Join us for the ENHANCE Conversations

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The ENHANCE Alliance invites you on 15 June 2021, 16.00 – 17.30 CET to its first public discussion “ENHANCE Conversations”. In order to develop and utilise science and technology for the benefit of society, the ENHANCE Conversations use the disruption caused by COVID19 as an insight for radical questions:

How can technological progress and innovation help societies to bounce forward from the climate and pandemic crisis, into a development paradigm fit for the 21st Century?

How can Universities of Technology contribute in their immediate environment and on a European level, to work towards a more sustainable society and economy?

Where must technical and social innovations go hand in hand?

Keynotes by:

Maja Göpel is the Director of Research at THE NEW INSTITUTE. She is a political economist and important voice for sustainable transformation, working at the intersection of economy, politics and society. Maja states that in order to stay resilient in our ever-changing world, societies need to re-evaluate narratives on a regular basis. Since humans create stories in order to build identities, organise cooperation and to invent solutions, we have to ask ourselves, especially in light of the Corona Crisis, are our narratives still helpful, to create desirable futures?

Asgeir Tomasgard is a Professor in Managerial Economics and Optimisation at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Director of the NTNU Energy Transition Initiative. His research focuses on energy transition strategies and on energy policy. Asgeir believes that multidisciplinary research at the intersection of technology and the social sciences is essential, in order to create transitions that both engage the public and unlock the needed potential for innovation to disrupt.

Followed by a panel discussion with:

Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel

Prof. Dr. Asgeir Tomasgard 

Michał Zdziarski is the Co-Founder of Wheelstair and Associate Professor of Strategy and International Business at the University of Warsaw. His aim is to provide mobility for all and to level the playing field for people with disabilities. Michal believes that when speaking of innovation, it is impossible to separate the technical and social dimensions. It is very important to bring sustainability and innovation together so that we, as a civilisation, can continue to develop ways that help us solve the current challenges we face in our world.

Dima Yankova is a PhD Candidate at INGENIO – a joint research centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). She investigates the mechanisms of knowledge transfer within collaborative and innovative networks as well as the mediating role that the industry and universities can play in this process. She is a Marie Curie Fellow and believes that technical and social innovation are highly complementary and should not be considered in opposition of each other. Ultimately, technology is not a goal to be achieved rather a toolkit, to help tackle our most urgent social challenges.

Moderation: Jan-Martin Wiarda, freelance Journalist since 2015, Author and Moderator.