Plenary Speakers

Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn,Vice-Chancellor, Professor, Luleå University of Technology

Pär Weihed,Professor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Luleå University of Technology

Prof. Dr. Uday Kumar, Head of Division of Operation and Maintenance, JVTC director, LTU

Dr. Uday Kumar is the Chair Professor of Operation and Maintenance Engineering, and Director of Luleå Railway Research Center. His teaching, research & consulting interests are equipment maintenance, reliability and maintainability analysis, product support, Life Cycle Costing(LCC), Risk analysis, system analysis, eMaintenance, asset management etc. He has more than 30 years of experiences in consulting and finding solutions to industrial problems directly or indirectly related to maintenance of engineering asserts. He has been working on many EU framework Projects . He has published more than 300 papers in International Journals and Conference Proceedings dealing with various aspects of maintenance of engineering systems, and has co-authored 4 books on maintenance engineering and management. Dr. Kumar is an elected member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences.

Dr. Ramin Karim, Prof. of eMaintenance & Industrial AI, Luleå University of Technology

Prof. Ramin Karim is a Professor of Operation and Maintenance Engineering at Luleå University and Director of the Centre of Maintenance and Industrial Services. He has worked for more than 15 years in IT industry after obtaining his degree in computer science. He is responsible for the eMaintenance LAB, an applied laboratory for research and innovation in Industrial AI and eMaintenance. His research interest includes data analytics and predictive technology closely connected to operation and maintenance of industrial assets. Prof. Karim has initiated and developed the concept and platform called ‘AI Factory’, which is universal concept for cross-industrial data and model sharing based on digital and AI technologies. Prof. Karim is the founder of a spin-off company from LTU, which provides advanced analytics based on cloud/edge-technologies and artificial intelligence. Professor Ramin Karim has demonstrated with his creative thinking and innovation-driven personality how excellence in research can lead to sustainable development in society and benefits for business. This in digitalization, Industrial AI and eMaintenance. Prof. Karim with his commitment, goal-oriented action, innovative thinking and enthusiasm has created a dynamic research environment that has been a model for useful research. His research results have resulted in a number of innovations. These include: the establishment of the company 'Predge AB' (formerly eMaintenance365 AB. Prof. Karim’s research has attracted national and international attention. Ramin has been an in-demand lecturer and advisor in various contexts. Some of these are: (i)  'Industrial Advisory Board of IMS Center in the USA'; (ii)  'VALE (Brazil Mining Comapny)'; (iii)  'Swedish-Brazilian Research and Innovation Centre'; (iv)  'Future Committee of the National Organisation ofSwedish Maintenance'; (v) 'Board member of sustainability circle'. Ramin's work has also attracted the attention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD). On behalf of OCED, Ramin has produced a report for policy-makers, focusing on data-driven technology and solutions in transport. 
Furthermore, Prof. Karim's research results have been recognized two(2) years in a row on IVA's 100 list in 2020 and 2021, where projects with the potential to create benefits in the foreseeable future through industrial commercialization, business and method development and societal impact are represented. These projects are 'ePilot' and 'AI Factory'