REPORT
By Prof. Dr. Brane Semolič
and
Luka Semolič, M.Sc. Eng
INTESO Group / LENS Living Lab®
Celje, Slovenia
Report with messages of this year’s KM FEST titled:
“Challenges and Good Practices of Digitalization”
ZOOM, 19–20 November 2025
Executive Summary
This report provides an overview of the two-day Knowledge Management Festival’s Workshops, focusing on the dynamics of digital transformation, collaborative hybrid workplaces (CHWs), and innovation ecosystems. The workshop highlighted that technology alone is insufficient—successful digitalization requires human-centered strategies, trust-based leadership, ethical AI adoption, and structured collaboration between industry, academia, and government.
Across both days of workshops, participants explored the challenges of digital collaboration, identified promising emerging practices, and reflected on what future-ready workplaces must look like. Central insights show that digital maturity, leadership capacity, and cross-sector partnerships will define the next decade of successful knowledge management.
- Introduction
The KM FEST’25 workshops brought together global experts, researchers, practitioners, and innovators, creating a multidisciplinary environment to examine how digital transformation reshapes knowledge management. With CHWs becoming the norm and AI advancing rapidly, organizations must rethink how they share knowledge, collaborate, and build sustainable digital ecosystems.
The workshops provided theoretical frameworks, real-world case studies, and interactive group discussions, giving participants…
More…
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How to cite this report: Semolic, B. and Semolic, L. (2025). KM FEST’54 Final Report, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue XII, December. Available online at: https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/pmwj159-Dec2025-Semolic-KM-FEST-2025-Final-Report.pdf
About the Authors
Prof Dr Brane Semolič
Founder and Head of LENS Living Lab
International living laboratory
Celje, Slovenia
Brane Semolič studied mechanical engineering, engineering economics, and informatics; he holds a scientific master’s degree and doctorate in business informatics. His focus of professional interest is industrial and system engineering, innovation and technology management, virtual organizations and systems, project and knowledge management. He has 40 years of working experiences in different industries (industrial engineering, IT, chemicals, household appliances, government, and education), as an expert, researcher, manager, entrepreneur, counselor to the Slovenian government and professor. He operates as head of the open research and innovation organization LENS Living Lab. LENS Living Lab is an international industry-driven virtual living laboratory. He is acting as initiator and coordinator of various research and innovation collaboration platforms, programs and projects for the needs of different industries (ICT, robotics, laser additive manufacturing, logistics, education). He was co-founder and the first director of the TCS – Toolmakers Cluster of Slovenia (EU automotive industry suppliers). Since 2004 he is serving as the president of the TCS council of experts. Besides this, he is operating as a part-time professor at the Cranefield College.
He was head of project and information systems laboratory at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Head of the Project & Technology Management Institute at the Faculty of Logistics, University of Maribor and professor of project and technology management at the graduate and postgraduate level. He acted as a trainer at the International »European Project Manager« post-graduated program, organized jointly by the University of Bremen.
He was the co-founder and president of the Project Management Association of Slovenia (ZPM), vice president of IPMA (International Project Management Association), chairman of the IPMA Research Management Board (2005-2012), and technical vice-chairman of ICEC (International Cost Engineering Council). He actively participated in the development of the IPMA 4-level project managers’ certification program. He introduced and was the first director of the IPMA certification program in Slovenia. He has been serving as the assessor in this certification program since 1997. He performed as assessor in the IPMA International PM Excellence Award Program in China, India, and Slovenia.
Brane is a registered assessor for the accreditation of education programs and education organizations by the EU-Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. He was a Member of Strategic Advisory Board of European Competitiveness and Innovation, as well as the president of the Slovenian Chamber of Business Services. Brane received the award as ICEC Distinguished International Fellow in 2008. He received the »Silver Sign« for his achievements in research, education, and collaboration with the industry from the University of Maribor in 2015.
Professor Semolič is also an academic advisor for the PM World Journal. He can be contacted at brane.semolic@3-lab.eu. Additional information about the LENS Living Lab can be found at http://www.3-lab.eu/.
Mag. Luka Semolič
INTESO Group, CTO, KOMPAS Ltd
Celje, Slovenia
Luka Semolič is Co-founder and director of the INTESO Group, CTO, KOMPAS Ltd. and Coordinator of the LENS Living Lab Digital Ecosystem, Celje, EU-Slovenia. Luka holds BSc. and MSc. in computer science. He is specialized in cloud computing services and hybrid communication technologies with applications for clients from different industrial sectors (automotive, logistics, manufacturing, trade, education and R&D). He started as techno-entrepreneur and a software developer during his time at the university (since 2007) and established his first company in 2012.
During his studies he already participated and helped with the technical support of organizing virtual project schools for family’s company INOVA Consulting. He also helped with other projects and event organization, regarding the LENS Living Lab virtual laboratory, where he contributed with his innovative ICT services and knowledge.
With his involvement in the family business, he also started working on a project for the virtual collaboration environment in 2009. In 2013 the project received an award from Slovenian Logistic Association (SLA) as a R&D project of the year. In 2014 he established a joint venture company, which provided hybrid technology solutions in critical communication organizations such as firefighters, police departments, highway maintenance companies, and other virtual and spatial distributed operations.
Luka is currently the director and coordinator of the INTESO Group partnering organization, the enabler and coordinator of the LENS Living Lab virtual living laboratory digital ecosystem, its partnering Competence Center ROBOFLEX, and the related Digital Innovation Hub.
He has been an expert and a project coordinator in various regional and international industry partnering research-innovation programs and projects. He participated in various online schools and events where he acquired additional knowledge in the field of project, program and technology management.
He can be contacted at luka.semolic@gmail.com or 🌐 linkedin.com/in/lukasemolic | 💻 intesosolutions.com
