Interview in the run-up to the R&D Management conference 2022: “Frugal Digital Innovation and Transformation”

 
R&D Today conducts an interview with Suchit Ahuja, Rajnish Tiwari and
Stephanie Cadeddu in the run-up to the R&D Management Conference 2022.

Center for Frugal Innovation is also this year involved in the organization of a track at this year’s R&D Management conference (July 11-13, 2022) in Trento in Italy.

Track 2.15 with the title “Frugal Digital Innovation & Transformation: Impacting Business, Society, and the Environment”is being organized by Track Chairs: Suchit Ahuja (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada), Rajnish Tiwari (Hochschule Fresenius/Center for Frugal Innovation, Hamburg University of Technology, Germany), and Stephanie Cadeddu (Cégep du Vieux Montréal, Canada).

R&D Today, which is a publication outlet of the Research and Development Management Association (RADMA) spoke with the Chairs of this track. In their own words:

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Leveraging bionanotechnology for sustainable and inclusive growth: New CFI publication

The Center for Frugal Innovation has published a new report on prospects of Indo-German collaboration in ensuring affordable healthcare with the help of bionanotechnology, also known as nanobiotechnology or nanomedicine, depending on the context. The report with the title “Leveraging bionanotechnology for sustainable and inclusive growth : prospects for Indo-German collaboration in ensuring affordable healthcare” has been prepared by Dr. Sadhana Tiwari and Prof. Dr. Rajnish Tiwari, and published by the Consulate General of India, Hamburg.

Abstract of the report

The field of bionanotechnology, sometime also referred to as nanobiotechnology, has emerged from the intersection of nanotechnology and biotechnology. Today, it constitutes one of the fastest growing research fields due to its enormous potential. A particularly promising area of application for bionanotechnology is Life Sciences or Healthcare, where nanomedicine can help with advance diagnostics and targeted, patient-specific treatment in an effective and speedy manner while reducing the use of resources. Thus, bionanotechnology shows high compatibility with principles of “affordable excellence” that lie at the roots of the modern concept of frugal innovation.

India and Germany both have made substantial progress in this field and many research institutions, universities, startups and established enterprises are active stakeholders of this industry, along with government bodies. Biomaterials, biosensors, functional systems, drug transport/targeting and implants are the five most active technology fields in Germany’s nanobiotechnology sector, while a strong focus can be observed in the application areas of diagnostics, medical devices, therapeutics and regenerative medicine within the Health/Pharma sector. These areas coincide with India’s thrust areas of research that is, however, still largely concentrated in research institutions. A bilateral cooperation between India and Germany can be highly rewarding as it can use complementary strengths of the respective ecosystems and help each other in overcoming their weaknesses, e.g. in ensuring translational research, developing common regulatory/safety standards, better utilization of resources & infrastructure, and creation of cutting-edge knowledge through joint research and exchange programs for researchers, scientists, students and entrepreneurs to intensify interaction.

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Ökonomischer Druck im Gesundheitsbereich und die Bedeutung des “frugalen” Ansatzes

In der FAZ von heute (9.12.2015, S. N1) beklagt Prof. Dr. Gerd Hasenfuß, Direktor der Klinik für Kardiologie und Pneumologie an der Universitätsmedizin Göttingen und zugleich Vorsitzender der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin e.V., den zunehmenden Kostendruck, dem Universitätskliniken Stand halten müssen. “Unter diesem ökonomischen Druck wird die Forschung an Universitätskliniken einbrechen – mit allen Folgen, die das für die Patientenversorgung, den Fortschritt und den Standort Deutschland hat”, so Prof. Hasenfuß.

Ist dies ein weiterer Indikator dafür, dass die Bedeutung des “frugalen” Ansatzes (“erschwingliche Exzellenz” / “affordable excellence”) auch in Deutschland zunehmen wird; nicht nur aber gerade in den Bereichen, wo die öffentliche Hand als Kostenträger von dieser Entwicklung betroffen ist?

(Rajnish Tiwari // 9. Dez. 2015)

CFI in News…

Recently, the Times of India (Pune edition, July 4th, 2015) carried out a report on avenues of Indo-German partnership, especially in the field of startups and research. The article, titled “Indian startups, research ideas catch Germany’s eye” was written by Ms. Roli Srivastava, who was “in Germany on the ‘Media Ambassadors India ­ Germany’ fellowship programme of the International Media Centre and Robert Bosch Stiftung”. Ms. Srivastava paid CFI a visit and talked with Dr. Stephan Buse and Dr. Rajnish Tiwari on various aspects of Indo-German relations and especially on “frugal innovation”. One aspect of this talk centered on a partnership that CFI has forged with Prof. Aravind Chinchure, chair professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Symbiosis International University in Pune (India). Her visit to CFI was preceded by a talk by Dr. Rajnish Tiwari to the group of “Media Ambassadors India Germany” at the International Media Centre of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, on the following theme “Partnering in the technical field: Current status and future scope for Indo-German relations”.

The following excerpts are from Ms. Srivastava’s report:

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Report: “OECD Says Economic Gains From Big Ships Are Sinking”

Frugal & efficient usage of resources gets into focus in the maritime industry

By: Rajnish Tiwari

Hamburg Port

Hamburg Port (Photo: R. Tiwari)

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (June 3, 2015), “A new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development suggests that operating cost benefits to ocean carriers may not be as valuable as originally assumed for the new round of megaships […]” The report raises the question whether “container ships [are] getting too big, too fast to justify the savings that shipping lines expect from economies of scale?” The OECD study was apparently presented at the 29th World Ports Conference in Hamburg. Main themes of interest underlying the conference are efficient and sparing usage of resources, surface areas, and energy, reports German newspaper Die Welt (3.6.2015):

“Hauptthemen der Konferenz sind der effiziente und sparsame Umgang mit Ressourcen, Flächen und Energie.”

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