— English
An introductory elucidation of open science
The concept of open science is not a new one. It can be traced back to Merton (1957) and then to economists (Dagupta and David, 1994), who describe the working of science as a social institution: science is based on the so-called priority-based reward system. This system gives researchers credit for the prompt and full disclosure of their discoveries (usually in academic journals, but sometimes via other outlets such as databases), accomplishing several interrelated objectives (Cockburn et al., 2011). A priority-based reward system complements academic freedom (an academic scientist has incentives to come up with their own solution to a problem that another is also dealing with – the latter being eager to learn about the solution found by the former), it encourages prompt disclosure, it secures a collective process of quality control and provides a transparent means for access by future scientists to the body of knowledge in a particular area. Open science seems therefore to be a more complex concept than open access. It describes a set of institutions and social norms that are functionally quite well suited to the goal of maximising the long-run growth of the stock of scientific knowledge. (In another paper posted on the SWR blog two years ago, I explained that it is because of the importance of open science for scientific performance that citizen science – which is not necessarily based on open science – is not as straightforward as is generally thought).Read more
Who is driving technology policy? Is technology driving us or are we in the driver’s seat?
New technologies such as modern robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing or quantum technologies are forcing the economy and society to innovate at a fast pace. This raises the question: Is technology driving us or are we driving it? Do we have the right technology policy instruments at our disposal to respond to this pace?
The massive funding in COVID-19 research and the “elasticity” of science
The case for investing in research to prevent pandemic outbreaks may have been strong. However, now that that pandemic is upon us, and given the many demands on the public purse, is it wise to invest large amounts in COVID-19 research? Indeed, public funders are multiplying initiatives to fund SARS-CoV-2 research. Strikingly, the NIH has received 1.8 billion dollars to spend in COVID-19 research. On a smaller scale, the EU, Canada, France, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, South Africa and other countries - all have launched new initiatives and grant calls to support COVID-19 research. China is now running in excess of 500 clinical trials related to the coronavirus. And more research funding is probably forthcoming.Read more
Quantum technologies – the second quantum revolution in Switzerland
Quantum technologies have the potential to deeply impact our industry and society. Using unique features of the quantum world, they allow for secure communication, new and ground breaking ultra-high sensitivity sensors, and, probably, on a ten year time scale, quantum computing. The latter promises a major boost in computing power that could lead to the solution of complex simulation problems for example in chemistry, material science or logistics.Read more
Medical Education of future doctors
After having increased the number of medical graduates within the 2017-2020 period, a reassessment of the medical education is required for the next period. The current medical curricula tend to be overloaded because of the growing scientific knowledge and the expectations of the various stakeholders in the medical field. Thus, future medical doctors will need more and more competences. Due to big data and artificial intelligence new tools will facilitate clinical work of medical doctors. However, digital competence goes beyond IT and computational skills and education in computer science has to be included in the medical curricula.Read more
Open letter from the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany to Prime Minister Orbán
The German science organisations are concerned by the plans of the Hungarian government to install new legislation affecting the freedom and autonomy of science in Hungary. In the edition of the newspaper “Die ZEIT” from 27th June, the Hungarian Minister of Innovation defended his government's actions and rejected criticism. In response to this and before the vote on a law to restructure the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany addressed Hungary's Prime Minister Orbán in an open letter on 1 July:Read more
Boosting technology development through mission-oriented policy mechanisms
Most western countries – including innovation champions such as the USA – have a tradition of mission-oriented policy. These policies pursue the goal of supporting a particular set of new technologies. As such, they involve preferential interventions towards a certain technological domain and can be characterised by a higher degree of intentionality, prioritisation and centralisation than the standard policies focusing on framework conditions.Read more
Gender gap in engineering
According to recent statistics, the gender gap in the technical sciences and engineering fields is still disproportionately high in Europe and North America. European countries with high-income have a surprisingly low proportion of female engineers in research and industry, in comparison to developing countries like Eastern Europe, Central and South Asia and Latin America.Read more
Patents and innovation – a difficult case for economists!
Economists are sometimes disappointing; they struggle to take sides. It’s the famous story of President Truman’s chief economist who couldn’t give a fixed opinion on most subjects of economic policy. It was always “on the one hand... on the other hand“ to the point that one day, exasperated, Truman exclaimed – “Someone please bring me a one-handed economist!“. Read more
A response to the Avenir Suisse report: Two more points to consider
The Avenir Suisse report on Swiss universities with its reform agenda to increase their efficiency and effectiveness is most interesting and opens up numerous opportunities for discussion. As it’s not possible to comment on all of it, I’ll concentrate on two points: firstly, the problems, extensively discussed in the report, of duplication, waste and scattering of resources, linked with a tendency towards a certain uniformisation of institutions especially via the “academisation” of universities of applied sciences (UASs). And secondly, the problems of innovation to renew this old industry of higher education, which the report, rather strangely, barely mentions. Read more