Position Statement:

Universities contribute to the development of the ICT world and competitiveness of countries via breakthrough research and education of smart young talents; at the same time the new connected world challenges the way universities will keep their role in the future. Since some decades, ICT world changed the industry paradigms, and affected society by reducing the physical boundaries.

The new generation low latency communication networks and devices, are a new kind of game changer in education and learning outputs. These tools are blurring geographic and temporal frontiers and can benefit education in a highly competitive global environment. Massive open Online Courses allows education as continuous process and puts at strike traditional curricula.

Today the convergence of several trends let completely new solutions emerge: mobility thanks to portable devices, sensing of behavior habits and quantifying of self to care about personal health, but also social interaction and engagement.

Disruptive innovation emerges at the crossroad of disciplines; EPFL decided to have some “signature projects” illustrating the info-nano-micro-bio-cogno convergence. Electronics is supporting this vision and is impacted at the same time by this discovery journey beyond the traditional research field frontiers

About the panel member:

Adrienne Corboud Fumagalli, Dr. economics and social sciences, Vice President Innovation and Technology Transfer at EPF Lausanne (Swiss Institute of technology), focusing on the development of the "EPFL Innovation Park" of EPFL and industrial partnerships. Additional role in Tech transfer, chair of two foundations supporting startups.

With a background in Telecom and Media Technology, Corboud Fumagalli spent her 13 years industry career in Business Development (New Business Development and mainly M&A). Between 1996 and 2000, with Swisscom in Berne; then 2000 to 2008, at Kudelski as Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development, leading several M&A projects and launching the MobileTV Business.

She started her career as a researcher, lecturer and consultant in the field of media and information technology policies at various institutes (University of Fribourg, DAMS Bologna, CNRS Paris, McGill University and Loughborough University).