NORTH-SOUTH CENTRE - ETH - North-South Centre North-South ...

Engineering for development
Engineering knowledge can contribute directly to helping
poor people meet their basic needs. In a workshop with the
Volkswagen Foundation, participants from several departments
discussed which engineering topics are important
for the future development of countries in the South, and
how engineering sciences could be fostered in Africa.
The participants agreed that a simple transfer of technologies
from the North to the South would not do justice to the
complex conditions in developing countries. As teaching in
engineering sciences is not widespread in African universities,
educating young academics is seen as the most important
step to take. Local capacities are needed to develop ecologically,
economically and socially adapted technologies.
From research to implementation
Research for development strives to contribute to sustainable
development and to improve the living conditions in developing
countries. However, moving from lab or field experiments
into full-scale implementation of research results
remains a major challenge for most research projects.
The second North-South Forum demonstrated that multiple
relations between the different stakeholder groups
shape the linking of research, policy and practice. Social,
cultural, political, organisational, institutional and legal
factors determine the behaviour of the actors involved.
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Networking and communication
Conferences
Kirk Smith (centre) and Shonali Pachauri (right) discussing with
an interested participant of the conference on energy for development.