On the morning of October 31, Professor Bert Sadowski of Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, gave a special lecture on artificial intelligence and the servitization of manufacturing to faculty and students in Conference Room 1301 at the School of Finance and Economics.

Professor Bert Sadowski systematically explained the economic logic of how artificial intelligence drives manufacturing’s shift from “selling products” to “selling services”. His presentation covered benchmark comparisons of innovation across China, the United States and the Netherlands, the definition of servitization and the product-service continuum, two development paths identified from seven firms, the analytical framework and six research propositions for AI-enabled servitization, as well as potential risks of this model. He illustrated his points with European and Chinese enterprise cases including Siemens, ASML and Philips. A 15-minute interactive quiz was also arranged during the session to deepen students’ understanding.

Professor Bert Sadowski is a faculty member at the School of Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), the Netherlands. He obtained his doctorate from the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex, UK. He has previously worked at renowned universities and research institutions including Delft University of Technology.He has led six national-level research projects funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), the United Nations, and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research interests cover the socio-economic impacts of technological change, cross-border technology investment, and AI-enabled upgrading of teaching and research. He has published papers in top international journals such as Journal of Management Studies, Journal of International Business Studies and Research Policy.