11 Dec 2023

PETRAS event: Living Securely in the Internet of Things

A fantastic expert Panel on Resilient Global Supply Chains formed part of a whole-day event held at IET’s Savoy Place, London, on 16 June 2023

Petras IET Living Securely With The Internet Of Things panel

Left to right Panel members Hazel Culley, Siraj Shaikh, Madeline Carr, and Stuart Chalmers; and Co-chairs Oktay Cetinkaya and David De Roure

In 2023, global supply chains were set to face further disruptions due to geopolitical events, economic uncertainty, and natural disasters. However, there is hope in emerging technologies, such as the IoT, and increased digitisation, which, by boosting transparency, efficiency, risk management, cost reduction, and sustainability, can aid organisations in mitigating some of these issues. Yet, it is essential to recognise that increased adoption of technology also brings with it heightened cybersecurity threats.

The Panel of experts, chaired by Professor David De Roure and Dr Oktay Cetinkaya of Oxford e-Research Centre, University of Oxford, was made up of Professor Madeline Carr (Professor, Department of Computer Science, UCL), Professor Siraj Shaikh (Professor, Department of Computer Science, Swansea University), Hazel Culley (Director of FMCG and Retail, twentyfifty ltd) and Stuart Chalmers (Head of Digital Products, National Physical Laboratory).

Professor David De Roure welcomed the Panel noting:

We have the technology, but is it being used effectively?

The Panel then responded to the following questions raised by Dr Oktay Cetinkaya:

Can technology replace human skills? When and where? How can unintended consequences be avoided when implementing new technologies?
Assurance and compliance regimes – What are your thoughts about the challenges in relation to timelines and investment (pace of technology)?
How can the UK contribute to building resilience in global supply chains? The UK is very proactive in standards, but this is not an area that attracts new talent – how can we train and attract people to push through change and be globally competitive?

The recording of the Panel can be seen here.

Beforehand, Hazel Culley gave a keynote speech on Resilient Global Supply Chains, and the Panel was followed by a short presentation from Dr Michael Breza (Imperial College London), Kate Parsons (V&A), and Alyson Rolington (Tate) on their project called “Logistics 4.0”.