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IT/OT Academy

A live cohort course for engineers and leaders bridging the IT/OT divide — with David Ariens, Co-founder, IT/OT Insider & IT/OT Academy.

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About this partner

Learning from David Ariens

David Ariens and Willem van Lammeren, IT/OT Academy trainers, at Hannover Messe
David Ariens & Willem van Lammeren — your IT/OT Academy trainers (pictured at Hannover Messe). Both run the course.

We’ve all been talking about Industry 4.0 for over a decade, but the dirty secret is: we still don’t know how to scale beyond those first two flashy pilots, let alone cooperate between IT and OT. The IT/OT Academy was created in 2025 for exactly this moment — a live online course, built by practitioners, for practitioners, already followed by 100 students in its first year. The next cohort kicks off September 18, rebuilt on four rounds of feedback: theory moved to pre-recorded videos so live time goes entirely to deep-dives, Q&A, real-world examples, networking and peer knowledge-sharing. New live architectural-typicals mapping session, plus every participant gets a complimentary 1-hour private session with David. Short, to the point, and brutally real.

What you'll take away

Enrol in the Cohort

Take the Course. Bridge the Gap.

Ready to go beyond the podcast? IT/OT Academy is a live online course created in 2025, built by practitioners for practitioners — 100 students in year one. Cohort-based training for engineers and leaders navigating real industrial digitalisation challenges. Not vendor content. Not theory. Short, to the point and brutally real.

Next cohort rebuilt over four rounds of feedback: theory moved to pre-recorded videos so live time is deep-dives, Q&A, real-world examples, and networking. New live architectural-typicals mapping session. Every participant gets a complimentary 1-hour private session with David Ariens.

Early Bird — Limited Window

€995 / $1,160

per seat · VAT-exclusive

Regular

€1,390 / $1,585

per seat · VAT-exclusive

All prices VAT-exclusive. Prices mirror IT/OT Academy’s published pricing (itot.academy). Save up to €395 per seat — early-bird pricing is available for a limited time. Secure your seat before the window closes.

Your Unplugged Community Discount — 5% off

Industry Unplugged listeners get 5% off enrolment with the exclusive code:

UNPLUGGEDIIOT
  1. Click the enrolment link below
  2. Select your session
  3. Enter UNPLUGGEDIIOT at checkout to apply your 5% listener discount

This code is exclusive to the Industry Unplugged community. Discount applies to the seat price at checkout.

The Programme — Module Breakdown

Five live sessions plus a complimentary 1:1 — every hour of live time is focused on application, not theory.

# Module Live What you cover
1 Understand + Cooperate 2h IT vs OT worldviews, the divergence trap, the CIO–COO disconnect, engineering IT/OT cooperation
2 Data Platform Architectures 2h Data modelling, Unified Namespace, historian vs broker, time-series vs events, scaling blockers
3 Architectural Typicals 2h Interactive drawing of architectural typicals per industry; pulling apart vendor diagrams via a capability map
4 Sweet Harmony Treats 3h Industrial-bakery playground; students digitise operations in both IT and OT roles; 2h group work + 1h feedback
5 Practitioner Panel + Q&A 2h Industry leaders on real-world application, DataOps on the floor; access to all previous panels
+ Ask David Anything 1h On-demand 1:1 private session — your questions, your situation, no agenda

Sending your team?

Group pricing is available from IT/OT Academy:

Pack Seats included
3-seat pack3 paid + 1 free
6-seat pack6 paid + 2 free
9-seat pack9 paid + 3 free
13+ seatsCustom — contact us
Enquire for group pricing →
Enrol in September Cohort →

Cohort sessions run 10:00 PM–midnight AEST (14:00–16:00 CET / 08:00–10:00 EST) — Sept 18, 25, Oct 2, 9, 16. Use code UNPLUGGEDIIOT at checkout for your 5% listener discount.

Can’t make 10pm AEST? We hear you.

David is considering a future APAC-friendly cohort if there is enough interest. Register your interest — if 10 or more Unplugged listeners sign up, we’ll work with David to schedule a timezone-friendly run.

Join the APAC Waitlist →

September 2026 Cohort

  • Sessions: September 18, 25 — October 2, 9, 16 (5 live sessions)
  • Session time: 14:00–16:00 CET  |  08:00–10:00 EST  |  22:00–00:00 AEST
  • Format: Cohort-based — live sessions + pre-recorded prep + 1:1 private session
  • Bonus: 1-hour private “Ask David Anything” session included
  • Early-bird price: €995 / $1,160 per seat (VAT-excl)
  • Regular price: €1,390 / $1,585 per seat (VAT-excl)
  • Your discount: use code UNPLUGGEDIIOT at checkout — 5% off
Featured on Unplugged

Hear David Ariens on the podcast

Episode 39: Overcoming IT and OT Silos: Proven Approaches for Success

Listen to Episode 39 →