Sylvac will open its doors on 01.09.2026 for a half-day on AI in R&D: industrial practice (Tools, IP, change management and real-world applications)
Taking place from 13:00 to 18:00, this afternoon organized in collaboration with Sylvac and AI Swiss will focus on how to use AI in R&D, with concrete insights from P&TS, Philip Morris International, Embiggen, HEIG-VD, Iprova, Intoflow, and Sylvac through expert talks, 2 workshops, a guided visit of Sylvac’s facilities, and a networking aperitif.
This event is co-organized by Sylvac, AI Swiss and the CoBooster.
Program
12h45 Welcome coffee
13h00 Opening with Stéphane Fallet, President of AI Swiss, Eric Schnyder, CEO of Sylvac, and Joëlle Tosetti, Managing Director of CoBooster
AI Swiss is an association dedicated to promoting responsible, ethical, and accessible artificial intelligence. It works to strengthen AI literacy and human-AI co-thinking skills through education, research, and the development of open-source tools. AI Swiss is committed to ensuring that AI enhances human intelligence rather than replacing it, and that everyone can understand, control, and benefit from this technology instead of being shaped by it.
13h15 Introduction from Adrien Marcone, European and Swiss Patent Attorney at P&TS “AI in R&D and Collaborative Innovation: Key IP Considerations”
P&TS is an intellectual property firm supporting companies and academic institutions in protecting, defending and valorising inventions. The introduction will address key IP considerations when using AI in R&D and collaborative innovation contexts.
13h30 Presentation from Ana Isabel Gonzalez, Head of R&D Open Innovation and Yiorgos Mavromatis, Head of Open Innovation Procurement at Philip Morris International: “AI application in R&D : Delivering Innovation”
Philip Morris International (PMI) is a leading international consumer goods company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector.
13h50 Presentation from Nicolas Souvlakis, Managing Partner Europe at Embiggen X: “AI solution for technology sourcing and procurement”
Embiggen Europe based in Neuchâtel is the European hub of EmbiggenX an international Business AI & Data Transformation company that works with enterprises to develop tailor-made solutions through data science and artificial intelligence. We help businesses realize tangible increases in performance by turning scattered data and tools into one connected, intelligent organization.
14h10 Presentation from Bertil Chapuis, Professor at HEIG-VD will make a presentation about the change management.
HEIG-VD is the School of Engineering and Management of the Canton of Vaud. This presentation will focus on change management and the human, organisational and practical dimensions of AI adoption.
14h30 Presentation from Houssem Ben Salem, R&D Manager at Sylvac: “AI agents in industrial environments”
Sylvac is a Swiss company specializing in precision dimensional metrology. It develops and manufactures connected measuring instruments, optical measurement machines, software and calibration services that support quality control throughout industrial manufacturing processes.
14h50 Coffee break
15h10 Presentation from Julian Nolan, Founder and CEO of Iprova: “Invention at the Frontier: Human Ingenuity at AI Scale”
Iprova pioneers AI-driven invention, turning real-time market and technology signals into high-value, patent-protected inventions, with 1,500+ inventions delivered for clients worldwide.
15h30 Presentation from Vincent Nassar, CEO of IntoFlow “Beyond the Tools: Leading Responsible AI Adoption in R&D”
IntoFlow supports organizations in turning AI ambitions into responsible, aligned and measurable organizational transformation. Through its SAIL™ methodology and Navigator™ governance framework, IntoFlow helps leaders assess readiness, engage teams and guide AI adoption over time.
15h50 2 workshops (30min each) led by Iprova and IntoFlow
1. IntoFlow workshop – Is Your Organization Ready to Make AI-Enabled Decisions in R&D?
Using IntoFlow’s AI-era decision maturity diagnostic, participants will assess their organization across three dimensions:
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- Strategic Alignment & Decision Accountability
- Human-Centred Leadership & Inclusion
- Responsible Governance
Participants will leave with a clearly identified maturity gap and one concrete action to strengthen AI-related decision-making in their R&D activities.
2. Iprova workshop – details will come.
16h50 Workshop wrap-up and conclusion
17h15 Networking aperitif and/or visit
Presentation of the speakers
For Stéphane Fallet, innovation is about what people and organizations can become when technology amplifies them. He is President of AI Swiss, where he connects science, policymakers, and industry to promote AI that strengthens human potential. As Partner at Embiggen X, he helps organizations automate what slows them down and strengthen what makes them valuable, while ensuring full data privacy compliance.
Adrien Marcone is European and Swiss Patent Attorney at P&TS. He holds a PhD in theoretical mathematics from the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne. He is mainly active in the field of software, AI/ML, IoT, blockchain but also in mechanics and watches.
Ana Isabel Gonzalez, Head of R&D Open Innovation at Philip Morris International. She has been with PMI for more than nine years and has a strong scientific background with a Ph.D. in Molecular Physics from Freie Universität Berlin.
Yiorgos Mavromatis leads Open Innovation within New Business Commercial Ecosystems at Philip Morris International (PMI), where he is building the company’s open innovation capability and unlocking upstream innovation across Product Development and Operations. Prior to joining PMI, Yiorgos spent several years at Procter & Gamble in commercial and strategy roles before becoming an Associate Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Consumer Practice in Geneva. At McKinsey, he advised leading global consumer goods companies on strategy, growth, innovation, and transformation. Yiorgos holds an MBA from IMD Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University.
Nicolas Souvlakis, Managing Partner, Embiggen X . Nicolas spent 35 years in the industry, 28 years at Philip Morris International in 4 different countries and 13 different positions in engineering, production, supply chain and strategic planning. He was Director of factories with 500 to 2000+ employees and VP Operations at Philip Morris HQ in charge of global engineering and manufacturing digital transformation. Now, he is Managing Partner Embiggen Europe SA, European subsidiary Embiggen X, Singapore.
Bertil Chapuis, is a professor at HEIG-VD, where he helps teams learn, experiment, design and build software, infrastructure and systems in the age of artificial intelligence. He is also associated with the IICT – Institute for Information and Communication Technologies at HEIG-VD, and is responsible for the thematic competence group in software engineering. Bertil holds a PhD in Information Systems from the University of Lausanne.
Houssem Ben Salem is R&D Manager at Sylvac, where he leads the development of precision measurement machines. With more than a decade of experience in applied optics, machine vision and industrial automation, he focuses on making machines more intelligent, autonomous and intuitive to use. Since 2023, he has been deeply invested in artificial intelligence, with a recent focus on the harness and application layer of agentic AI to transform emerging technologies into practical industrial solutions.
Before starting Iprova, Julian Nolan was Vice President of Licensing for Honeywell, heading up the company’s licensing business in Europe. Formerly, he worked at the Central Research Laboratories (CRL) of EMI Music in London in the role of Business Development Director of the Digital Signal Processing group. During Julian’s time with the company, CRL listed on the London Stock Exchange as Scipher plc. Julian holds a first degree in Electronic Engineering and postgraduate degrees in subjects which include Artificial Neural Networks. He is a graduate of both Cambridge University and the University of Essex and has over 200 granted and pending patent filings.
Vincent Nassar, PhD from the EPFL, is the CEO and Co-founder of IntoFlow and a lecturer in leadership, innovation and corporate strategy. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across academia, entrepreneurship and organizational transformation, he helps leadership teams adopt AI responsibly, align people around strategic priorities and translate technological potential into measurable performance.
Logistical informations
Date
Tuesday
1st September 2026
13h00
Location
Parking
Some parkplaces are available on site.
In case the parking is full, the big parking Le Forum is available, 5min walk
Conditions of entry
This event is limited to 40 people.
The event will be in English, with the visit in English and/or German and French, depending on the attendees.
Registration
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