Press Release October 2026
Here is the press release as PDF: IC Press release Keynote Speech in India
Dear IC members,
The vice chairman of the International Circle, Dr Anastasios Politis, participated as a keynote speaker at the highly ranked international conference on “AI and Robotics: Revolutionizing Printing & Packaging”, an event organised by the Offset Printers Association (OPA) and the Department of Printing at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology (GJUS&T) in Hisar, Haryana, India, which took place between 24 and 26 September 2026.
The Offset Printers Association (OPA) conceptualized and initiated this three-day international conference, which was organized in association with the Department of Printing Technology, GJUST. The event was conceived under the vision and leadership of Prof. Kamal Mohan Chopra. It brought together academicians, industry leaders, printing professionals, technologists, researchers and students from India and abroad. The conference examined the manner in which the convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, intelligent automation, machine vision, data analytics and sustainable manufacturing is transforming the traditional printing and packaging ecosystem.
A. Politis (Greece) was one of six distinguished keynote speakers, including Prof. Dr Rajendrakumar Anayath (India), K. G. Suresh (India), Erwin Driewer (Canada), Prof. Dr Aran Hansuebsai (Thailand), and Alexandra Vergopoulou (Greece). Specifically, the conference explored a range of perspectives on technological innovation, intelligent manufacturing, quality assurance, business transformation, education, human capital development (HCD), and India’s technological priorities.
Anastasios Politis, alongside with Ms Alexandra Vergopoulou, an exceptionally talented young researcher from Greece, delivered two keynote presentations. These presentations focused on the impact and implications of the emergence and adoption of innovative concepts such as artificial intelligence (AI), Industry 4.0/5.0, digital transformation and sustainability. The presentations explored the harmonious integration of these elements in the printing and packaging industry. A substantial proportion of the presentations under consideration focused on the impact on human capital in the Printing/Graphic Communication and Packaging sectors.
Furthermore, Anastasios Politis, participated at the international panel of judges responsible for selecting and announcing the winner of the 7th ‘Print Olympiad’, which is organized for printing students from the Universities of Printing and Graphic Arts in India. The panel of jury included Mr. Erwin Driever (Canada), K. G. Suresh (India), Prof. Dr Aran Hansuebsai (Thailand) and Alexandra Vergopoulou (Greece).
A total of 348 undergraduate and postgraduate students from ten printing departments participated in the competition, with four finalists and one winner ultimately being selected by the judges. The great success of the “Printing Olympics” in India is worth noting. This initiative, which has been envisioned for years, has been consistently implemented by Professor Kamal Mohan Chopra (Offset Printers Association), who is a leading figure and key player in the printing industry and research, not only in India, but internationally too.
The conference in Hisar emerged as a meeting point between the remarkable past of printing, its rapidly changing present and the intelligent future of the global printing and packaging industry. It also provided a valuable platform for presenting the International Circle and the next conference in Toronto as well as the opportunity to gain new members from the very important Asia – Pacific region.
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of the IC Board.
The Chairman of the IC, Dr. Charles T. Weiss: ctweiss@clemson.edu
The Vice Chairman of the IC, Prof. Dr. Anastasios Politis, politismedia@gmail.com
The Vice Chairman of the IC, Enn Kerner, enn@trykitehno.eu
The Vice Chairman of the IC, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gunter Huebner, huebner@hdm-stuttgart.de