The 79th IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference on Welding and Joining will take place in Salzburg, Austria, from 12^th to 17^th of July 2026, offering a full week of technical discussions and knowledge exchange across the international welding and joining community, with contributions from research, education and industry. The programme combines the Technical Program, running from 13^th to 16^th of July, the Symposium on “Scalable and Applicable AI Empowered Advancements” on the 16^th of July, and the International Conference on “Metal Additive Manufacturing - Materials, Processes and Component Performance” on the 17^th of July, creating a broad platform for discussions ranging from technical commissions to advanced manufacturing, AI and training-related topics.

Within this context, EWF will also bring the results of several European initiatives into the international discussion. Across different parts of the event, these contributions will highlight how current initiatives are addressing industrial change through new competence frameworks, innovative learning approaches and more advanced manufacturing solutions.

Within the Technical Commission XIV on Education and Training, a first contribution will focus on how innovative training resources can support the modernisation of welding education. Bringing together perspectives from Skills4EII, INSPIRE and VR-VET, this work explores the value of digital platforms, industry-driven content and immersive learning environments in improving accessibility, learner engagement and alignment with evolving competence needs. A second contribution, drawing on GREEN, RAISE and AILEEN, will address the strategic role of trainers in supporting quality, sustainability and resilience in vocational education and training, with attention to professional development, transnational exchange and the broader conditions needed for a future-ready teaching body. In parallel, within Commission XVI on Polymer Joining and Adhesive Technology, ICARUS will contribute to the discussion through its work on green skills promotion in the field of adhesive bonding applications, showing how sustainability can be embedded more directly into vocational education for bonding professionals through eco-design principles, life cycle assessment and digital learning tools.

The International Conference will provide a further platform for project dissemination through papers connected to DILAPRO and GREEN. In the case of DILAPRO, the focus will be on the integration of digital twins, in-situ monitoring and data-driven certification approaches to strengthen quality assurance and accelerate industrial adoption in laser-based manufacturing. The GREEN contribution will bring forward the role of trainers as key enablers of greener manufacturing systems, emphasising how sustainability competences can be embedded more systematically into education and qualification frameworks and then transferred into industrial practice. Together, these contributions reflect growing attention to both technological innovation and the human capacities needed to support the green and digital transitions in manufacturing.

EWF’s contribution will culminate in a presentation at the Symposium on AI-empowered advancements, where Skills4EII and grAceful AM will contribute through a joint paper on skills gaps in Industry 5.0. This work connects AI-supported skills intelligence for energy-intensive industries with the specialised inspection and certification needs of additive manufacturing, arguing for more future-oriented and human-centred competence frameworks. By linking digitalisation, sustainability, advanced manufacturing and AI-supported training, the paper shows how project results can inform broader discussions on workforce preparedness in increasingly data-driven industrial environments.

Taken together, these contributions showcase the cutting-edge technical expertise EWF brings to IIW 2026. This extensive body of work is the direct result of a systematic, collaborative effort across international partnerships that actively bridge the gap between advanced education, scientific research and industrial application. From digital and immersive learning to sustainability-oriented vocational education - and spanning adhesive joining, welding training, additive manufacturing inspection and laser-based quality assurance - EWF’s presence adds significant value to the event, ensuring it serves not only as a technical meeting point, but also as a driver for modern skills, industrial transformation, and cross-sector innovation.