Theme: Beyond the Horizon | 19–22 October 2026
Monday, 19 October – Opening Day: Beyond the Horizon
The conference opens with a welcome address, followed by the morning keynote, “Reflections on Horizons” by Dr. Susan Adendorff, setting the tone for the conference. Delegates then attend parallel sessions covering project management, supply chains, maintenance, digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
The afternoon keynote, “Beyond the Horizon – The Fintech Arrival Center” by Dr. Pali Lehohla, explores the fintech landscape and its relevance to the conference theme. The programme also includes student winner presentations and an industry showcase.
The day concludes with an evening cocktail function at Maharani Sky, providing delegates with an opportunity to network and connect informally.
Tuesday, 20 October – Workshops, Economic Insights and Research
The morning is dedicated to three interactive workshops:
Schalk Grobbelaar: Industrial Engineering as South Africa’s Robin Hood: Designing “Capability Systems” that Reduce Inequality Without Reliance on Government Implementation.
Hugo Pienaar: The IE’s Guide to the AI Galaxy.
Khumbulani Mpofu: Navigating the VUCA World through a Gamified Learning Approach.
The keynote speaker, Annabel Bishop, presents “Economic Review and Preview”, offering economic perspectives relevant to industrial engineering and business decision-making.
The afternoon features parallel sessions on AI and digital technologies, process improvement, education, sustainability, energy and supply chain management. An industry showcase and surprise presentation by the The Astronomical Society of Southern Africa Durban Centre round off the afternoon programme.
The day concludes with the Poster Session and Cocktails, where delegates engaged with researchers, discussed innovative projects and network with fellow professionals. Delegates were subsequently treated to a captivating stargazing experience, observing the Moon, Saturn, and distant stars through telescopes.
Wednesday, 21 October – Career Development, Innovation and Celebration
The morning begins with three practical workshops:
Howard Diesel and Estie Boshoff: Know Your Value: Understanding Impact, Contribution, and Career Direction Beyond the Horizon.
Roald Wagener and Jacques Fauré: Forecast-Driven Planning is Dead: Designing Flow-Stable Supply Chains with DDMRP.
Cecil Lourens: Fix the City! Municipal Infrastructure Project Simulation.
The keynote address, “The Cosmic Horizon: Engineering Africa’s Story in Space” by Ramasamy Venugopal, highlights the possibilities and future of engineering in Africa’s space sector.
The afternoon includes further parallel session presentations, an industry showcase and a panel discussion featuring Khumbulani Mpofu, Robin Chetty and Monde Gqoli followed by the official conference closure.
The conference culminates in the Gala Dinner at Greyville Racecourse, offering delegates an opportunity to celebrate the conference, strengthen professional relationships and reflect on the insights and connections gained over the three days. The gala dinner also provided an opportunity to recognise the following delegates, each of whom received a SAIIE36 Award:
- SAIIE36 Award for Best Parallel Session Presenter - Leonize Meiring
- SAIIE36 Award for Best Poster - Derryn Wenhold & Thishen Naicker for their paper "Bridging the Gap Between Concept and Implementation: Using AI-Enabled Rapid Prototyping to Improve Requirements Analysis in Digital System Design"
- SAIIE36 Award for Best Paper published in the Proceedings - Ramasela Lydia Mokoele & Morteza Bagherpour for their paper "Modelling and Forecasting Coal Prices Using Time Series Analysis and Machine Learning: A Case Study in the Mining Industry"
- SAIIE36 Award for Best Reviewer - Schalk Grobbelaar
- SAIIE36 Award for Best Photo - Alice Chan
- SAIIE36 Award for Best Whova Driver - Ferdinand Hassan
Thursday, 22 October – Industry Visit
The final day provides delegates with a practical industry experience through a visit to AIH Logistics who assembles the Mahindra Pick-Up Bakkie.
Focus: Connecting industrial engineering theory with real-world industrial operations and giving delegates an opportunity to gain practical insight into industry practices.
Click on the above link for the photos, keynote addresses, panel discussion and overview short videos of yet another memorable SAIIE conference.
