Integrating the 4th Industrial Revolution in a Developing Country, a Study of Iran and its STP Ecosystem

Industrial Revolution, essentially, is a period in which machines bring significant changes to the people's way of life especially in the area of manufacturing. The Fourth Revolution builds upon the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is said to be characterized by a fusion of technologies that is obscuring the barriers between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. Industry 4.0 induces sustainable production as it is primarily driven by a fusion of once separate technologies that when joined together are integrating the physical and digital worlds. The scope of this impact initially and most importantly applies to technologies of the manufacturing sectors and industries, whilst profoundly transforming our economies and societies. The revolution is far from surprising. Megatrends are shaping the future and the manufacturing sector is of no exception. Industry 4.0 will enable manufacturers to improve efficiencies whilst reducing costs. In today’s fast moving global markets, Manufacturers need to respond quickly to changing demands and maximize new market opportunities. Considering all economic indicators, we are in an era of significant convergence, where information technology, operational technology, and global megatrends are on a collision course. This will certainly drive changes in how we as the STP and AOI community do business and how we interact with resident SMEs, R&D units, or K-based companies’. Today, it is no longer enough for the manufacturing industry to make “new” or “better” things relying solely on R&D and the innovative process of creating innovative products and service that will meet customer need. This line of business is now also in a race to win at running better operations as to facilitate design engineering, service planning and execution as well as management and production processes. With our business environment changing so rapidly, it is questioned what can STPs and AOIs do as the link between academia and the manufacturing sector?! Also the question of “how will developing countries such as Iran, adjust to these sudden changes” are raised. This study will try to understand if it is possible for Iran to adopt Industry 4.0 with its current infrastructures, economy, and policies and to investigate and analyze how far Iran is from implementing this kind of modern technological change with its present production process, science and technology capabilities and policies, and to analyze the possible impacts that implementing Industry 4.0 could have on the labor market in developing countries in general and specifically in Iran. For this purpose the characteristics of change that comes with and are influencing Industry 4.0 present activities are examined, the opportunities and challenges of convergence of the present day production process in Iran with that of Industry 4.0 is identified and the role to which STPs and the science and technology ecosystem of Iran are playing in taking advantage of the opportunities and reducing these challenges are presented.