Harvard Business School visits Comau to look into innovation with a view towards the future

Grugliasco (Turin), January 10, 2024 – Professors and students from Harvard Business School recently visited Comau headquarters to take part in an interactive workshop organized by Comau and its Academy focusing on the technologies and professional skills of the future in the automation and robotics field. The initiative was designed to highlight the increasing importance of innovation, digital transformation, industrial automation and robotics in the fast-paced world of business and manufacturing. In addition to learning more about the Italian economy, representing the 2nd largest exporter of machine tools in Europe and 4th largest worldwide, participants were shown how leading-edge technology is produced. They also discussed the challenges faced by top management of the leading global industrial company. Then, to stimulate a culture of results-driven teamwork, the 45 Harvard MBA students explored robotics programming in a fun and interactive way, which provided a perfect backdrop to teach basic skills that can be leveraged in future jobs. 

During the course of the afternoon, Comau showcased real world examples of its digital-driven, advanced automation solutions designed to reduce commissioning costs, increase quality and ensure sustainable productivity – even in outdoor and unstructured environments. Specific focus was given to Comau MATE exoskeletons family, wearable robotics  capable of assisting the upper and lower body during bending, lifting and repetitive tasks, a powerful mobile robotics solution for unstructured environments, and the robotized electric battery dismantling cell Comau has helped design and develop as part of its work with the cross-country Flex-BD project. After which, the students took part in an interactive robotics challenge using Comau’s e.DO educational robot.

Comau Academy and its e.DO-based educational tools are part of the company’s commitment to anticipate future training needs and develop innovative and stimulating educational projects. This includes targeted, hands-on programs designed to fulfill the need for skilled professional and manual labor as an accelerant for Industry 4.0.

“Empowering the next generation of business professionals with cutting-edge knowledge is not just an investment, it’s a strategic foundation for future-focused excellence,” underscored Alessandro Nasi, Comau’s Chairman who attended the event giving his insight and showing how much Comau believes in training talented people. “We welcome the opportunity to have hosted on our premises such a prestigious institution to facilitate powerful educational workshops that leverage the expertise of Comau and its Academy. Together with Harvard Business School we have helped ignite ideas and explore the ways in which technology and automation are shaping innovation.”