Max Lemke
Dr. Max Lemke, Head of Unit for Internet of Things in Directorate General CONNECT of the European Commission, is responsible for programmes under Horizon 2020 on the digital transformation of key industrial sectors, including in particular agri-food, smart energy, e-health & care, and smart cities and communities. He is as well engaged in the preparation of the new programmes under the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework 2021 – 27 (Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, etc.), in particular in areas such as smart IoT, edge computing, digital transformation of industry. In addition he is responsible for CONNECT’s input to the regulatory framework on liability and safety, in particular the update of the product liability directive for emerging digital technologies. In his previous jobs in the Commission, Max Lemke had a leading role in developing and coordinating the Digitising European Industry strategy and was involved in developing the European Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. Here Dr Lemke was responsible for the areas embedded and cyber-physical systems, advanced computing, and ICT for manufacturing. He was co-responsible in CONNECT for the Joint Technology Initiative ECSEL (Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership) and the Public Private Partnership Factories of the Future. In the latter context he has gradually built the initiatives I4MS (ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs) and Smart Anything Everywhere. He is particularly devoted to establishing a pan-European network of digital innovation hubs and to strengthening European leadership on digital industrial value chains and platforms.
In the first half of 2020, Max was a European Union Fellow and visiting scholar at Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies of University of Washington in Seattle. He has conducted a study on “The digital industrial ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest and its stimulation through industrial policies and innovation programmes” and taught as a guest professor a course on “Geopolitics of innovation”.
Before joining the Commission in 1995, Max has worked in research and industry in Germany, the US, and the UK. With a Diploma in Mathematics and Computer Science and a Doctorate in Natural Sciences, he has a scientific background in numerical mathematics, high performance computing, and software engineering.