
Mauro Tortonesi, Associate Professor, University of Ferrara
Paolo Azzoni, Secretary General, INSIDE Industry Association
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09:55 – 10:15 Deep-dive Open Discussion
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10:15 – 10:45 Preliminary Recommendations
EuroCDP
EuroCDP – Designing Chips in Europe: Tools, Support and Opportunities
Room 3
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08:55 – 09:00 Session opening
Réda Nouacer, Researcher and Program Officer, CEA
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09:00 – 09:20 Design-Platform Overview
Helio Fernandez Tellez, Program Director, IMEC
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09:20 – 09:40 Using the EuroCDP Platform: a Tutorial
Marina Dias, Coordinator for EU Funding | RTD+I Manager, INL
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09:40 – 10:00 Design Enablement Teams overview
Olivier Thomas, Deputy head of the Digital Integrated Circuit & System division, CEA
Olivier Thomas
CEA
Deputy head of the Digital Integrated Circuit & System division
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10:00 – 10:20 EuroCDP Venture Programme
Giorgio Dell’Erba, Director of Industrial Partnerships and Tech Transfer, ChipsIT
Giorgio Dell’Erba
ChipsIT
Director of Industrial Partnerships and Tech Transfer
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10:20 – 10:40 EuroCDP Grants
Helio Fernandez Tellez, Program Director, IMEC
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10:40 – 10:45 Questions and answers
Réda Nouacer, Researcher and Program Officer, CEA
Networking Break: Connect & Exchange
Terrace – coffee break area
Projects Exhibition
11:00 – 13:00Parallel sessions — choose a track
Autonomous systems
Main Plenary
Parallel thematic workshop 1
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11:00 – 11:20 The Future of AI is Event-Driven: Connecting Sensors, Edge Intelligence and NeuroAI
Gianvito Urgese, Politecnico di Torino
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11:20 – 11:40 From LLMs to Living Systems: Autonomic AI in Controlled Environment Agriculture
Markus Tauber, Chief Scientific Officer, Research Studios Austria
Markus Tauber
Research Studios Austria
Chief Scientific Officer
View LinkedIn profile (opens in a new tab) -
11:40 – 13:00 Working Group Open Discussion
European engineering toolchain
Room 2
Parallel thematic workshop 2
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11:00 – 11:20 AI-driven Engineering Copilot Based on Federated Knowledgegraphs
Torbjörn Holm, TBH Consult / Luleå University
Jan Van Deventer, Associate Professor, Luleå University of Technology
Jan Van Deventer
Luleå University of Technology
Associate Professor
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11:20 – 11:50 Digital Transformation and why Ontology Based Integration could Significantly Improve the Success Rate
Håkan Kårdén, CEA, Håkan Kårdén AB
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11:50 – 12:10 Guardrails in Generative AI – Automated Traceability and Liveness: from Requirements to Trusted Implementation.
Flip van Spaendonck, Promovendus, Verum
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12:10 – 13:00 Working Group Open Discussion
Networking Lunch: Connect & Exchange
Garden – lunch area
Projects Exhibition
14:00 – 16:00Parallel sessions — choose a track
Trustworthy & Resilient Cyber-physical SoS
Main Plenary
Parallel thematic workshop 3
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14:00 – 14:20 From Chip to SoS: State-of-the-Art Cybersecurity and the Research Challenges Ahead
Jon Perez, Tech. Dir. Electronic Embedded Systems and Cybersecurity, Ikerlan
Jon Perez
Ikerlan
Tech. Dir. Electronic Embedded Systems and Cybersecurity
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14:20 – 14:40 Agentic AI: A New Paradigm for Cyber-Physical Systems Cybersecurity
Dimitrios Serpanos, President, CTI
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14:40 – 16:00 Working Group Open Discussion
Open ECS Architectures
Room 2
Parallel thematic workshop 4
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14:00 – 14:20 RISC-V: from fragmentation to foundation
Vicente García Garrido, Principal Program Manager, Quintauris
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14:20 – 14:40 RISC-V Vector for Scalable Acceleration of AI and HPC
Massimo Scardaci, OpenChip
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14:40 – 16:00 Working Group Open Discussion
Closing Session: Shaping the Next Steps of the INSIDE Ecosystem
Room 2
Photos
Thank you for joining INSIDE Connect 2026
Thank you to all participants, speakers and contributors who joined INSIDE Connect 2026 in Palermo on 30 September and 1 October 2026.
For questions about the event, please contact us at info@inside-association.eu
