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Club of Amsterdam Journal, March 2004, Issue 21
Content Q&A with Kees Daey Ouwens About the future of Energy News about the Future Smart Cards: Accessibility and Social Inclusion International Education ERICarts-Institute Recommended Book Q&A with Rob van Hattum Upcoming Events Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Q&A with Kees Daey Ouwens Kees Daey Ouwens, Professor, TU Eindhoven Club of Amsterdam: Hydrogen is widely expected to be the energy solution for our future. Is this in your opinion a trendy view or are there solid reasons to support this?Kees Daey Ouwens: A prediction of future energy supply is always difficult. Looking back and considering the scenario’s made about 1970, hardly any prediction has been proven to be true. This holds also for hydrogen. The main problems for hydrogen are the production and the storage. Will we produce it from fossil fuels or from biomass? Other routes (e.g. by electrolysis of electricity produced by wind mills or solar cells) will be too expensive. However, if we produce hydrogen from fossil fuels, what will we gain? Of course this route can be made free of the emission of carbon dioxide. However, it will be costly. What are the key factors to agree on a sustainable, renewable energy strategy?Kees Daey Ouwens: The key factors for a sustainable energy strategy are: emphsis on the efficient use of energy; this way the use of energy can be reduced by a factor two or three. recycling of materials; recycling cost a lot less energy in comparison with the production of new materials use of natural gas; relatively low emission of carbon dioxide the use of hydro powerthe use of biomassthe use of solar and wind energythe use of other sources like wave energy, geothermal energy and temperature differences at seaThe sequence of the items represent the importance also. An intensive program (policy!) of research and market introduction is needed to realize such a sustainable energy supply; it is process of change. What are the main challenges we have to face the coming 30 years?Kees Daey Ouwens: The main challenge is if we are able to execute a radical program (policy). Do we supply the money needed for research and demonstration? Do we accept the change? We do not have to change our energy infrastucture and life does not become more expensive. However, any change causes always a large resistence. In this respect is the introduction of wind energy a good example. Hubert Kees Daey Ouwens, Hubert Dubbelman & Rob van Hattum speak at our Club of Amsterdam Event about‘the future of Energy – the Hydrogen Economy?’ on Wednesday, March 31, 18:30-22:15! About the future of energy Bottling the hydrogen genie by Frederick E. Pinkerton and Brian G. WickeAs the dawn of a new century approached, a transportation revolution was brewing. Visionary inventors and small companies, inspired by new technologies and driven by public outcry for relief from urban pollution, set out to remake an entire industry. Their goal was nothing less ambitious than the creation of a completely new transportation infrastructure Fuel Cells on the Way for Mobile Devices Medis Technologies is partnering with Kensington Technology, a maker and distributor of computer accessories, to bring fuel cells to mobile devices such as cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, handheld gaming devices, PDAs and smartphones. The fuel cell is an electro-chemical device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel, such as hydrogen, ethanol or methanol, into electrical energy and water. This is a much cleaner technology than what’s found in current batteries, and it also promises to greatly increase the amount of power available to users. News about the Future MOSTiTECHA new sophisticated robot will be able to guard your home around the clock and keep you informed on what’s happening in the house through your handset even when you are far away. “This is a whole new concept gadget, which will set a new trend of home networking, because this device can move around the home,” an SK Telecom [Korea] official said. The 50-centimeter tall and 12-kilogram machine was developed through partnerships with venture start-up Mostitech after years of intensive work.In case of emergencies, like fire or lethal gas leakage, the robot’s sensors will detect any potential dangers and the camera-eyed robot will be programmed to snap pictures of the situation and send them with a message to a designated person’s cell phone. Also, when unexpected visitors enter a home, the robot will transmit pictures of them coupled with contingency messages. To gather further information, the recipient can order the robot to survey the suspicious situation or persons through a cell phone or Internet. Mostitech president Park Sang-hoon said the company will add face-recognition functionality to the robot so that it can guard a home with even better precision. The battery-operated robot, which moves around on wheels and recharges itself when its batteries run low, will also function as a caretaker and house sitter for kids, as the robot can even read a book. Swissmemory USB Victorinox “It’s the future of personal storage. Your own portable hard drive right in your hands. Small, powerful and easier to use than your house keys. Store your business cards, family- or business project photos, mp3 audio files, video files, anything you want. Plug the SWISSMEMORY USB Victorinox into any USB port and see it appear as a removable mass storage device under all supported Operating Systems.” Smart Cards: Accessibility and Social Inclusion National Smart Card Project [UK] Consumers want user friendly systems which have the appropriate level of security, but are simple to use. Local authorities want to optimise their service level, and to maximise their market penetration. If local authorities do not understand the needs of their consumers, they are likely to find consumers reluctant to use smart card based systems. Cardholder identification should involve the consent of the user who may wish to withdraw their consent at a later date. Authentication provides the user with a secure way to prove their identity during a transaction, but does not necessarily mean that they are authorised to access a specific service. People with special needs include older people, children, people whose primary language is not English, as well as people with disabilities. However the introduction of smart card systems offers exciting possibilities for making life easier for all these groups, if their needs are considered before new systems are introduced. The Disability Discrimination Act requires local authorities to give consideration to needs of people with disabilities. The take-up of smart card based services will be affected by the users’ perceptions of: the confidentiality of any data on the card or in a related computer system ease of use confidence that there is a simple system for handling lost or stolen cards … more International Education International Education : the only cement for any Transatlantic BridgeBy Franck Biancheri Think of this seemingly stupid sentence :‘the world is getting globalized!’. It does contain something not stupid though as it is true that in today’s world all local issues are now interconnected. From Irak’s war to jobs outsourcing, from scientific research to religious trends, everything happening on our small planet is now directly echoed in almost every parts of it. Did I say ‘echoed’? Yes, I did say ‘echoed’; and that is where international education represents a crucial investment for all societies: each event, each phenomenon which happens somewhere does affect all of us directly or indirectly, but we only hear its echo most of the time. We do not have a direct vision or understanding of the event. Therefore we need to be able to put it into a larger picture, to ‘rebuild’ its meaning in order to know how it may affect us, what to think o it and how we should react. Without such a know-how, leadership will be a lethal succession of mistakes; and jobs will keep on going to the country next door (which maybe on the other side of the planet). … more ERICarts-Institute European Institute for Comparative Cultural Research (ERICarts)The ERICarts-Institute is organised as an independent, trans-national body, it conducts comparative research and monitoring in all cultural domains, including but not limited to developments in fields such as cultural policies, the state of arts professions, culture industries and the media, arts and heritage management and arts education. In addition, the Institute encourages cultural and scientific dialogues in Europe and around the world, through publications, Internet-services, conferences and other events. Projects:All Talents Count:Pilot survey for the INCP Working Group on Cultural Diversity and GlobalisationThe goal of policies, programmes and strategies in support of cultural diversity is to achieve and maintain harmonious relations among all sections of society by recognising and accepting differences. This goal can only be achieved when, among other things, all groups and individuals in society have equal access to a diversity of ideas, cultural goods and resources, education, decision-making processes, etc. Pyramid or Pillars: unveiling the status of women in arts and media professions in EuropePyramids or Pillars presents the results of a three year European research project sponsored under the EU 4th medium term action plan for equal opportunities between men and women and by the German Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth.Co-ordinated by ERICarts and the ZfKf, the project brought together researchers from all corners of Europe. They participated in a programme of national studies and empirical stocktaking whose results unveil, for the first time, the (often underestimated) representation of women in cultural labour markets, their inadequate presence in decision-making positions in culture and media institutions, the degree to which they receive public recognition for their work and other key questions regarding training and professional development.Pyramids or Pillars brings transparency about the position of female artists or media practitioners at a time when key political decisions are being made about the fate of equal opportunity programmes and new concepts of mainstreaming introduced throughout Europe. Creative EuropeBoth the UNESCO and the Council of Europe exercises on culture and development (“Our Creative Diversity” and “In from the Margins” respectively) recognised the central role of creativity, not only in intellectual life, but in the development of the economy, ethics and civil society. Creative Europe, which could be considered part of an unofficial follow-up process to these reports, recognises that the conditions framing a climate for innovation are changing and responsibility for cultural policy is shifting towards joint action on the part of public, private and non-profit actors on local, regional, national and international levels; possibly leading to a change of paradigm for “creativity governance” (or management). The question is whether mainstream cultural policies and training programmes have succeeded in reflecting these changing conditions for cultural innovation in Europe.The main purpose of Creative Europe is to examine these changing conditions, address some of the trends and contradictions facing decision-makers, educators, funders etc, examine the points of “convergence” between these different actors and their activities (under the umbrella of creativity governance in Europe) and to situate the role of foundations in this picture. Recommended Book Tomorrow’s Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planetby Peter Hoffmann, Tom Harkin (Foreword)The word hydrogen conjures images of devastating bombs and burning zeppelins (the Hindenburg) for most of us, but it inspires visionaries like Peter Hoffmann to picture clear skies and safer roads. Hoffmann’s book Tomorrow’s Energy traces the history of the volatile gas and explores options for its use as fuel. Though the author can’t avoid using some technical language, his writing should still appeal well beyond the community of automotive and power-plant engineers. His coverage, though fairly balanced, tends toward the positive efforts made by government, corporations, environmentalists, and scientists to promote hydrogen as a clean, relatively safe, and potentially cheap alternative to carbon-heavy fuels. Party-line Greens may gasp at some of the suggested schemes, which include using limited nuclear power to generate hydrogen from water. But Hoffmann convincingly assures the reader that ultimately, the planet will be better off this way. Many will be surprised at how far hydrogen has advanced since serious research restarted during the 1970s fuel crisis: the range of cars, planes, and power networks using the gas for power storage is impressive and underreported. Though he makes his case for hydrogen as a means of powering our lives, Hoffmann also shows off its uses in medicine, agriculture, metallurgy, and other fields. Using economic data, he shows that we can expect to live in a hydrogen economy sometime midcentury; if so, we can all breathe a collective, CO2-laden sigh of relief. – Rob Lightner Supporter of the Club of Amsterdam event about ‘the future of Education & Learning‘ on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 is: Q&A with Rob van Hattum Rob van Hattum, Head of Science Programmes, VPRO television Club of Amsterdam: Commercial fuel cells powered by hydrogen are just now being introduced into the market for home, office and industrial use. Is hydrogen the start of new energy solutions or is it the key solution for the future?Rob van Hattum: Hydrogen provides a possibility to use all kind of different energy sources. It is a universal carrier and fits very well in an ecletric society. For that reason Geoffrey Ballard introduced the word ‘Hydricity’. I believe using hydrogen systems is the key solution to a sustainable future energy system (unless we find another way to store huge amounts of electricity very efficiently and quickly). It will start gradually, like oil once started gradually. In fact we have been burning hydrogen all the way, wood, coal, oil, gas…..what we burn is hydrogen. The fuel cell will change the energy system from inefficient burning (like combustion) into efficient electrochemistry. So are we living at the edge of a new era? I think we are but it will take some time before we see it…. Romano Prodi, the president of the European Commission, has unveiled the EU’s $2 billion commitment to a renewable hydrogen-based energy economy. What is Europe’s role compared to the US & Asia in the context of the ‘Hydrogen Economy’?Rob van Hattum: Europe has serious intentions. In fact was Bush’ announcement in the state of the union in 2003 providing 1.3 billion dollars to start the research for hydrogen a reaction on Europe’s idea’s to start the hydrogen economy. European car makers (like BMW, Mercedes) are in fact doing research on hydrogen for many years. What are the key factors for a successful, sustainable introduction of Hydrogen?Rob van Hattum: Create Public Awareness about the impact of hydrogen energy systems and a hydrogen economy, safety awareness.Safe hydrogen storage research.Set up large pilot hydrogen production plants in combination with sustanable energy source (windpark, solarplants, Biomass plants…..etc). To show the publuc that clean fuel production is possible. Club of Amsterdam Events 2003/2004 October 28, 2003 the future of Food & Biotech November 27, 2003 the future of the Media & Entertainment Industry January 28, 2004 the future of the European Knowledge Society February 18, 2004 the future of Education & Learning March 31, 2004 the future of Energy – the Hydrogen Economy? April 28, 2004 the future of Healthcare & Technology May 19, 2004 the future of Architecture June 23, 2004 the future of Culture & Religion
Final report on the the Green Paper
by European Commission “Towards a European strategy for the security of energy supply” The Green Paper on the security of energy supply, adopted by the Commission more than a year ago, opened up a debate on energy policy unprecedented in 30 years. In most of the Member States this debate revived discussion on national options in the energy field. It was used for reference in some third countries, like the United States (during the preparation of the Bush energy plan), Japan and Russia. The Barcelona European Council of March 2002 notes in its conclusions “the intention of the Commission to present the report on the security of supplies based on the results of the debate generated by the Commission’s Green Paper on Security of Energy Supplies, in view of its next meeting in Seville”. Full paper available as a *.pdf file (233KB): click here
A new look at the hydrogen economy
by Kas Hemmes, Projectleader, VG2 the greening of gasTPM Coordinates ‘The Greening of Gas’ Project [VG2] To mix hydrogen into the domestic gas network: that is the challenge that those taking part in the EET-subsidized project, ‘The Greening of Gas’ have set themselves. Project coordinator Dr Kas Hemmes (Associate Professor with the Energy and Industry section) describes the many technical and administrative difficulties of this promising idea. Under the Kyoto Climate Treaty, the Netherlands is expected to reduce its emission of greenhouse gases by six per cent (compared to 1990 levels). The main greenhouse gases produced by the combustion of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal are NOx (nitrogen oxides), SO2 (sulphur dioxide) and CO2 (carbon dioxide). The idea of using hydrogen as a supplementary energy source emerged in the 1970s. Hydrogen has a significant advantage in that its combustion produces only water and no greenhouse gases. “Because the environmental benefits are so obvious, some people do not understand why the idea was not implemented a long time ago,” states Kas Hemmes. “Perhaps they think we can just dig a well and pump hydrogen out. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Pure hydrogen does not occur naturally. It has to be derived from other energy sources such as natural gas, coal or biomass. It can also be extracted from water by means of electrolysis.” Hemmes, who studied experimental and theoretical physics in Groningen, gained his doctorate in 1986 with his research into magnetic recording. However, he soon became interested in energy research. For fifteen years, he conducted research into fuel cells with the Material Sciences and Engineering department of Delft University of Technology. For the last eighteen months he has been involved in the systems design for a national hydrogen distribution infrastructure and the design of transition processes towards a hydrogen economy. This work has been conducted within TPM as part of the ‘Greening of Gas’ project, financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) under the Economy, Ecolgy and Technology (EET) programme. Economic interestsThe use of hydrogen as an energy source is not only hampered by its limited availability. Another problem is that it is difficult to store or trans-port in large quantities. “If we want to use hydrogen on a large scale, there would have to be a network of pipelines covering the entire country,” explains Hemmes. “Needless to say, this would entail a huge investment. Our idea therefore becomes even more attractive: we are investigating the possibility of using the existing gas infrastructure. By mixing hydrogen into the natural gas, at least the transport problem is solved.” Because this ‘new look at the hydro-gen economy’ entails investigating a large number of technical and administrative considerations, the project has been split into two parts. The technical questions are being addressed by the Delft Laboratory for Process Equipment, (API), the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Electrabel, EcoCeramics, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Gasunie and the Universities of Groningen and Eindhoven. These partners are concerned with such aspects as fundamental combustion research, the effect of hydrogen/ biogas/natural gas mixtures on pipeline materials, gas turbines and gas-fired engines, research into new burner types, and the safety aspects of transporting and distributing hydrogen-rich gas mixtures. The other part of the project, coordinated by Dr Hemmes, involves TPM working alongside Hoek Loos, the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Schouten Research, Energy + i.d. and the City Of Rotterdam Port Authority (GHR). It is primarily concerned with infrastructural development in the technical, socio-economic and juridical contexts. Research is being conducted into the costs-returns ratio, national and international legislation, and the impact of the liberalization of the gas market. “From the technical perspective, mixing hydrogen with natural gas in the existing network could well prove the best solution, but this does not necessarily mean that it will actually be implemented. There are many factors to be taken into consideration. We live in an era in which economic interests are paramount. Everything must be cost effective and market forces must be allowed to prevail. We are looking at both the demand and supply side of hydrogen/ natural gas mixtures. We are designing a suitable infrastructure and conducting dynamic modelling for the transition process. In the final phase, we hope to implement our ideas in the Rotterdam harbour district.” QualityFirst and foremost, TPM’s part of the project involves investigating existing and potential hydrogen production techniques. These include the ‘non-conventional’ techniques such as extracting hydrogen from biomass. If this is indeed feasible, countless interesting scenarios emerge. “Suppose a group of farmers have a pile of surplus biomass which is serving no other purpose. They could use it to produce hydrogen which they will then add to the gas network, wherever they happen to be. This may seem somewhat far-fetched, but in the new liberalized gas market anyone will be allowed to produce and supply gas, in theory at least. Of course, existing legislation must be observed. Gas must comply with certain quality requirements and must have a certain calorific value, as expressed by the Wobbe index. It is still uncertain whether natural gas to which hydrogen or biogas has been added will meet the quality requirements. If not, it may be appropriate to amend the legislation allowing gas of a different quality to be supplied. At the moment, the standard is the ‘Slochteren norm’, with all domestic gas-burning equipment and most industrial equipment designed, built and regulated accordingly. We simply do not know whether consumers and industrial users will be prepared to convert to new burners and gas turbines, as they were required to do in the 1960s when the Slochteren gas pocket first came ‘on line’.” Consequences for the infrastructureThe addition of hydrogen to gas would not be without consequences for the existing gas infrastructure. Hydrogen has a lower calorific value than natural gas, which means that volumes must be increased. Hydrogen-powered buses in Germany Kas Hemmes gives a brief refresher course in chemistry: “Natural gas is actually methane, or CH4, a com-pound of one part C and two of H2. One part of H2 has roughly one third of the calorific value of CH4. This means that if you add ten per cent hydrogen (by volume) to the natural gas, you have added only three per cent energy value. In order to main-tain the same calorific value, you have to transport a much higher volume of gas. It is not certain whether the existing network of pipes would be able to cope.” Another interesting research question with regard to the infrastructure is where the hydrogen should be physically introduced to the network. Gas is always transported in only one direction along each pipe, whereby the hydrogen can only be added ‘upstream’. This is the major difference between gas and electricity, which in theory can be returned from any point in the network. Conversion lossesThe sub-project ‘Demand-side Analysis of H2/NG Infrastructure’ (NG stands for Natural Gas) is studying the possible applications for the hydrogen/gas mixture. Could consumers use it to fuel a central heating boiler? Would industry be better off, or would the disadvantages outweigh the benefits? “Of course, we want to ensure that there are only advantages,” states Hemmes, “since this would represent a significant motive for getting the process off the ground. For industry, it is extremely important that the use of hydrogen serves to reduce CO2 emissions, as this will enable future economic gains to be made. The Vogtländer Commission, appointed by the Ministry of VROM, favours a system of trading in ’emission rights’. This could prove a valuable and efficient instrument in tack-ling the emission of greenhouse gases. Companies which produce relatively little CO2 could make extra profit by selling their emission rights, their ‘quota’ as it were. This system is particularly interesting for the metals industry and companies such as Corus, which use cokes to convert metal oxides into the finished product, thus producing enormous quantities of CO2.” “In the long term, it seems economically viable for industry to convert, at least partially, to the use of hydrogen/ natural gas mixtures. Unfortunately, this is not the case in the short term. We run up against a paradox. A familiar industrial process whereby hydrogen can be produced from natural gas itself is steam methane reforming. The petrochemicals industry uses this process on a large scale to remove sulphur compounds from crude oil. However, it always entails conversion losses: twenty per cent of the energy is simply lost. In the first instance therefore, if industry wishes to convert to the use of hydrogen, greater quantities of natural gas will be required, which will cost more.” IncentivesIt is therefore extremely important that additional benefits are created for hydrogen mixtures, apart from the reduction in diffuse CO2 emissions. The transition process must include incentives to encourage consumers and industry to adopt the new fuel form. Transition -management and dynamic modelling of transition processes fall within the TPM sphere of expertise. What technical and administrative instruments can serve to promote a government objective such as emissions reduction, and how can one monitor the results? Kas Hemmes suggests one possibility: “If hydrogen is introduced to the main gas net-work, every household and every company in the Netherlands will be able to use it. One of the concepts we are investigating is that of micro-generation. Every building would have a fuel cell powered by hydrogen and producing electricity. Some energy is converted into heat during this process and would normally be lost. In our system, it can be used for heating. The gas is therefore used to the full. Because H2 will already be in the gas, no reformer (a sort of miniature chemical conversion plant) will be required. The fuel cell will filter the hydrogen out, as it were.” Another possible application for the mixture is as an automotive fuel. A 80/20 mixture of hydrogen and natural gas (which is already on the market under the trade name ‘Hythane’) has extremely good combustion properties. It has lower NOx emissions, whereby great environmental gains can be made when used in cars with an internal combustion engine. Moreover, provided good separation techniques become available, the hydrogen can be extracted from the mixture for use in electric cars equipped with fuel cells. Research is also being conducted into possible industrial uses for the CO2 which is a by-product of hydrogen production. This could be used in oil and methane abstraction processes. Path dependencyHemmes concedes one fundamental problem in all this. “Although the addition of hydrogen to the gas net-work does seem to have some major advantages, there is a danger that this approach will lead to ‘path dependency’. It would stand in the way of a transition to a 100% hydrogen economy, since once the proportion of hydrogen in the mix has been established, it will not be possible to increase this time after time. Doing so would require further modifications to industrial gas turbines, which is an extremely expensive undertaking. There is a very high likelihood that if this option is adopted, the percentage of hydrogen in the mix will be pegged at 5 or 10% for ever more. A one-step transition may therefore be preferable. We in the department of TPM are working alongside our partners to identify the pros and cons of all the various options.” Visit also the conference about ‘the future of Energy – the Hydrogen Economy?‘
Club of Amsterdam Journal, March 2004, Issue 20
Content ‘The Greening of Gas’ Project [VG2] About the future of Education & Learning News about the Future International Space Station: Science Experiments Bombardier EMBRIO Bubble Fusion Recommended Book Round Table: Willem Basten Upcoming Events Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe ‘The Greening of Gas’ Project [VG2] Kas Hemmes, Projectleader, VG2 [the greening of gas], associate professor, TU Delft A new look at the hydrogen economyTo mix hydrogen into the domestic gas network: that is the challenge that those taking part in the EET-subsidized project, ‘The Greening of Gas’ have set themselves. Project coordinator Dr Kas Hemmes (Associate Professor with the Energy and Industry section) describes the many technical and administrative difficulties of this promising idea. Under the Kyoto Climate Treaty, the Netherlands is expected to reduce its emission of greenhouse gases by six per cent (compared to 1990 levels). The main greenhouse gases produced by the combustion of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal are NOx (nitrogen oxides), SO2 (sulphur dioxide) and CO2 (carbon dioxide). The idea of using hydrogen as a supplementary energy source emerged in the 1970s. Hydrogen has a significant advantage in that its combustion produces only water and no greenhouse gases. “Because the environmental benefits are so obvious, some people do not understand why the idea was not implemented a long time ago,” states Kas Hemmes. “Perhaps they think we can just dig a well and pump hydrogen out. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Pure hydrogen does not occur naturally. It has to be derived from other energy sources such as natural gas, coal or biomass. It can also be extracted from water by means of electrolysis.” Hemmes, who studied experimental and theoretical physics in Groningen, gained his doctorate in 1986 with his research into magnetic recording. However, he soon became interested in energy research. For fifteen years, he conducted research into fuel cells with the Material Sciences and Engineering department of Delft University of Technology. For the last eighteen months he has been involved in the systems design for a national hydrogen distribution infrastructure and the design of transition processes towards a hydrogen economy. This work has been conducted within TPM as part of the ‘Greening of Gas’ project, financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) under the Economy, Ecolgy and Technology (EET) programme. Kas Hemmes speaks at our Club of Amsterdam Event about‘the future of Energy – the Hydrogen Economy?’ on Wednesday, March 31, 18:30-22:15! About the future of energy Reactor puts hydrogen from renewable fuels within reachA team of chemical engineers led by Regents Professor Lanny Schmidt has invented a prototype reactor capable of producing hydrogen from a renewable resource efficiently enough to hold economic potential. When coupled with a hydrogen fuel cell, the unit – which is small enough to hold in your hand – could generate one kilowatt of power, almost enough to supply an average-size home. The technology, which converts ethanol into water, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, is cheaper and more efficient than current methods of producing hydrogen. The researchers published their findings in the February 13 issue of Science. Their work was supported by the Initiative on Renewable Energy and the Environment, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Towards a European strategy for the security of energy supply”by European CommissionThe Green Paper on the security of energy supply, adopted by the Commission more than a year ago, opened up a debate on energy policy unprecedented in 30 years. In most of the Member States this debate revived discussion on national options in the energy field. It was used for reference in some third countries, like the United States (during the preparation of the Bush energy plan), Japan and Russia. The Barcelona European Council of March 2002 notes in its conclusions “the intention of the Commission to present the report on the security of supplies based on the results of the debate generated by the Commission’s Green Paper on Security of Energy Supplies, in view of its next meeting in Seville”. News about the Future Will innovation flourish in the future?by Jerome I. FriedmanScience and technology grew exponentially during the 20th century. But will the conditions necessary for creating the kinds of innovations that shape our lives be sustained in the future?By definition, the word innovate means to bring in something new, to make changes in something established. Clearly, there is a continuum of innovation that ranges from breakthroughs that change the underpinnings of our society to new methods or tools to solve particular problems. The major innovations of the future, those that will shape society, will require a foundation of strong basic research. Innovation is the key to the future, but basic research is the key to future innovation. And today, the future of basic research appears vulnerable.Although applied research and invention play important roles in innovation, they do not generally produce the major conceptual breakthroughs necessary for creating radically new technologies. The limitation of focused or problem-oriented research becomes apparent in the following observation: If you know what you are looking for, you are limited by what you know. ENERGY 50th anniversary of CERN In the Organization’s golden jubilee year, CERN is focusing on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will be the world’s largest and most complex scientific instrument when it switches on in 2007. Experiments at the LHC will allow physicists to complete a journey that started with Newton’s description of gravity. Gravity acts on mass, but so far science is unable to explain why the fundamental particles have the masses they have. Experiments at the LHC may provide the answer. LHC experiments will also probe the mysterious missing mass and dark energy of the universe – visible matter seems to account for just 5% of what must exist. They will investigate the reason for nature’s preference for matter over antimatter, and they will probe matter as it existed at the very beginning of time. International Space Station: Science Experiments International Space Station: Science ExperimentsBioastronautics Research Crewmember and crew-ground interactions during International Space Station MissionsSpace flight places humans in an environment unlike any found on Earth. The nearly complete absence of gravity is perhaps the most prominent obstacle that astronauts face. It requires a significant modification of living and working habits by the astronauts. Not only do they have to learn to adapt to the way they perform routine operations, such as eating, moving and operating equipment, but they must also learn to adjust to the internal changes that their bodies experience and to the psychosocial stressors that result from working under isolated and confined conditions.The Interactions experiment will identify and characterize important interpersonal and cultural factors that may impact the performance of the crew and ground support personnel during International Space Station missions. Chromosomal Aberrations in Blood Lymphocytes of AstronautsCosmic radiation is a major risk factor in human space flight. This study will assess the mutagenic impact of ionizing radiation in crewmembers by analyzing chromosomal aberrations in blood lymphocytes from pre- and post-flight blood samples.Previous investigations studying chromosomal aberrations were conducted using conventional block stained Giemsa preparations. A disadvantage of this method is that only unstable aberrations, which are of less biological significance, can be detected.In the past few years, new methods of chromosomal recognition were developed, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), multi-colored FISH (mFISH), and multi-color banding FISH (mBAND). These techniques enable researchers to mark all chromosome pairs and allow detection of almost all aberration types in the genome, including stable and unstable ones. These new methods will provide new information about the effects of space radiation on humans. Physical Sciences Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI)On Earth when scientists melt metals, bubbles that form in the molten material can rise to the surface, pop and disappear. In microgravity — the near-weightless environment created as the International Space Station orbits Earth, the lighter bubbles do not rise and disappear. Prior space experiments have shown that bubbles often become trapped in the final metal or crystal sample. In the solid, these bubbles, or porosity, are defects that diminish both the material’s strength and usefulness.The Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation will melt samples of a transparent modeling material, succinonitrile and succinonitrile water mixtures. Investigators will be able to observe how bubbles form in the samples and study their movements and interactions. Space Flight Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School StudentsEarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) is a NASA education program that enables thousands of students to photograph and examine Earth from a space crew’s perspective.Using the Internet, the students control a special digital camera mounted on-board the International Space Station. This enables them to photograph the Earth’s coastlines, mountain ranges and other geographic items of interest from the unique vantage point of space. The team at EarthKAM then posts these photographs on the Internet for the public and participating classrooms around the world to view. Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE)The Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) will test the durability of hundreds of samples ranging from lubricants to solar cell technologies.The samples, engineered to better withstand the punishing effects of the Sun, extreme temperatures and other elements, will be flown 220 miles above the Earth — outside the International Space Station and unprotected by Earth’s atmosphere. By examining how the coatings fare in the harsh environment of space, researchers seek new insight into developing materials for future spacecraft, as well as making materials last longer on Earth.Managed by Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., MISSE is a collaborative effort among NASA centers, the U.S. Air Force and private industry. By pooling resources, these groups can reap the rewards of collaborating on advanced material-science research, while minimizing the total investment of any one participant. Bombardier EMBRIO The EMBRIO concept is a recreational and commuting vehicle that uses gyroscopic and electronic technology. It is a means of transportation, as well as a way of enjoying transportation as a positive activity. The main power source is a hydrogen fuel cell. In stand-by configuration, the vehicle’s front wheels deploy to the ground like a jet plane landing gear to increase longitudinal stability. Thus stabilized, the Bombardier EMBRIO looks perfectly at home in the urban landscape, displaying the beauty of its sculptural lines until it’s time to go for a ride. Bubble Fusion Nuclear engineer, Rusi Taleyarkhan led the research team at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee that has proposed a small table-top sized nuclear fusion device. Taleyarkhan described the project as true, “tabletop physics, using an apparatus the size of three coffee cups stacked on top of the other.” The researchers bombarded millimeter-sized bubbles of deuterated-acetone vapor with sound waves (called acoustic cavitation) that resulted in a burst of subatomic particles called neutrons and the production of tritium, an isotope of hydrogen both evidence of a nuclear fusion reaction. The bubbles reached temperatures of 10 million degrees Kelvin, the same as the center of the Sun. Earlier test data, which were reported in Science (Vol. 295, March 2002), indicated that nuclear fusion had occurred, but these data were questioned because they were taken with less precise instrumentation. Researchers Rusi Taleyarkhan, Colin West, and Jae-Seon Cho conducted the bubble fusion experiments at ORNL. At Rensselaer and in Russia, Professors Richard T. Lahey Jr., the Edward E. Hood Professor of Engineering at Rensselaer and the director of the analytical part of the joint research project, and Robert I. Nigmatulin performed the theoretical analysis of the bubble dynamics and predicted the shock-induced pressures, temperatures, and densities in the imploding vapor bubbles. Robert Block, professor emeritus of nuclear engineering at Rensselaer, helped to design, set up, and calibrate a state-of-the-art neutron and gamma ray detection system for the new experiments. “These extensive new experiments have replicated and extended our earlier results and hopefully answer all of the previous questions surrounding our discovery,” said Richard T. Lahey Jr. Recommended Book Hydrogen as Fuelby Richard Cammack (Editor), Michel Frey (Editor), Robert Robson (Editor), R.L. Robson, Michael Frey (Editor)The last five years have seen breakthroughs in the understanding of the nature, structure, and biosynthesis of hydrogenases. The book offers a timely description of these results which are just appearing in the scientific literature. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with environmentally friendly energy conservation. Supporter of the Club of Amsterdam event about ‘the future of Education & Learning‘ on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 is: The Club of Amsterdam Round Table: Willem Basten Willem Basten, CEO, LOGICmerce BV Our society faces a massive challenge. Our view of the world expands, we learn about places without visiting them and see people we never actually meet face to face. In the meantime our own sociological circumstances have changed rapidly and I am concerned we are overlooking this.We are a multi-cultural mix and we will have to adapt to it. Those amongst us who are so foolish as to ignore it or attempt to resist this, will become alienated in their struggle. We have to gain understanding and be willing to understand. We are facing a massive challenge. We have to preserve our identity and cultural heritance yet blend those with the flavours, feelings, religions and thoughts from our global neighbours. If not we ourselves, our children definitely will be global citizens. We will have to teach them and make them aware of the opportunities and challenges. That requires awareness. We have to create awareness and be willing to be aware. I am facing a massive challenge. Participating in an expanding complex society struggling with sociological change and struggling with identities it is not an easy task to determine what values to teach to my offspring to prepare them for global citizenship. And I am desperate for understanding and awareness. I do know that knowledge is power and I accept that the scope of our knowledge exceeds anyone’s individual intellectual capacities. So to maintain control over our society we need to share knowledge.In order to gain understanding and create awareness communication is key. Modern age technology offers progressively sophisticated tools to help us manage our knowledge and communicate facts, ideas and thoughts.So I master technology in as much this helps me. Yet one burning question keeps nagging: Is it making us better people??? Club of Amsterdam Events 2003/2004 October 28, 2003 the future of Food & Biotech November 27, 2003 the future of the Media & Entertainment Industry January 28, 2004 the future of the European Knowledge Society February 18, 2004 the future of Education & Learning March 31, 2004 the future of Energy – the Hydrogen Economy? April 28, 2004 the future of Healthcare & Technology May 19, 2004 the future of Architecture June 23, 2004 the future of Culture & Religion
Making a European Area of Lifelong Learning a Reality
by EC, Directorate-General for Education and CultureNovember 2001 When planning for a year, plant corn. When planning for a decade, plant trees. When planning for life, train and educate people.” Chinese proverb: Guanzi (c. 645BC)Executive SummaryThe Feira European Council in June 2000 asked the Member States, the Council and the Commission, within their areas of competence, to “identify coherent strategies and practical measures with a view to fostering lifelong learning for all”. This mandate confirms lifelong learning as a key element of the strategy, devised at Lisbon, to make Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society in the world. People are at the heart of this Communication. Over 12,000 citizens contributed to the consultation which was initiated by the Commission’s Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, issued in November of last year. The feedback highlighted only too clearly the enormity of the challenges ahead. Economic and social changes associated with the transition to a knowledge-based society present the European Union and its citizens with both benefits – in terms of increased opportunities for communication, travel and employment, and risks – not least relating to higher levels of inequality and social exclusion. The scale of such changes calls for a radical new approach to education and training. Moreover, the current uncertain economic climate places renewed emphasis and importance on lifelong learning. Traditional policies and institutions are increasingly ill-equipped to empower citizens for actively dealing with the consequences of globalisation, demographic change, digital technology and environmental damage. Yet people, their knowledge and competences are the key to Europe’s future.A European area of lifelong learningThis Communication contributes to the establishment of a European area of lifelong learning, the aims of which are both to empower citizens to move freely between learning settings, jobs, regions and countries, making the most of their knowledge and competences, and to meet the goals and ambitions of the European Union and the candidate countries to be more prosperous, inclusive, tolerant and democratic. This development will be facilitated by bringing together within a lifelong learning framework education and training, and important elements of existing European level processes, strategies and plans concerned with youth, employment, social inclusion, and research policy. This does not imply a new process, nor can it involve the harmonisation of laws and regulations. Rather, it calls for more coherent and economical use of existing instruments and resources, including through the use of the open method of coordination. In order to achieve the Lisbon aim of a knowledge-based society, close links will be established between the European area of lifelong learning and the European research area, particularly with a view to raising the interest of young people in science and technology careers. What is lifelong learning?Responses to the consultation on the Memorandum called for a broad definition of lifelong learning that is not limited to a purely economic outlook or just to learning for adults. In addition to the emphasis it places on learning from pre-school to post-retirement, lifelong learning should encompass the whole spectrum of formal, non-formal and informal learning. The consultation also highlighted the objectives of learning, including active citizenship, personal fulfilment and social inclusion, as well as employment-related aspects. The principles which underpin lifelong learning and guide its effective implementation emphasise the centrality of the learner, the importance of equal opportunities and the quality and relevance of learning opportunities. Coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategiesMember States agreed at the Feira European Council, and in the context of the European Employment Strategy, to develop and implement coherent and comprehensive strategies for lifelong learning. The building blocks of such strategies are set out here in order to assist Member States and actors at all levels. The implication of the building blocks is a gradual integration of formal learning environments with a view to making quality learning opportunities accessible for all, on an ongoing basis. The clear message is that traditional systems must be transformed to become much more open and flexible, so that learners can have individual learning pathways, suitable to their needs and interests, and thus genuinely take advantage of equal opportunities throughout their lives. The building blocks are consistent with the lifelong learning assessment criteria used in the Joint Employment Report 2001. A partnership approach is stipulated as the first building block. All relevant actors, in and outside the formal systems, must collaborate for strategies to work ‘on the ground’. Gaining insight into the needs of the learner, or the potential learner, along with learning needs of organisations, communities, wider society and the labour market is the next step. Adequate resourcing, in terms of financing and the effective and transparent allocation of resources, can then be addressed. The analysis then proceeds to how to match learning opportunities to learners’ needs and interests and how to facilitate access by developing the supply side to enable learning by anyone, anywhere, at any time. There is a clear need here for the formal sector to recognise and value non-formal and informal learning. Creating a culture of learning depends ultimately on increasing learning opportunities, raising participation levels and stimulating demand for learning. Finally, mechanisms for quality assurance, evaluation and monitoring are suggested, with a view to striving for excellence on an ongoing basis. Priorities for actionAction is proposed which builds on the European dimension to lifelong learning, while also supporting strategies at all levels. The priorities are presented under the six key messages, which were the basis of, and endorsed by, the European-wide consultation. A comprehensive new European approach to valuing learning is seen as a pre-requisite for the area of lifelong learning, building on the existing right of free movement within the EU. Proposals focus on the identification, assessment and recognition of non-formal and informal learning as well as on the transfer and mutual recognition of formal certificates and diplomas. Information, guidance and counselling is addressed mainly at European level, with proposals that aim at facilitating access to learning through the availability of quality guidance services. Investing time and money in learning, particularly in the context of the call for Member States to raise overall levels of investment in education and training in the Lisbon conclusions and in the European Employment Strategy, is a condition of bringing about the kind of fundamental changes which lifelong learning implies. There are no easy solutions to how this is to be achieved. Increased investment and targeted funding are called for, along with mechanisms for increasing private investment. Proposals to encourage and support learning communities, cities and regions as well as enabling workplaces to become learning organisations are seen as key ways to bring learning and learners closer together. Importance is also attached to the development of local learning centres. Complementing the work initiated at Lisbon and Stockholm on the ‘new’ basic skills, proposals are developed to ensure that the foundations of lifelong learning are accessible to all citizens, at all stages of their lives and not just within compulsory education. Finally, proposals for innovative pedagogy address the shift in emphasis from knowledge acquisition to competence development, and the new roles for teachers and learners that this implies. Driving forward the agendaAll actors are invited to work in partnership to drive forward the agenda: the Commission and the other European Institutions, the Member States, the EEA and candidate countries, the social partners, NGOs and international organisations (e.g. the Council of Europe, OECD, UNESCO). Implementation will be through existing processes, programmes and instruments, taken forward within the framework of lifelong learning. This framework will support the exchange of good practice and experience and thus the identification of shared problems, ideas and priorities. To facilitate this, the Commission will develop a database on good practice, information and experience concerning lifelong learning at all levels. The Follow-up to the Report on the Concrete Objectives of Education and Training Systems will be one of the main means for cooperation in this field, while the European Employment Strategy will continue to focus on the employment-related aspects of lifelong learning. The Community programmes – Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth – will be strengthened in the light of this Communication. Increasing the potential of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the ESF Community Initiative EQUAL to support implementation will also be examined. Progress will be measured and monitored through the use of a limited number of indicators – those in existence or development, as well as a small number of new indicators. Implementation will also be overseen by networks and structures: those already established, for example, as part of the consultation process, and a high level group of representatives of Ministries bearing the main responsibility for lifelong learning. This group will help to ensure the complementarity of measures developed in the field of lifelong learning, including the implementation of the work programme for the Follow-up of the Report on the Concrete Objectives of Education and Training Systems, with related processes, strategies and plans at European level. The next steps will be an endorsement of the main principles and proposals by the Council (Education and Youth Council, and the Employment and Social Policy Council), during the Spanish Presidency. There will also be a contribution by the Commission on lifelong learning to the Barcelona Spring Council of 15-16 March 2002. You can download the full report as a *.pdf file: click here
Incubating ‘Real Time Learning’
by Tom Bentley, Demos, Matthew Horne, Demos & NCSL Incubating ‘Real Time Learning’: The role and nature of Real Time Learning in Networked Learning Communities AbstractThis paper outlines the concept and emerging practice of ‘real time learning’ within the Networked Learning Communities Programme. Networked Learning Communities (NLC) is a large-scale, publicly funded, practitioner led, ‘development and research project’. Real time learning aims to be a knowledge generating and knowledge sharing set of processes and relationships which can help to meet the context-specific needs of practitioners working in school to school networks and the wider needs of a larger scale national programme aiming to improve attainment outcomes, meet some of the objectives of an ambitious national reform programme, and help to provide policy-makers with lessons about what constitutes effective, capacity-building intervention. The conceptual framework has been built on a synthesis of the principles of collaborative practitioner enquiry, action research and emergent forms of ‘knowledge management’. It is not designed to meet the conventional requirements of large scale academic research, but to be complementary to, and to draw on, the forms of knowledge which such research generates. As such, it may present a challenge to established conventions of academic ‘rigour’ in relation to the generation and use of knowledge about what forms of pedagogical strategy and organisation are valuable in seeking to improve student attainment outcomes. Clarifying this challenge is important, because it establishes a set of shared understandings between the practitioner community (represented by NLCs) and the researcher community, the value of which should be self-evident to all. The strategy is ambitious, and we are in the early stages of developing and implementing it. The most contested issue remains how knowledge generated through ‘real time learning’ could be used to inform policy making in a dynamic and fast-moving decision-making environment. You download the full report as a *pdf file: click here Visit also: http://www.demos.co.uk
Club of Amsterdam Journal, February 2004, Issue 19
Content Q&A with Frank Lekanne Deprez About the future of Education & Learning News about the Future Report about ‘the future of the European Knowledge Society Center for the Minds Recommended Book Round Table: Jelle Feringa Upcoming Events Club of Amsterdam SearchSubmit your articleContactSubscribe Q&A with Frank Lekanne Deprez Frank Lekanne Deprez, Director, ZeroSpace Advies Club of Amsterdam: In your practice you combine working at a university with working as a consultant. If you look 10-15 years ahead, how should universities change to meet the demand of business?Frank Lekanne Deprez: Learning in the agricultural economy focused on children between 7 and 14 years of age. Churches and other institutions were the ‘owners’ of the educational process. The amount and type of education was sufficient to last all the years of a working life. During the industrial economy, education was government led, and the age range of the formal student population was between 5 and 22. In the knowledge economy, education / training / learning is almost ubiquitous for all people at all ages. It’s about life broad learning, which refers to “the attitude that learning should not comprise a narrow sector of life, but rather life to its fullest extent” (Larsson, 2000). A job for life is replaced by ‘a life full of jobs”! Universities in the Knowledge Economy will be doing what they are designed to do: support life broad learning! Looking 10 -15 years ahead, people will probably have Personal Learning Accounts and Learning Portfolio’s. People decide where to go for their formal and non-formal learning challenges and experiences. Do they need just-in-time learning (on-line learning)? The challenge for the universities is to support the knowledge worker – anytime, anyway, anywhere – in his/her cycle of formal and non-formal learning requirements. Education & learning are prerequisites for a good functioning knowledge economy. What should in particular Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME’s : 20 – 250 people ) do to stay competitive in a knowledge economy?Frank Lekanne Deprez: Small companies have to increase their learning power to stay alive and kicking. In these type of companies you are either working or you are out of the ‘loop’, taking a course. Today people say, ‘I’m working’, and what they are doing is quickly answering e-mails and voicemails. In SME’s learning must become just that – ‘I’m working’. Formal learning (education) and non-formal learning (work, leisure time) experiences have to be considered as two sides of the same coin. SME’s often fail to integrate new information and knowledge into their ‘memory system’. Their absorptive capacity – the ability to recognize the value of new external knowledge, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends – is low. Currently government controls most educational institutions in Europe. Should government control continue or should education be left to market forces?Frank Lekanne Deprez: Formal education will be government – driven (investment in human capital). Non-formal education (workplace/daily life) will increasingly be market – driven (investment in intellectual capital). Once attention is focused on workplace learning and leisure time learning as an important source of knowledge and experience that will drive the innovative capabilities and growth potential of companies, both government and the market place become part of a shared learning community using their resources for common advantage. Frank Lekanne Deprez speaks at our Club of Amsterdam Event aboutthe future of Education & Learning on Wednesday, February 18, 18:30-22:15! About the future of Education & Learning Incubating ‘Real Time Learning’by Tom Bentley, Demos, Matthew Horne, Demos & NCSLReal time learning aims to be a knowledge generating and knowledge sharing set of processes and relationships which can help to meet the context-specific needs of practitioners working in school to school networks and the wider needs of a larger scale national programme aiming to improve attainment outcomes, meet some of the objectives of an ambitious national reform programme, and help to provide policy-makers with lessons about what constitutes effective, capacity-building intervention. The conceptual framework has been built on a synthesis of the principles of collaborative practitioner enquiry, action research and emergent forms of ‘knowledge management’. It is not designed to meet the conventional requirements of large scale academic research, but to be complementary to, and to draw on, the forms of knowledge which such research generates. Making a European Area of Lifelong Learning a Realityby EC, Directorate-General for Education and CultureThe Feira European Council in June 2000 asked the Member States, the Council and the Commission, within their areas of competence, to “identify coherent strategies and practical measures with a view to fostering lifelong learning for all”. This mandate confirms lifelong learning as a key element of the strategy, devised at Lisbon, to make Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society in the world. News about the Future IBM Text-to-Speech Research“Text-to-speech (TTS) is the generation of synthesized speech from text. Our goal is to make sythesized speech as intelligible, natural and pleasant to listen to as human speech and have it communicate just as meaningfully. We have developed a novel TTS system, built on IBM’s work in data-driven methodologies for speech recognition. Unlike many others, our system obtains its parameters through completely automated training on a few hours of speech data, which is acquired by recording a specially prepared script. During synthesis very small segments of recorded human speech are concatenated together to produce the synthesized speech.” ENERGY Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)SERC is dedicated to increasing knowledge of the biological and physical processes that sustain life on earth. SERC’s interdisciplinary research applies long-term studies to examine the ecological questions about landscapes of linked ecosystems, especially those impacted by human activities. SERC scientists use an experimental approach to discover mechanisms regulating the structure and dynamics of the environment. Several studies focus on the effects of increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by fossil fuel combustion and forest clearing. Increased CO2 contributes to the “greenhouse effect,” the trapping of heat in the atmosphere. Global warming causes increases in sea level and changes in weather patterns. This threatens destruction of coastal areas, alteration of natural ecosystems, and widespread disruption of agriculture. Report about ‘the future of the European Knowledge Society’ Report: the future of the European Knowledge Society The Club of Amsterdam organised a conference about ‘the future of the European Knowledge Society’ on January 28, 2004. This report will give you a brief summary of the topics and the discussion between the panel and the participants of the Club of Amsterdam. The participants of the event filled out a questionnaire; you can find the results in the report. Centre for the Mind Paul Scherrer Institute – PSI General Energy Research Department (ENE)Research at PSI comprises all aspects of human energy use, with the ultimate goal of promoting development towards a sustainable energy supply system. Technologies are being advanced for the utilization of renewable energy sources, low-loss energy storage, efficient conversion, and low emission energy use. Experimental and model-based assessment of these emissions forms the basis of a comprehensive assessment of economic, ecological and environmental consequences, for both present and future energy supply systems. Electrochemistry Laboratory (ECL)The Electrochemistry Laboratory is part of the General Energy Research Department at the Paul Scherrer Institute. It is dedicated to modern aspects of electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Micro- and Nanostructuring Technology: Nano Imprint LithographyNano Imprint Lithography (Hot Embossing Lithography) is a novel technique for the fabrication of nanostructures on large surfaces. The method is based on the excellent replication fidelity obtained with polymers and combines thermo-plastic molding with common pattern transfer methods. Once a solid stamp with a nanorelief on the surface is fabricated it can be used for the replication of many identical surface patterns. It therefore circumvents many limitations of conventional optical lithography. Center for Radiopharmaceutical ScienceOur VisionTo create smart radioactive drugs – radiodiagnostics/therapeutics to target metastatic diseasesTo visualize molecular functions of brain and tumors with PET-radioligands Laboratory for AstrophysicsOur Laboratory is involved in experimental, observational, and theoretical astrophysics, in the building of space harware components, as well as in the development of cryogenic detectors. Major projects developed or being developed include contributions to the XMM-Newton, Hessi, Integral, GWST-MIRI space observatories. Recommended Book Innovation, Competence Building and Social Cohesion in Europe: Towards a Learning Societyby Pedro Conceicao (Editor), Manuel V. Heitor (Editor), Bengt-Ake Lundvall (Editor) It is almost universally accepted that we are moving increasingly towards an information society, where knowledge and learning are the new currency of power. This book seeks to challenge this axiom by looking in more detail at the subtle relationships between knowledge and social development. The editors are at pains to differentiate the process of knowledge creation from the simple accumulation of knowledge. The original contributions within this book are aimed at capturing new socio-economic trends and finding policy strategies promoting the learning society in Europe through joint efforts and integrated actions on innovation, competence building and social cohesion. Innovation, Competence Building and Social Cohesion in Europe will be of special interest to researchers and scholars of science and innovation and technical change. Its policy recommendations will ensure that the book will also appeal to social scientists of education policy. Supporter of the Club of Amsterdam event about ‘the future of Education & Learning’ on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 is: The Club of Amsterdam Round Table: Jelle Feringa Jelle Feringa, EZCT, a network dedicated to critical research Other than globalization another radical societal phenomena is occurring, having equally radically implications on life; the phantomisation of society. Invariably we deal with phantom-systems; those however abstract have radical implications on daily life. Economy by no doubt is the greatest, most implying of these systems. How global and grotesque this system is, its influence resonates in each of our lives. A phantom aspect is that when the economy is slow (what is that ‘is slow?’), the cause is most likely far from our empirical perception. By phantom-system I don’t aim for those systems that are incomprehensible, but those that fall out of empirical reach. When someone’s credit card is duplicated on the other end of the world, and the account cleaned out, you’re likely to receive another form of empathy, than if you would have been robbed from your physical money. If your library goes up in flames, or if your record collection is stolen, people are much more likely to sympathize with you than when your hard drive cracks up. The greater part of the infrastructure facilitating these phantom-systems is never disclosed to most persons: from telephony servers to internet backbones, the servers running banks & stock exchanges up to the source code of the system running most home-computers (until this week that is… [click here]) Perhaps the most important societal phantomisation is the lack of causation in the profession one performs, and the reason one survives, nearly a lack of primitivism one might argue. The abstraction allowing this is at the instigation of economy. I wonder if this implies for a cultural norm: does it imply a certain superiority over there where a relation between action and survival can be deduced. Club of Amsterdam Events 2003/2004 October 28, 2003 the future of Food & Biotech November 27, 2003 the future of the Media & Entertainment Industry January 28, 2004 the future of the European Knowledge Society February 18, 2004 the future of Education & Learning March 31, 2004 the future of Energy – the Hydrogen Economy? April 28, 2004 the future of Healthcare & Technology May 19, 2004 the future of Architecture June 23, 2004 the future of Culture & Religion
Knowledge creation and management
by Philippa Cordingley, CUREE Knowledge creation and management – building an enquiry and research strategy for a networked learning initiative Background In 2003 the English National College for School Leadership established a research and development initiative to promote “Networked Learning Communities” (NLCs). The programme invited volunteer networks of schools with either Higher Education or Local Education Authority partners to prepare proposals for supporting networked learning for pupils, adults, school leaders and groups of schools over a three year period. Successful bidders were to be offered £50,000 per year and the opportunity to work with other similar networks. Forty networks started in September 2002 and a further 40 started in January 2003 involving some 1000 schools in total. The initiative was supported by the Networked Learning Group (NLG) at the National College, comprising approximately 50 professional and administrative support staff including a group of facilitators whose role was to support networks. During the Autumn term 2002 a small group of facilitator-researchers worked with the author, an external consultant, to start to develop the oriented research strategy for the programme highlighted in the symposium submission. This included preliminary work on defining what such a strategy might mean and the nature of its relationship with professional learning, practitioner enquiry and more traditional research. This paper explores the process or developing an appropriate research strategy within an initiative oriented towards knowledge production. It does so through an examination of early strategic decisions relating to programme values, empirical and theoretical approaches to research utilisation, drawing in particular on the work of Huberman (1993) and concludes with case study examples of early research related work. In doing so the paper enters contested territory in full acknowledgement that the efforts of the programme make pragmatic compromises; the reflections here are offered tentatively to the world of academic critique for debate, refinement and exploration, not as simple solutions. There are three core features of the Networked Learning Communities Programme that set the context and framework for developing its research strategy: • its comprehensive attempt to embrace the complexity of networked reform in education communities;• its emphasis upon enquiry oriented learning; and• its claims to contribute to knowledge creation for and on behalf of others. The NLC programme is positioned on the boundary between schools and teachers and university-based research. Some, but by no means all NLCs have strong links with universities and have specific research aims. An early question for the initiative, which will ultimately shape the direction of the Programme’s research strategy, is how far can or should knowledge creation be defined in traditional research terms and what is the connection to be made between programme approaches and those of academe? The scale of the programme, its 3 year timescale and its capacity to link policy making, practice and research all have the potential to complement established approaches to research but not necessarily to duplicate them. You can download the full paper as a *.pdf file: click here Visit also the Club of Amsterdam conference about ‘the future of the Education & Learning‘