Dominique Foray1 - Current occupations and activities I am Full Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and hold the Chair of Economics and Management of Innovation (CEMI). I am a member of the Swiss Council for Science (SWR); chairman of the Advisory Board of the Swiss Economic Research Institute (KOF); and a foreign member of the Center of Capitalism and Society (Columbia University, New York). From 2007 to 2015, I served as a member of the Swiss National Research Council (Division IV - Large Scale Programs) From 2013 to 2016, I was a member of the Expert Commission for Research and Innovation of Germany (E-FI) and a member of the Expert Group for the National Report on Research and Innovation (SBFI, Switzerland). From 2008 to 2011, I served as chairman of the expert group Knowledge for Growth; a group of prominent economists created to advise Commissioner J. Potocnik (European Commission, DG research). This is during this service as member of this Group that I developed the concept of smart specialisation (together with P.A.David and B.Hall) that is now a key policy mechanism of the EU (cohesion policy). My expertise includes the economics of innovation and knowledge and the economic policy implications of the new knowledge-based economy. I have presented many opening speeches and key note address in academic and policy conferences on these topics. I have written numerous academic papers as well as two books and have edited several books and special issues in these fields. Among these books,I like to highlight : Technology and the Wealth of Nations (Pinter, 1992) ed.with C.Freeman; Unemployment and Growth in the Knowledge-based Economy (OECD, 1996), ed. with B.A.Lundvall; Knowledge economies and societies (a special issue of the International Social Science Journal, Basil Blackwell, 2002, with editions in French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabs, Russian); The Economics of knowledge (MIT press, 2004, paperback in 2006) with editions in France, Italy, Korea, China, Greece, Syria and Algeria The New Economics of Technology Policy(Edward Elgar)2009, ed.; . Smart specialisation : opportunities and challenges for regional innovation policy(Routledge, 2015) Since 2017, I regularly contribute to the Swiss Science Council blog: https://blog.wissenschaftsrat.ch/ 2 Education, previous appointments and academic positions - I received my Ph.D. in economics in 1984 and my "habilitation à diriger des recherches" in 1992 from the University Lumière of Lyon. - In 1985, I joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) as a Research Fellow in economics. - In 1990, I joined the Ecole Centrale de Paris as professor of economics, and taught in the program ingénieur économiste. - In 1993, I was nominated as Research Director at CNRS and joined the Institut pour le Management de la Recherche et de l'Innovation (IMRI) of the University of Paris-Dauphine. - In 2001-2004, I worked as a Principal Analyst at the Center for Education, Research and Innovation of OECD (Paris). - I joined the EPFL as Professeur Ordinaire in 2004. 3 - Honours and awards Best young economist award - City of Lyon (France)1986 Outstanding research in 1995 (médaille du CNRS)(France) Futuris award in 2012 for his work on smart specialisation Best paper award, EJIM, 2014 Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Cluj Napoca, 2017 I was also elected as Research Fellow at ICER (International Center for Economic Research) in Turin, at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin and at IIASA in Laxenburg; and I was Invited Professor at the Universities of Santiago de Compostela, Torino and Padova. 4 - Consulting activities I have done consulting work for the UNESCO, the OECD, WIPO, UNCTAD, UN/ECE, the European Commission, the Swiss Government and other public organisations. I am currently strongly involved into the "smart specialisation" debate in Europe, giving talks and providing advices in many countries and regions in Europe. Alexandra Corina NiculescuEducational expert with 15 years of experience in multicultural environments, I take my passion from supporting learners in improving their performance in achievement settings. Having worked for or collaborated with prestigious academic, governmental and non-profit institutions, I take a multi-disciplinary approach on education with insights from psychology, medical education and organizational management. During my research and teaching, academic coaching, curriculum design or consultancy, I value the human aspect of education and focus on the role of emotions and the value of providing feedback for better performance. In my approach, success is the outcome of an interaction between what characteristics a learner brings in and the amount of support provided by the environment. In other words, academic success is a matter of finding the most suitable educational approaches of engaging the learner in the learning process.
Ingrid Le DucI am committed and passionate for furthering Academic Development as a profession that intersects with current educational standards and teachers real concerns. Being exposed to a variety of academic cultures I grew a particular interest in understanding learning and its behavior taking into consideration how learning may be influenced by external and societal factors. Studies: PhD in Social Psychology, London School of Economics, 2001. Thesis title: 'Social Representations of Human Rights: the case of the patrona-muchacha relationship'. A look inside the private life of women in Mexican middle-class urban households. Licenciatura in Psychology at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, UNAM, 1995. Additional training: I am currently training as a systemic and strategic therapist at the Gregory Bateson Institute, the European representation of the Mental Research Institute located in Palo Alto, California. In 2004 I became an accredited Quality Management Evaluator of the European Foundation of Quality Management EFQM. Experience: Before joining EPFL in 2009, I worked at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) where I collaborated as a Quality Advisor for teachers and instructors. Teaching assistant at the Department of Social Psychology of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). My first job in Educational Development was as part of a newly established Pedagogical Research Support for the Virtual Campus Project of the renowned Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM)at Mexico City (1996-1997). I volunteered for many causes, such as for the Indo-American Refugee and Migrant Organization (IRMO), in London and Amnesty International. Mandates: During my free-time I participate on trainings on scientific communication and teaching in Higher Education.
Valentin Daniel Maurice BourdonValentin Bourdon est architecte Dr EPFL, chercheur postdoctorant et assistant d'enseignement. Il obtient son diplôme d'architecture en juillet 2013 à l’École d’Architecture de la Ville et des Territoires Paris-Est à Marne-la-Vallée sous la direction de Jacques Lucan, et son doctorat en septembre 2020 à l’EPFL sous la direction de Luca Ortelli. Depuis septembre 2021, il est coordinateur exécutif du Habitat Research Center et coordinateur du programme MAS ETH EPFL UTD. Engagé dans les recherches du Laboratoire de Construction et Conservation entre janvier 2017 et septembre 2021, il participe aussi à l'encadrement de l'atelier Housing - Théorie et critique du projet, en troisième année d'architecture. En 2019 il bénéficie d'un séjour académique de six mois au sein du Metrolab Bruxelles grâce au soutien du FNS, et multiplie pendant sa recherche les publications scientifiques et à destination du grand public. Son arrivée en Suisse et son retour dans le monde académique interviennent après une expérience professionnelle approfondie au sein de l’agence parisienne MGAU Michel Guthmann Architecture Urbanisme. De 2010 à 2016, il participe à la majorité des projets développés par l'agence et assure le suivi de plusieurs d'entre eux, aussi bien des logements collectifs que des projets urbains. Il est architecte habilité à exercer la maîtrise d’œuvre en son nom propre depuis janvier 2015.
