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Outreach

Industry really can be "extraordinaire"

18 Nov 2019 - Tomomi Yokoyama
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." This quote, attributed to the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, could have been the perfect slogan of this weekend's Extraordinary Factories (L'Usine Extraordinaire) event in Marseille. ITER was there.
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Presentations, videos, mockups, demonstrations, virtual reality, knowledgeable volunteers ... everything was in place at the ITER stand to transmit enthusiasm about how ITER science is pushing industry to ever greater levels of innovation and accomplishment.
Today, the industries that drove the industrial revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries are reinventing themselves to keep pace with the world of innovation and ever-evolving technologies.

L'Usine Extraordinaire, a major exhibit that took place from 14 to 16 November in Marseille, France, offered members of the general public the opportunity to encounter close to 80 industry actors in just a few hours, each of them showcasing the ways in which "big industry" is a source of innovation ... and exciting careers.

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Inaugurated by Bruno Le Maire (French Minister of Economy and Finance) and Bernard Bigot (ITER Director-General and L'Usine Extraordinaire president), the three-day event attracted over 20,000 people. © F. Moura / L'Usine Extraordinaire Marseille 2019
Digitalization, the internet, big data, virtual reality ... these techniques are already revolutionizing production. A fourth industrial revolution is underway, and Industry 4.0 will require new resources to take on the jobs of the future. By showing that factories of today are nothing like factories of the past, the three-day L'Usine Extraordinaire event aimed its messaging at middle and high school students—the employees of the future—with hands-on displays, robotics, connectivity, simulations, mockups, conferences and videos all designed to stimulate interest in the wide variety of careers made possible by industry.

At the ITER stand, a constant stream of visitors was welcomed by volunteer guides from the ITER Organization as well as representatives from three French companies with large contracts at ITER: CNIM, Daher and Air Liquide.

All eyes riveted to the screen: the small theatre integrated into the ITER stand was a popular stop for families. Who knew that the largest construction and engineering project in France was just 60 kilometres up the road?
Making industry and innovation attractive to the youngest members of society: this was the successful wager of L'Usine Extraordinaire 2.0. The ITER Organization participated alongside Airbus Industries, Marseille-Fos port, French electrical utility EDF, STMicroelectronics, ArcelorMittal and many others.
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