Dear Dr. Teutenberg, what is special about this year's IUTA AnalytikTag? What program items can participants look forward to and why?

This year we are holding the AnalytikTag purely digitally, in a greatly shortened form. Normally, the AnalytikTag is integrated into our IUTA Innovation Days, which traditionally take place at the beginning of November here at the institute, where, in addition to the lectures, networking and the exchange of information between industry and science play a major role. In presence, this will now only be possible again in November 2022.

We are therefore all the more pleased to be able to present the main topics of "Flexible Laboratory Automation and Digitalization" as part of this year's smartLab Connects. The event will be rounded off by a panel discussion with renowned experts on the topic of "Standards and interfaces: how far away are we from the laboratory of the future?".

IUTA's FutureLab will be a benchmark. Can you briefly describe what is special about it and where you got the ideas for the design?

LABVOLUTION actually served as the inspiration for the ideas here. The smartLAB for the intelligent laboratory of the future, with function-integrated hexagonal laboratory furniture immediately inspired us. We would like to continue this concept and bring it to market maturity together with partners from industry and science. The FutureLab.NRW can act as an important link in this context.

Many concepts are currently still in the trial phase. This also applies, among other things, to the new flexible automation solutions. The FutureLab.NRW therefore sees itself as an open platform which is to be developed further together with the players involved, always with a focus on the needs of industry. The FutureLab.NRW is not just a mere "show room", but we want to map and transform real work processes in a laboratory.

Link_the_lab takes place before AnalytikTag. Why are communication standards becoming more and more important in the lab? Is there a common thread between link_the_lab and AnalytikTag? Should participants take a look at both events?

I can only recommend that participants look at both events, because there is indeed a common thread. As part of link_the_lab, there will be a live link to our colleagues from labforward in Berlin. You can certainly get a good impression of what we are building here at IUTA.

Communication standards are indeed becoming more and more important, because only through standardization is it really possible to fully network all the devices in a lab. And the time is ripe to say goodbye to isolated solutions, even if that means that business models will change.

AnalytikTag will take place on 7.9.2021 from 3-6pm, link_the_lab before that from 12.30 - 14. 30pm. Listen in! We look forward to seeing you.