In 2013, we organized the first FlexSimposiumPL. In 2026, we will meet for the fifth edition of the InterMarium Simulation Conference. The name, scale, and format of the event have changed over the years, but the idea has remained the same—to bring together business, academia, and people who use process simulation to solve real-world problems.
That is why this year’s conference holds special significance for us. Looking back at the history of FlexSimposiumPL and the ISC, on September 24, 2026, we will host our tenth major conference dedicated to process simulation.
2013
From the very beginning, business and science have gone hand in hand
The first FlexSimposiumPL took place at the Faculty of Management of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. Even then, we knew we didn’t want to create an event aimed exclusively at a single group. From the very first edition, representatives from academia, the business world, and practitioners using FlexSim gathered around the same table.
The format was based on three elements that remain with us to this day: expert lectures, real-world case studies, and hands-on workshops on simulation modeling.
2014
The First Step Outside Poland
The success of the first edition led us to meet again a year later at the GEOCENTRUM complex at the Wrocław University of Technology. The second edition brought an important change—FlexSimposium began to take on an international character. Participants and experts from outside Poland attended, including Ralf Gruber, a representative of FlexSim.
The first partners also began to join the event. The conference was no longer just a local gathering of users; it was beginning to build a broader community around process simulation.
2015
Europe, the World, and Substantive Issues
The third FlexSimposiumPL was held at the University of Economics in Katowice and confirmed that the chosen direction is working.
An increasing number of guests from Europe and around the world came to Poland. One of the most prominent was Prof. Allen Greenwood from Mississippi State University, a recognized expert in the field of process simulation and author of publications on modeling in FlexSim.
The conference was attended by 74 people representing 30 companies and 14 universities, with participants coming from Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United States, among other countries.
It was during this edition that an idea was strongly emphasized, one that remains relevant today: industry has learned to test products before implementing them, but still too rarely tests processes before changing them.
2016
120 participants and growing visibility
The fourth edition was hosted by the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice.
The event grew in scale once again: 120 participants, 9 lectures, 4 workshops, and 6 groups touring the university’s laboratories.
As the conference grew, the first media partnerships also emerged, thanks to which FlexSimposium began to reach a much wider audience.
We also developed the social aspect of the event. The first Gala was held after the conference, creating an additional space for conversation and networking within the simulation community.
2017
The FlexSimposium with the strongest technical content
The fifth, anniversary edition of FlexSimposiumPL marked the culmination of the conference’s first phase of development. For the first time, the event lasted two days and took place outside the university campus—we gathered at the Rubinstein Hotel in Kraków’s Kazimierz district. It was also the first year of operation for InterMarium, which took over the development of FlexSim and its user community.
The program featured presentations by experts, advanced case studies, and workshops for FlexSim users. The knowledge shared during the event was also expanded upon in book publications, allowing the conference materials to remain relevant long after the event itself had ended. It was the most substantively robust edition of FlexSimposium to date and, at the same time, the moment when we realized that the next step had to mean something more than just a sixth edition in the existing format.
We needed something new
After five editions, it was time for a break.
We were looking for a new format and an idea for a larger-scale event. During that time, we moved offices, developed InterMarium, and prepared new initiatives. The pandemic put those plans on hold.
However, this did not mean that the community’s growth came to a halt. During this period, we created, among other things, the Simulation Ambassador statuette—a symbol of recognition for individuals particularly committed to the development and popularization of simulation.
And then came 2021.
2021
Birth of the InterMarium Simulation Conference
After a break of several years, we wanted to bring together everything we had learned during FlexSimposium and create the event anew. That’s how the InterMarium Simulation Conference—ISC—came to be.
The goal was ambitious: to create Europe’s largest event dedicated to process simulation and a true celebration of the community centered around this technology. The new name also signaled a new scale. From the very beginning, ISC adopted a fully international, English-language format. We included a formal awards ceremony for representatives of the simulation community in the program, and at the same time, we launched the first issue of Simulation Manager—our magazine dedicated to process simulation, Digital Twin, and the practical applications of this technology.
What we had been building over five editions of FlexSimposium began to operate on a much larger scale. The first ISC proved to be a success. That is why we continue to hold it to this day.
2026
5th ISC and Our 10th Conference
Today, ISC is much more than just a single day of presentations. It is an international community bringing together managers, engineers, simulation experts, and representatives from industry, technology, and academia. Case studies showcase real-world applications of Process Simulation and Digital Twin in manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, automation, and process design.
Additional elements have emerged around the conference itself: the International FlexSim Masterclass, training sessions, the EXPO, the Awards Gala, and moderated networking. The scale has changed. The idea has not. Since 2013, we’ve aimed to create a space where people not only discuss the possibilities of simulation but, above all, demonstrate what has actually been achieved through it.
On September 24, we’ll meet again at the Qubus Hotel Kraków. There will be international experts, real-world implementations, Process Simulation, Digital Twin, FlexSim, networking, and more stories from companies that, instead of guessing, have started testing their decisions.
