Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 7 December 2016.
Yes, I most certainly would. I’m pleased to be able to tell the Member today that the Wales European Funding Office understands that Industry Wales, who, can I put on record, have been incredibly helpful in teaching me something about industry 4.0, are working in partnership with a number of Welsh universities and are planning to submit an industry 4.0-related bid for funding under the current European regional development fund round and call for research and innovation proposals, which will close on 31 January. I hope that that bid is successful, because I think it would deliver exactly what the Member has called for.
In addition to this, I’m pleased to say that the innovation team within Welsh Government is actively engaged with the recently launched UK knowledge transfer networks for manufacturing initiative, which is aimed specifically at realising the potential of the fourth industrial revolution. The Member is absolutely right to highlight both the opportunities and the challenges and threats posed by I4, and if we look to France, perhaps, as a model where we could learn some very significant lessons in how to move towards an automated economy, provided we can make that shift fast enough, I’m firmly of the belief that we can stand on the side of greater opportunities rather than threats.