As our speakers confirm their presence for the summer school we will update this page. We are grateful for these experts for providing their time and energy!
Affiliation:
- Associate Professor at EPFL, Chair of Policy & Sustainability, and Co-Managing Director at Enterprise for Society (E4S)
Session:
- Wednesday June 26th: Challenges in Sustainable Development
Professor Michaël Aklin received his PhD from New York University in Political Science in 2014. He completed a postdoc position at the University of Pennsylvania. After eight years as a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, he accepted the positions of Associate Professor of Economics at EPFL and of
Co-Managing Director Enterprise for Society Center (E4S). E4S is a joint venture between EPFL, IMD, and the University of Lausanne. Prof. Aklin collaborates with a variety of NGOs, policymakers, academics, private industry companies, and more.
Affiliation:
- Managing Director & Senior Policy Analyst, PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement
Session:
- Tuesday June 25th: Science for International Cooperation
Affiliation:
- Specialist for Open Science at Swiss Academies of Sciences
Session:
- Thursday June 27th: Open Science
Olivia Denk is the key specialist implementing the Swiss National Strategy of the “Open Research Data” project. In addition to her role at the Swiss Academies of Sciences, Olivia is completing her PhD in Classical Archaeology at the University of Basel. During her studies at the University of Basel, Olivia has also added her expertise to supporting the research and teaching such as serving as the:
- Deputy Assistant in database organization in the Department of Archaeology
- Scientific Project Employee where she organized and implemented the SNSF project “Cults and Shines on the Chalkidike.”
- Research Navigator who supports research projects specifically in the navigation of digital data and methods of digital humanities/history
- Digital Curator for research data
Affiliation:
- Previous Managing Director at the IRGC Foundation and the Executive Directory at the EPFL International Risk Governance Center
Session:
- Wednesday June 26th: Writing Policy Workshop
Marie-Valentin received her Masters in Public Policy and Management from Science Po in Paris after a successful career in socio-cultural research and marketing within a consulting agency. She continued to earn further education in marketing strategy, sustainable development and environmental diplomacy. Marie-Valentin has a wealth if experience in leading workshops with expert participants (scientists, innovators and policy makers) to facilitate the difficult work of creating policy documentation together.
Affiliation:
- Professor Emeritus and Honorary Chair of Economics & Management of Innovation at EPFL
Session:
- Tuesday June 25th: Innovation Advising
Professor Dominique Foray was as a full professor and Chair of the economics and management of innovation department at EPFL. He successfully taught courses, performed research, and lead the department at the intersection of rising innovation and policy. Previous to his tenure at EPFL, Prof. Foray taught as a professor at the Ecole Centrale de Paris and served as research director of the National Center for Scientific Research CNRS (Lyon) and performed the work of a principal analyst at the OECD. In addition to his academic leadership and research, Prof. Foray has a rich history of advising government organizations in his roles at times as:
- Chair of the European Commission’s Knowledge for Growth expert group
- Member of the Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation (Division IV)
- Foreign member of the German Expert Commission on Research and Innovation (EFI)
- Foreign member of the Center of Capitalism and Society (Columbia University, New York)
- Member of the Expert Group for the first Swiss National Report on Research and Innovation (SBFI)
- Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Swiss Economic Research Institute (KOF)
- Member of the Swiss Science Council (SWR)
Affiliation:
- Head of Section CO2 Compensation at the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment
Session:
- Thursday June 27th: Project Assessment
Dr. Aric Gliesche received his PhD in Theoretical Physics from EPFL in 2007. His interest and experience in climate technology and sustainability led him to the position of Head of the CO2 Compensation section at the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). Here he directs the systematic review of current policies affiliated with CO2 reduction, advises government policymakers, and develops strategies to implement actionable policies for CO2 compensation in Switzerland.
Affiliation:
- Communication Officer at the University of Basel
Session:
- Thursday June 27th: Science Journalism
After attaining her PhD in genetics from the University of Basel, Dr. Jacobs invested in science communication efforts at the publication NZZ am Sonntag and at ETH Zurich. She spent four years as a science journalist for Keystone-SDA before returning to the University of Basel to provide her expertise as a science writer and corporate communication officer. Through her experiences, Dr. Jacobs has successfully researched and written about a myriad of scientific research topics and new technologies.
Affiliation:
- Lecturer / Research Coordinator at University of Zurich; Associate at Policy Analytics; Team Member at Behavioral Insights for better Politics and Societies
Session:
- Thursday June 27th: Defining and Measuring Impact
Affiliation:
- Public Health Researcher at Swiss Learning Health System at the University of Lucerne
Session:
- Wednesday June 26th: Global Health Challenges
Affiliation:
- Scientist at Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and Senior Researcher at the University of Zurich
Session:
- Wednesday June 26th: Climate Change Challenges
Affiliation:
- Water Researcher and Project Manager at Eawag – ETH Zurich
Session:
- Wednesday June 26th: Panel discussion with NGOs and Social Start-up Professionals
Affiliation:
- Deputy head of Institute for Environmental Decisions at ETHZ
Session:
- Tuesday June 25th: Problem-Driven Research
Professor Patt received his PhD from Harvard University before joining ETHZ as the head of the Climate Policy Lab. Due to the global impact of his research, Prof. Patt analyzes data from many countries and from a variety of economic sectors to determine how we, as a global society, can work towards a greener future. In addition to his academic role at ETHZ, Prof. Patt also serves as:
- Coordinating Lead Author for Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Glacier Initiative in Switzerland
- Member of the board of directors of Protect Our Winters
Affiliation:
- Senior Researcher Interdisciplinary Institute of Ethics and Human Rights at UniFr
Session:
- Tuesday June 25th: Ethics of Innovation
Affiliation:
- Doctoral Researcher at ETH Zürich, Board member at Reatch and Co-lead Franxini-Project
Session:
- Thursday June 27th: Science Outreach
Affiliation:
- Senior Project Manager at INFRAS
Session:
- Tuesday June 26th: Giving Advice as Consultant
Affiliation:
- MA student at University College London and recent Scimpact Manager at Reatch
Session:
- Thursday June 27th: Science Outreach
Affiliation:
- Co-CEO at the Simon Institute for Longterm Governance
Session:
- Wednesday June 26th: Challenges in AI
Konrad has co-founded and led two successful organizations:
- Effective Altruism Switzerland (previous)
- Simon Institute for Longterm Governance (current)
Through these innovative institutes, Konrad and his colleagues develop strategies at the intersection of philanthropy, policy, and entrepreneurship. By supporting the experts who meet at this interface to consider the longterm impact of their decisions, the Simon Institute ensures a healthier and safer future for our global society.
Affiliation:
- Openversum Co-founder
Session:
- Wednesday June 26th: Panel discussion with NGOs and Social Start-up Professionals
Affiliation:
- President of the Institute for Global Negotiation
Session:
- Thursday-Friday June 27-28th: Negotiation Simulation Workshop
Dr. Williams received bachelors from University of York in Politics with international Relations and masters at the University of Bern in political, legal and economic philosophy. Before his PhD studies at the University of Zurich in political philosophy, Dr. Williams took a position as a visiting researcher at Princeton University in political theory.
Today Dr. Williams is the President of the Institute for Global Negotiation which is designed to teach, model, and facilitate negotiation skills to academics and practitioners alike. Additionally, Dr. Williams also serves as:
- Consultant for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
- Adjunct professor at several institutes (Sciences Po Paris, Leuphana University Lüneburg, American University of Kurdistan)
- CEDR accredited mediator
- Member of The Negotiation Studio
- Member of the Program on International Negotiation Training
- Volunteer community mediator for Hastings & Rother Mediation
Affiliation:
- Head of Sector for Scientific Impact and Feedback to Policy at the European Research Council
Session:
- Thursday June 27th: EU-Feedback Loop
Dr. Zika achieved her PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and launched her career in public policy in 2004 as a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the United States National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. From this point, Dr. Zika has made in impact in key positions in the European Commission (DG JRC-IPTS), the UK Medical Research Council, the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), and the European Research Council (ERC). At the ERC, Dr. Zika led as the Head of Sector, Fundamental Life Sciences and Health and now leads Head of Sector, Scientific Impact and Feedback to Policy.