Nabil Anwer is a Professor at University Paris-Saclay, Deputy Director of the the Automated Production Research Laboratory (LURPA) at École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay. and newly elected Chairman of the Scientific Technical Committee on Design (STC Dn) of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP). He also coordinates the digital twin research program at IRT SystemX in France.His research focuses on digital twin engineering for products and production systems, with expertise in verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification, integrated product-process development, tolerancing and dimensional metrology. He is a Fellow of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP), Fellow of the International Academy of Engineering and Technology (AET), member of the International Digital Twin Advisory Committee (DTIAC), and member of the Digital Twin Standards Committee of France (AFNOR/CNJN). He serves as Associate Editor for the journals Digital Twin and Digital Engineering. Digital twins (DTs) are reshaping the landscape of production engineering, offering a dynamic, data-rich bridge between physical assets and their virtual counterparts throughout the product lifecycle. This keynote, reflecting the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) perspective, will explore the evolution, foundational concepts, and state-of-the-art methodologies that underpin digital twin development and deployment in manufacturing and engineering design. The presentation will clarify the fundamental building blocks and architectures of DTs, such as the integration of accurate digital models, robust data flows, and synchronous interaction with physical entities. Emphasis will be placed on the rapidly growing ecosystem of DT software platforms, tools, and standards and their critical impact on interoperability and lifecycle integration. The keynote will also address open challenges, including standardization gaps, fidelity of virtual representations, and managing data complexity. With insights drawn from CIRP research and practical implementations, future research directions will be addressed, demonstrating how CIRP and the international community are contributing to the development and adoption of the digital twin paradigm in engineering design.