The International University of Sarajevo (IUS) hosted the opening day of the 26th International Symposium for Production Research (ISPR 2026), which took place on October 15–17, 2026. The symposium brought together participants from universities, research institutions and industry around the world, with in-person and online participation on the first day and online presentation sessions on the following two days.
Held in partnership with the International University of Sarajevo, Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) and the Society for Production Research (Üretim Araştırmaları Derneği), the symposium featured 104 presentations. The program provided opportunities to share research, explore technological developments and discuss challenges facing production and manufacturing.
Artificial intelligence, digital transformation and resilient manufacturing were prominent themes in the keynote program. Prof. Dr. Ajmal Saeed Mian of the University of Western Australia delivered the first keynote, “Generating Complete 3D Scenes from Hand-Drawn Sketches,” presenting research at the intersection of AI and 3D scene generation.
The second keynote, “Digital Transformation and AI in Manufacturing: Challenges and the Imperative of Resilient Manufacturing,” was delivered by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Benjamin Draković of IUS. His presentation addressed the challenges of technological change and the importance of resilience in manufacturing.
The symposium opened with addresses by Prof. Dr. Numan Durakbaşa of Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) and IUS Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Osman Kuşakcı.
Alongside the keynote presentations, the program offered a broad range of research contributions. Among them was “Virtual Laboratory Tour in the Industry 4.0 Pilot Factory at TU Wien,” presented by Erzen Nasufi, which introduced participants to the laboratory through a virtual tour.
The international scope of the symposium was reflected in the institutions represented. Participants included representatives from the University of Western Australia, the University of Birmingham, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Iowa, Oklahoma State University, the University of Dayton, the University of Strathclyde, TU Wien and Istanbul Technical University, among many others.
Universities and organizations from Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Romania, Oman and Russia also contributed to the program. Research and industry participants included TÜBİTAK, the Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency, ETCOP Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, Rinspeed AG and the Trendyol Kocaeli R&D Centre. This combination of academic and industry perspectives created opportunities to exchange knowledge across disciplines and professional settings.
Hosting ISPR 2026 brought international production research to the IUS campus and supported dialogue on the technologies and approaches shaping manufacturing. IUS extends its sincere thanks to all participants for their contributions and looks forward to the next edition, ISPR 2027.
The symposium program and further information are available at: The 26th International Symposium for Production Research (ISPR 2026).
