EssentialTech Centre

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EssentialTech Centre
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NationalitySwitzerland
Alma materSwitzerland's leading universities
OccupationResearch

The EssentialTech Centre is a research and innovation centre located at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). EPFL is one of Switzerland's leading universities (consistently ranked as a top institution globally[1]), renowned for its contributions to science, technology, and engineering.

History

EssentialTech was initially launched as a school-wide program at EPFL in 2011.[2] EPFL’s Presidency established EssentialTech as a Centre in December 2018.[2] Since its inception, it has been led by Dr. Klaus Schönenberger, who had formerly held leadership roles in the medical devices industry. He had become disillusioned with what he saw as the industry’s focus on developed countries while ignoring regions in greater need for functional devices.[3][4]

Approach

The EssentialTech Centre states[5][4] that it aims to address global challenges through a multifaceted approach that applies technological innovation to three intersecting challenges, sometimes called the ‘Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus[6]’, which encompasses: humanitarian crises, poverty and precarity, and conflict and violence. It therefore currently orients its activity through three divisions: Sustainable Development, Humanitarian Action and PeaceTech. EssentialTech uses a holistic approach[7] to its technology development projects.

EssentialTech offers a number of MOOCs on the topics of technology for humanitarian action and development.[8]

Notable projects and initiatives

The Centre has been heavily involved in a number of initiatives that have garnered significant attention in the humanitarian and development space. These include:

  • GlobalDiagnostiX — A robust, accessible digital radiology system[9] that can be used in a wide variety of medical imaging applications.[10][11]
  • Agilis — a low-cost prosthetic foot[12], made in collaboration with ICRC.
  • HelloMask — a transparent surgical mask[13] now being made market-ready by spin-off HMCare.
  • SmartPPE — a reusable personal protective equipment suit for use in Ebola settings, Designed in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières and a Swiss manufacturer.[14]
  • The EssentialTech Centre is the coordinator at EPFL of the Engineering Humanitarian Action initiative[15], which is a partnership between EPFL, ETHZ, and ICRC.[16]
  • The Centre is part of the Geneva Technical Hub.[17][18]
  • EssentialTech (as a representative of EPFL), the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), the Geneva Graduate Institute and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform are part of the PeaceTech Alliance.[19]

Similar initiatives at other universities

References

  1. ↑ "EPFL". Top Universities. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Klaus Benedikt Schönenberger". EPFL People. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  3. ↑ "Klaus Schönenberger, engineer, director of EssentialTech". EPFL. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Klaus Schönenberger, directeur d'EssentialTech: «Le profit ne peut plus être le seul moteur» - Le Temps" (in français). 2021-01-18. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  5. ↑ "EssentialTech Centre". www.essentialtech.ch. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  6. ↑ "Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus | PEACEBUILDING". www.un.org. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  7. ↑ Makoliso, Solomzi; Klaiber, Bertrand; Sahli, Romain; Tapouh, Jean Roger Moulion; Amvene, Samuel Nko'o; Stoll, Beat; Schönenberger, Klaus (2020-07-04). "Medical technology innovation for a sustainable impact in Low- and Middle-Income countries: a holistic approach". Engineering Archive.
  8. ↑ Schönenberger, Klaus (5 January 2017). "New MOOC launched by the EssentialTech team!".
  9. ↑ "X-ray imaging detector for radiological applications adapted to the context and requirements of low- and middle-income countries". pubs.aip.org. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  10. ↑ Lausanne, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de. "Finally, X-ray medical imaging within the reach of developing countries". phys.org. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  11. ↑ Sahli, Romain (14 December 2015). "Pristem: EssentialTech's first spin-off".
  12. ↑ Falbriard, Mathieu; Huot, Grégory; Janier, Mathieu; Chandran, Rajasundar; Rechsteiner, Michael; Michaud, Véronique; Cugnoni, Joël; Botsis, John; Schönenberger, Klaus; Aminian, Kamiar (2022-05-06). "A functional approach towards the design, development, and test of an affordable dynamic prosthetic foot". PLOS ONE. 17 (5): e0266656. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1766656F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0266656. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 9075626. PMID 35522670.
  13. ↑ Avossa, Joshua; Batt, Till; Pelet, Thierry; Sidjanski, Sacha P.; Schönenberger, Klaus; Rossi, René M. (2021-11-26). "Polyamide Nanofiber-Based Air Filters for Transparent Face Masks". ACS Applied Nano Materials. 4 (11): 12401–12406. doi:10.1021/acsanm.1c02843. ISSN 2574-0970.
  14. ↑ "SmartPPE: Developing 21st Century Protective Equipment". Creating Hope in Conflict. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  15. ↑ Giroud, Tara (2021-07-11). "How re-thinking data security could help the most vulnerable". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  16. ↑ "Researchers deliver science for humanitarian action". 7 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Greening the blue in humanitarian aid". www.eda.admin.ch. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  18. ↑ "Geneva Technical Hub". UNHCR.
  19. ↑ "Swiss PeaceTech Alliance | IHEID". www.graduateinstitute.ch. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  20. ↑ "Home | MIT D-Lab". d-lab.mit.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  21. ↑ "ETH4D". eth4d.ethz.ch. 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-17.

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