Simon Mokorel is a university graduate engineer in mechanical engineering with a focus on cybernetics, automation, and robotics, bringing over 30 years of experience in Creative industries and Industry 4.0 technologies. He applies his knowledge and extensive work experience in the development of new products and services. Collaborating with various companies and research centers across Europe, he has gained expertise in digital technologies, particularly in data capture, data exchange among heterogeneous systems, and technology fusions. He combines expertise in IoT (Internet of Things), analytics, cloud services, and user demand development to create new products, services, and business models, encouraging a mindset shift to adapt to social and technological changes.
Simon educates diverse target groups in methodologies such as “Business Model,” “Digital Transformation,” and “Art & Design Thinking.” He is a co-author of the regional business development environment FLAPAX for smart cities and communities. Additionally, he contributed to the concept and paradigm of Tourism 4.0, a major research and development project in the Slovenian tourism sector, involving the development of a new product using Industry 4.0 technology. Simon was co-led the Horizon project Energy Forecasting and participated in various European and national research and development projects. Over the past decade, he has dedicated himself to the development of complex ecosystems in collaboration with businesses, science, and creative industries. He is also a co-author of X Center, a creative industries center in Nova Gorica.
As an external collaborator, Simon was part of the core team that applied for the project “Nova Gorica European Capital of Culture 2025.” In recent years, he worked in the development office of the City Municipality of Nova Gorica and currently serves as the Head of Development at the Regional Development Agency of North Primorska. In leadership and partnership roles, he is involved in projects such as EPK District, digitalization of public services, the development of business and economic zones in the Goriška region, coordinating the establishment of the University Campus UNG, the creation of the Center for Green Technologies, and the implementation of Sustainable Urban Strategy and Regional Development Plan 2022-2027.