Lecture

Innovation and Engineering in Sustainable Development

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In course

HUM-355: Cooperation and development

Ce cours abordera les défis majeurs du développement durable auxquels font face les pays du Sud. Les étudiants-es travailleront en groupes interdisciplinaires sur des projets réels (p.ex. Medair, Swiss Red Cross etc.) visant le développement durable à trav ...

Description

This lecture explores the concepts of innovation, focusing on social and frugal innovation, and their potential impact on sustainable development. It delves into the significance of innovation in organizations, the attributes of frugal innovation, and real-world examples like Tata Swach water purifier. The lecture also discusses the Global Innovation Index, technological leapfrogging in low-income countries, and the role of technology, such as mobile phones and 3D printing, in advancing development. It highlights the advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing, its applications in emergency relief situations, and the potential effects on globalization, illustrated through a case study of 3D printing in Haiti by Field Ready.

Official source

Related concepts (21)

Innovation

Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity realizing or redistributing value". Others have different definitions; a common element in the definitions is a focus on newness, improvement, and spread of ideas or technologies.

Open innovation

Open innovation is a term used to promote an information age mindset toward innovation that runs counter to the secrecy and silo mentality of traditional corporate research labs. The benefits and driving forces behind increased openness have been noted and discussed as far back as the 1960s, especially as it pertains to interfirm cooperation in R&D.

Diffusion of innovations

Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. The theory was popularized by Everett Rogers in his book Diffusion of Innovations, first published in 1962. Rogers argues that diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated over time among the participants in a social system. The origins of the diffusion of innovations theory are varied and span multiple disciplines.

Mobile technology

Mobile technology is the technology used for cellular communication. Mobile technology has evolved rapidly over the past few years. Since the start of this millennium, a standard mobile device has gone from being no more than a simple two-way pager to being a mobile phone, GPS navigation device, an embedded web browser and instant messaging client, and a handheld gaming console. Many experts believe that the future of computer technology rests in mobile computing with wireless networking.

Mobile phone

A mobile phone (or cellphone) is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area, as opposed to a fixed-location phone (landline phone). The radio frequency link establishes a connection to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, which provides access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture and therefore mobile telephones are called cellphones (or "cell phones") in North America.

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