Working group reports

18 Oct Part II of the book focuses on interdisciplinary evaluation of the development of the contemporary world in the context of globalisation

Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN)
2012
Four dominant processes have shaped the contemporary vision of the world; the first process was the one to change the distribution of power in global economy. The traditional division between the wealthy North and the poor South requires dramatic changes not only in its explanation, but also in what legitimises such a division in the first place, mainly because the so-called emerging markets are gaining importance within global economy. Furthermore, recent changes in global economy have been caused by the mechanisms other than those prevailing two or three decades ago, which since then have been considered as unquestionable paradigms of economic development. Apart from that, the financial sector has grown significantly so as to become the most powerful sector of economy in the last decades. This phenomenon is defined as the appearance of virtual economy, disconnected to a great extent from real economy. Such disconnectedness was the main factor in the last global economic crisis and growing national debts. Last but not least, due to (although not only) information revolution, economy has undergone rapid structural changes in the area of the sector of services, which is becoming the dominant sector in developed countries, both from the perspective of GDP and of employment.
Read More

18 Oct STEM Careers Barometer

Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)
2014
The STEM Careers Barometer is a Swiss study investigating several questions based on the sister study by the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech). Its main objectives are to determine people’s motives for choosing or rejecting studies or a career in the STEM subjects, to gain insights into how students and those employed in STEM areas perceive their study routine or career progression, and to examine whether interest in studying STEM subjects at school has changed over the years. Any divergences from the results of the acatech study Career Barometer for Science and Engineering are also of interest. For this reason the concept and methods used in this study closely followed those of the acatech study. In the STEM Careers Barometer, three groups of people were surveyed in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland in summer 2012 by means of questionnaires. These groups were: school pupils at secondary stages I and II (N = 3,507), students of STEM disciplines, and also for comparison of economic sciences (N = 1,598), and people in employment, again predominantly in STEM areas (N = 945). Generally it can be stated that the results of the Swiss survey align with those of the German study in many areas.
Read More

18 Oct The potential of augmented reality in education

Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)
2015
Im September 2014 trafen sich Fachleute unterschiedlicher Fachbereiche wie Vermittlung, Pädagogik, Technik, Kunst, Design und Kulturwissenschaften zu einem SATW-Workshop, organisiert von der Pädagogischen Hochschule der FHNW. Sie beschäftigten sich mit der Aufgabe, Nutzen und Herausforderungen von Augmented Reality für die Bildung herauszuarbeiten. Als Resultat des Workshops ist diese Broschüre entstanden. Sie informiert darüber, was unter Augmented Reality zu verstehen ist, welche Rolle die Technologie in der schulischen und musealen Vermittlungstätigkeit einnehmen kann, und stellt schliesslich konkrete Umsetzungen aus dem Schul- und Museumsbereich vor, die in der Schweiz realisiert wurden.
Read More

18 Oct Hans Werthén – One of Sweden’s most prominent industrialists

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2015
A pamphlet produced by the Hans Werthén Fund at IVA, 2015, 16 pp.
Read More

18 Oct Value created from productive oceans in 2050/ English

Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences (NTVA)
2012
The report presents a summary of the potentials for marine industries in Norway. The scale of value generation in marine sector in 2050 is estimated to of the order 70 billion EUR.
Read More

18 Oct Biotechnology for all

Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)
2015
Biotechnological research is no longer limited to specialist laboratories: a growing community of biologists, amateur enthusiasts and technophiles is experimenting in kitchens, workshops and DIY laboratories. Some people view the democratisation of biotechnology as a threat, others as an opportunity to gain a better understanding of complex scientific interrelationships within society. A few years ago, something which occurred in software development in the early 1990s also began to emerge in the field of biotechnology: “open source” and “do-it-yourself” (“DIY”) strategies are opening up a field of knowledge traditionally occupied by experts, universities and large companies to a broader community. In 2008, a handful of technology enthusiasts in Boston set out to drag biotechnological research out of established institutions into garages and kitchens in urban and rural settings. Since then, Europe, the USA and Asia have seen the emergence of dozens of garage laboratories with scales, mixers, refrigerators and incubators, all purchased cheaply from eBay. Some laboratories are also equipped with homemade bioanalytical devices. Inquisitive laymen and experienced researchers conduct experiments shoulder to shoulder, pursuing personal biotech research projects or simply indulging in the satisfaction of DIY.
Read More

18 Oct White biotechnology and synthetic biology

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2012
Biotechnology is the application of S&T to living organisms. White biotechnology (Bio-Based Industries - BBl) uses renewable carbon sources  in fermentation processes to produce food compounds, fuels, specialties and chemical commodities, and plastics.  Synthetic biology (SB) introduces engineering principles into biotechnology, promoting the emergence of a true bio-economy.  Although endowed with a well-developed agriculture and BBI-related research, there are only about a dozen companies engaged in applications of SB to BBl in France, including start-ups, intermediate enterprises, and Total, resulting in few industrial realisations. The sector is considered risky by investors.  A consistent effort to train  engineers and PhD-students in these areas is essential.  Regarding risks, traditional BBI-products must be distinguished from SB-products in specific sectors. Upstream from industrial SB-applications on a large scale, research on the security, safety, ethics, toxicology and ecotoxicology is vital.  The academic SB community self-regulates its conduct in an effort of openness, transparency, anticipation and prevention of potential risks. Working-group leader: Pierre Monsan, director “Toulouse White Biotechnology” and NATF Fellow.
Read More

17 Oct Nuclear Construction Lessons Learned Guidance on best practice: nuclear safety culture

Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) (RAEng)
2012
Engineering the Future, following a request from the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Office for Nuclear Development, set up a steering group to examine the lessons that could be learned from recent civil nuclear power plant construction projects.  The project steering group was formed by representatives from relevant engineering institutions and bodies and considered both the lessons that could be learned and how they should be incorporated into the proposed UK new build programme. In October 2010 the project steering group delivered a report to Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State for Energy & Climate Change, on the construction lessons learned from six international nuclear new build projects
Read More

17 Oct Nuclear Construction Lessons Learned Guidance on best practice : Concrete

Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) (RAEng)
2012
Engineering the Future, following a request from the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Office for Nuclear Development, set up a steering group to examine the lessons that could be learned from recent civil nuclear power plant construction projects.  The project steering group was formed by representatives from relevant engineering institutions and bodies and considered both the lessons that could be learned and how they should be incorporated into the proposed UK new build programme. In October 2010 the project steering group delivered a report to Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State for Energy & Climate Change, on the construction lessons learned from six international nuclear new build projects.
Read More

17 Oct Nuclear Lessons Learned Guidance on Best Practice: Welding

Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) (RAEng)
2012
Engineering the Future, following a request from the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Office for Nuclear Development, set up a steering group to examine the lessons that could be learned from recent civil nuclear power plant construction projects.  The project steering group was formed by representatives from relevant engineering institutions and bodies and considered both the lessons that could be learned and how they should be incorporated into the proposed UK new build programme. In October 2010 the project steering group delivered a report to Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State for Energy & Climate Change, on the construction lessons learned from six international nuclear new build projects.
Read More