Research, Technologies, Innovation and Employment

18 Oct Innovative system of Slovenia (252 pages) SLO

Engineering Academy of Slovenia (IAS)
2016
Following one of the main projects if IAS, IAS has made and published the Analysis of Sustainable Development of Slovenia, Analysis of Educational System in Slovenia, Analysis of Research, Development and innovative achievements of Slovenia. It includes recommendations for improvement on these topics.
Read More

18 Oct Synthetic biology and (white) industrial biotechnologies (Advice) – (Report only in French)

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.  Consistent efforts to train engineers and PhD-students in these areas are 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.
Read More

17 Oct Engineering for a Successful Nation

Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) (RAEng)
2015
Joint publication with Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Report of key findings from an assessment of the economic returns of engineering research and postgraduate training in the UK.
Read More

17 Oct Annual Report 2014

Real Academia de Ingenieria (Spain) (RAI)
2015
 
Read More

17 Oct Resource Efficiency – Facts and Trends Towards 2050.

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2015
A report from IVA project Resource Efficient Business Models – Greater Competitiveness, 2015 36 pp.
Read More

17 Oct Big Data: a change of paradigm (Report only in French)

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2015
Big Data implies a revolution in IT, reaching from technology to applications and practices, enabling the analysis of vast pools of "digital traces". Data manipulation from smartphones and connected objects opens up new service opportunities and cost reductions of IT-systems. While it is a major issue for sciences, politics and citizens, this report looks at the impact on businesses: mastering these methods permits a new immediacy in customer relationships. Big data is a disruptive data-analysis methodology, replacing classic approaches by iterative loops and using detected patterns for operational effectiveness. It is a new way of massive parallel data-centred programming and of designing algorithms, due to treatment on a myriad of machines, high-performance requirements, and development of algorithms through learning. It is a major challenge and paradigm shift for Governments and companies, deserving strong support in terms of training and awareness.
Read More

17 Oct Biogas (Report only in French)

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2016
EDP Sciences 2016 Biogas, resulting from the decomposition of organic matter, is known since the late 18th century: swamp gas. In Europe, the production of biogas on an industrial scale takes off somewhere between 1980 and 1990. The report describes sources and processes for the generation of biogas: hermetically sealed waste dumps and the capture of biogas from anaerobic digestion; industrial anaerobic fermentation of household waste with different species of bacteria at different temperatures; fermentation of agricultural crop waste and animal droppings; processing of biodegradable sludge from waste water treatment plants; etc. Biogas plants using a second generation methanisation process at high temperatures have been built in Germany and Sweden. Biogas is regarded as a renewable energy but is not fit for industrial use in untreated form as it contains various contaminants that need to be filtered. The success of biogas as a substitute for natural gas depends on the financial incentives granted.
Read More

17 Oct Energy Vectors (English version)

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2012
Editions Le Manuscrit 2012 Energy procurement/uses, influenced by oil prices and climate change, may differ in different countries. These influences continue but time-scales change (e.g. for peak oil and gas). The Fukushima accident has shaken confidence into nuclear power. This Report proposes a robust methodology for making relevant economic and ecological choices related to energy transition. Focussing on the French situation, it deals with Energy Vectors: the support system delivering energy ready to use (electricity, petrol, gas, or heat, etc.) to consumers; the intermediary stage of vectors between sources (coal, gas, U, wind, hydro) and demand of final energy (for transport, heating, industrial processes, etc.). While end-consumers may not be aware of the source for the final energy, distinguishing between them would allow economic and ecological competition (when C02 emissions carry a price-tag). This report throws new light on the political decisions that must be taken and provides guidelines with a long-range relevance.
Read More

17 Oct Impact of ICT on world energy consumption – and carbon footprints (Report only in French)

National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF)
2015
EDP Sciences, 2015 The report analyses the impact of ICT’s worldwide energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions, considering the impacts generated by the operation of its various hardware and infrastructure, and the savings it spawns in other areas of activity. Conclusion: The final energy and carbon balance of all ICT categories together is clearly a positive one. In 2012, ICT accounted for 4.7% of worldwide electricity consumption, and a total carbon footprint of about 1.7 percent. These numbers are on an upwards trend, but in smaller proportions than the growing use of ICT, thanks to its contribution to reduce these footprints in other areas of activities such as in the transport sector, buildings, manufacturing industries, or even dematerialised procedures. The report focuses on the (global) transport/mobility sector benefitting from digitisation in and around vehicles and lists current lines of research aimed at better performance of computing, with lower energy consumption.
Read More

01 Oct Recommendations for an AI Strategy in Switzerland

Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)
October 2019
Authors: Alessandro Curioni, Lukas Czornomaz, Joachim Buhmann, Ernst Hafen, Manuel Kugler, Hervé Bourlard, Jana Koehler, Matthias Kaiserswerth, Anika Schumann Main themes: artificial intelligence Digital transformation is radically reshaping almost every aspect of our society. The explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics applications is enabled by the extreme availability of data in combination with the substantial computing power of modern highly distributed computing infrastructures connected by high-speed networks. Machine learning technologies can be trained to perform specific tasks with an efficiency and an accuracy that can supplement and, in some cases, outperform that of humans. These systems provide deep insights by learning from data and interactions with users, which is already leading to a profound transformation of numerous industries, professions, and society at large. The current state of AI is, however, still far from delivering truly intelligent behaviour that is comparable to human intelligence. An AI research strategy should therefore carefully analyse AI’s history with its various waves of large promises and conceptual shortcomings. Leading Swiss experts in AI have published their recommendations for a Swiss AI strategy. They advocate more intensive use of the technology and the creation of national data platforms, as data is a prerequisite for powerful algorithms.
Read More