The magazine for EPFL graduates

Summer 2018No 8

TECH

EPFL: the drone capital

Reinventing trust in the digital era || p.22

Quicker, stronger, more innovative || p.26

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EPFL is also doing its part as an institution. The EssentialTech programme and the new Social Impact Initiative are concrete ways in which EPFL uses tech-nology to improve development. In the same vein, the Center for Digital Trust, created last year, is more necessary than ever at a time when data protection is incredibly relevant. Last but not least, gender equality in science is another decisive challenge that was widely discussed during the EPFL Alumni event held on International Women’s Day, on 8 March. As you can see, we are working on several initiatives and we must all do our part to ensure that science continues to serve today’s society and tomorrow’s world.

Have a wonderful summer and happy reading.

Dear alumni,

The Times Higher Education recently ranked EPFL as the most international

school in the world. This honour congra-tulates the rich diversity of our students, alumni and professors who consistently

uphold the level and quality of educa-tion that we strive for. As alumni, you are

particularly well-suited to be the judge of this, as you experience EPFL’s reputa-

tion first-hand in your diverse careers in Switzerland, Europe and around the world.

Being recognized as a world-class tech-nological institute comes with certain

responsibilities. EPFL must be exemplary, and both researchers and alumni must

put their skills to good use. Jacques Dubochet,

Nobel Prize winner and engaged citizen, is a fan-

tastic example of this.

“EPFL is ranked as the most international school in

the world as a result of the diversity amongst

its students, alumni and professors"

Martin Vetterli,President of EPFL

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Alumnist Intro

C o n t e n t sE d i t oDear alumni,

Leadership with drones, innovation in sport, digital security, life sciences and social innovation. Year after year, EPFL demonstrates its incredible ability to develop cutting-edge technologies that have a direct impact on society and enable the creation of promising startups, as you may have seen on May 2nd at the Startup Champions Seed Night. Making this happen is the fascinating work of talented researchers, entrepreneurs and leaders, many of which are alumni.

Speaking of talent, we had a great illustration on March 8th for International Women’s Day. At the Rolex Learning Center, we hosted five alumnae with exemplary careers, demonstrating the role women should play in science and in the corporate world. This first annual conference will become a recurring flagship event and EPFL Alumni will continue to commit to gender equality by supporting, inspiring and equipping younger EPFL women for success.

And in order to foster all the talent in our community, EPFL Alumni has launched themed career workshops. From salary negotiations, networking, job search tech-niques to radical career changes – theses workshops should provide the tools, at any given time, to help you reinvent yourself, promote your assets and, in particular, use your network.

These new initiatives, our 150 annual events and several services we already offer are just the beginning. We are striving to establish new digital tools to strengthen our community by groups of interest and engage alumni around the world. All these investments are possible thanks to your contributions, which make up the majority of our financing. You should have received our contribution letter in your mailbox, and we count on your support to help us strengthen this impressive network.

REINVENTING TRUST IN THE BIG DATA ERAWith the Center for Digital Trust, EPFL and its partners are developing innovative tools for cybersecurity and the protection of personal data. The goal is to encourage digital trust.

JACQUES DUBOCHET, NOBEL PRIZE WINNER BUT CITIZEN ABOVE ALL!The father of cryomicroscopy, Vaud biologist Jacques Dubochet (PH’67) is the 2017 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. We had the chance to meet and interview him along with EPFL President Martin Vetterli.

Leïla Ojjeh (CH’94), Head of EPFL Alumni

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Alumnist Editorial

GENDER EQUALITY: A CHALLENGE FOR EPFL An action plan promotes a male-female balance at the institution. EPFL Alumni also has several initiatives in place.

INNOVATION FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIPDevelopment assistance work is also being done by innovative companies. The approach makes projects with a strong social impact sustainable and commercially viable.

INNOVATION IMPROVING SPORT Sport and technologies are now smart. The Lake Geneva region is preparing for the future and boosting its research to develop revolutionary tools and materials.

THE NEW BATTLE OF THE SKIES The commercial use of drones is increasing. EPFL and its Swiss spin-offs are emerging as global leaders in this market.

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Alumnist Contents

Z I G Z A G

DRIVING ALGORITHMS

No more dangerous biased content suggested by social media algorithms. EPFL researchers have just developed an innovative solution for a more balanced, equitable personalisation of news delivered automatically to internet users. Concretely, the researchers designed an algorithm that can be modified to set a minimum content diversification rate.

Therefore, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter would no longer be able to only show data calibrated according to users’ interests. They could choose to display at least 10% of news that doesn’t come from the opposite perspective, in order to maintain a more equal view of the world. Because there are currently no regulations in this area, the innovative concept is of particular interest to human rights activists.

EXTRA-SMALL JPEGS

Very fast download speeds for high-quality images! The future jpeg XS is very intri-guing for virtual reality, spatial imagery and video. Developed by an international group of experts led by EPFL professor Touradj Ebrahimi (PhD EL’92), this new standard uses less energy, reduces the compression rate and simplifies image encoding. While the final files are in fact larger, the idea is to not store them on a device but to stream them via the large bandwidth of WiFi and soon 5G.

No more waiting for images to download. Thanks to this new technology, images appear instantaneously. This is great news for self-driving cars and drones, where any real-time lapse could be dangerous. Currently available only for professional applications, the jpeg XS will gradually be made available to the public.

A FARAWAY STAR

An oddity of nature made it possible to discover the most distant star from Earth. Nine billion light years away, Icarus was discovered accidentally, thanks to a gra-vitational lens. This phenomenon occurs when a celestial body with significant mass, such as a galaxy, passes between an observer and the star, bending the light and making the star visible.

It is the first time that an international team of astronomers, which includes researchers from EPFL and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), was able to see such a faraway star. The power of the Hubble telescope also allowed them to gather an enormous quantity of data on the star and its environment. Classified as a blue supergiant, Icarus is a light bomb that is hundreds of times stronger than the sun.

For the first time, EPFL scientists studying rats discovered that the brain has the ability to reroute specific motor commands using alternative pathways. These new brain connections, developed in regions of the nervous system that are still intact after paralysis, reconnect the brain with thespinal cord above the injury. By using alternative pathways, the brain can relearn certain complex motor tasks, such as walking.

Thanks to this discovery, paraplegic rats regained control of their feet. The reco-very isn’t immediate and requires a long re-education and electrochemical stimu-lation of the spinal cord. It remains to be seen if this neuroprosthetic rehabilitation will have the same effect in humans. CHUV is currently conducting these tests on people with spinal cord injuries and results are expected by the end of the year.

NEUROPROSTHESIS

Rewiring the brain to overcome paralysis

EPFL

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E P F L I S T H E M O S T I N T E R N A T I O N A L S C H O O L I N T H E W O R L D

In March, Times Higher Education unveiled its ranking of the most international institutions. It ranked EPFL as the most international university in the world, ahead of ETHZ, Imperial College of London and the University of Oxford, which all made the top 10. The journal noted the diversity of students, staff and researchers at EPFL as well as its international collaborations and exchange programmes around the world.

B O O K S T O B E T T E R U N D E R S T A N D D I G I T A L C U L T U R E

Publishing house Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes (PPUR) is releasing a new collection entitled “Big Now”. The goal is for readers to better understand the digital phenomena of our time. After a first book dedicated to internet meme culture (La culture internet des mèmes), PPUR has just released a second book on Wikipedia (Le miracle Wikipédia). Each volume includes original articles, interviews, a glossary and founding texts on the subject. They are co-signed by Frédéric Kaplan, chair of Digital Humanities and head of the Digital Humanities Lab at EPFL, as well as Nicolas Nova, EPFL alumnus (PhD SC’07) and professor at the Geneva University of Art and Design.

T H E I N N O V A T I O N F O R U M F O R S M E S

Helping leaders of small and medium-sized companies identify and seize the opportu-nities that digitisation offers is the goal of FORWARD, the innovation forum for SMEs. Co-organised by EPFL, Le Temps and PME Magazine, the first forum took place on 19 April. More than 950 people attended conferences and workshops on diverse subjects such as artificial intelligence, blockchains, the Internet of Things, and data processing. It was such a success that there will be a second forum on Thursday, February 7, 2019.

1 0 0 , 0 0 0 J O B S C R E A T E D B Y E T H S C H O O L S I N S W I T Z E R L A N D

The ETH schools generate 100,000 jobs in Switzerland, according to a study conducted by a UK consulting firm on the economic impact of ETHs in 2016. According to the study, the ETHs, which have a collective budget of 3.5 billion Swiss francs, generated a gross added value of 13.3 billion Swiss francs. Each franc invested therefore generated 5.40 francs in added value. Similarly, the impact of the ETHs on Switzerland’s innovation is extremely valuable, as one in every seven new highly innovative companies is an ETH spin-off.

E P F L I N T H E R U N N I N G F O R T H E H Y P E R L O O P P O D

A team of EPFL students was among the 20 teams chosen to participate in the Hyperloop Pod Competition in late July. The goal is for a self-propelling pod in a vacuum tube to reach a maximum speed and to successfully decelerate. Supported by the EPFL senior management team and led by Mario Paolone, a professor in the Distributed Electrical Systems Laboratory, the team intends to take on the challenge set by billionaire Elon Musk in 2015. The founder of Tesla and SpaceX organised the competition in order to study the feasibility of this new type of transport. According to Musk, a Hyperloop pod could reach speeds of 1,000 km/h.

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M O R E T H A N 2 M I L L I O N S U B S C R I B E R S T O E P F L M O O C S

Available for free on the internet, EPFL’s online courses have had more than two million students enrolled since the launch in 2012. With more than 80 online courses currently available and approximately 30 to come, EPFL is the European leader in MOOCs, with students from more than 200 countries. EPFL is also developing a Swiss platform in collaboration with EPFZ, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI) and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI). Dubbed “Swiss MOOC Service”, the platform plans to launch its first online courses starting in September 2018.

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Alumnist Campus

E P F L A L U M N I

S T A R T U P C H A M P I O N S S E E D N I G H T W E L C O M E S 3 0 0 G U E S T S

On 2 May, more than 300 people visited the Rolex Learning Center for Startup Champions Seed Night, the annual pitch competition where the public can discover nearly 20 rising startups. Started in 2012, the event just keeps getting bigger, with more entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors and scientists.

Daniel Yanisse (MT’12), CEO and co-foun-der of Checkr, came all the way from San Francisco to present his career path and his entrepreneurial experience. His company provides employers with background checks (criminal records, driving licence, degrees, etc.) to facilitate the hiring process. Checkr now has over 180 employees.

Biotechnology, cleantech, medical, electronics, artificial intelligence... In all, 19 entrepreneurs pitched their companies, presenting their projects and the amount of money they were looking to raise. Aspivix, which is developing a new, smaller and safer product meant to replace the tenaculum in gynaecological procedures, won the competition. At the end of the competition, guests were able to network over a buffet and learn more about each project.

The complete list of startups that par-ticipated in the event can be found at www.epflalumni.ch.

Co-organised by EPFL Alumni, venturelab and EPFL Innogrants, the event was supported by Swisscom, Swiss Prime Site, Innovaud and BKW. See you next year!

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↑ Daniel Yanisse (MT’12), CEO and co-founder of Checkr.

↑ Founders of Aspivix, this year’s winners: from left to right, Julien Finci (MT’08), Mathieu Horras and David Finci.

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Alumnist Campus

B L O C K C H A I N C O N F E R E N C E I N S H A N G H A I2 5 M A R C H

The Shanghai chapter of EPFL Alumni and ETHZ Alumni organised a conference on the latest hot topic in recent months: blockchain. More than 60 attendees listened to presentations from several experts and local entrepreneurs. After a brief summary of the technology’s history, the speakers provided an overview of its impact in many industries.

M E E T I N G E P F L V I C E P R E S I D E N T E D O U A R D B U G N I O N I N C A L I F O R N I A2 8 M A R C H

“EPFL and the Bay Area” was the subject of the conference Edouard Bugnion presented to alumni living in the San Francisco Bay area. A professor at EPFL since 2012, where his work is focused on data centre systems, he became the school’s Vice President for Information Systems in January 2017. He knows California well, as he completed his PhD at Stanford University.

S P R I N G R E U N I O N I N J A P A N 1 A P R I L

Alumni from EPFL and other Swiss univer-sities met up in Osaka just in time for the springtime cherry blossoms. Around 10 alumni took a stroll in Osaka Castle Park and around the city. They also participated in a tasting of a local specialty: sake. Afterwards they continued the reunion over a friendly dinner.

V I S I T T O Z U R I C H ’ S M U S E U M O F D I G I T A L A R T1 1 A P R I L

The first of its kind in Europe, Zurich’s Museum of Digital Art is dedicated to types of art made using computer programming. The exhibits are a fully immersive experience, guiding visitors on a trip through the digital world. Nearly 30 alumni had the chance to discover that numbers and algorithms can sometimes be used to create impressive works of art.

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Alumnist Chapters

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY CHANGE CAREERS

Changing industries, roles, or countries and knowing how to reinvent your career at any moment, either by choice or by necessity, is a challenge that many EPFL alumni are faced with throughout their careers. On 7 June 2018, Daniel Porot, a career management expert for 40 years and consultant for several private and public organisations, came to EPFL to lead a workshop on professional reorientation. He gave us a few essential tips.

What are the reasons people decide to make a radical career change?There are many of them and sometimes one person has multiple reasons for a career change. But there are three main categories. First, the search for meaning and a desire to find a position that is more in line with a person’s interests or values. Second, the current situation may not be ideal: a difficult personal context, a lack of potential options, or a salary that seems inadequate, for example. Finally, there is the “career accident” category, such as redundancy, a brutal firing, or an industry collapse, etc.

What is the best way to successfully change careers?The most important thing to do to be successful is collect information through networking. Collecting information must

to be prepared for a temporary pay cut if necessary. In order for your career change to be successful, “your desire to succeed must be stronger than your fear of failure”.

Switching careers is never easy. Why the need for a change of scenery? How should you go about it? Read the interview with specialist Daniel Porot.

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be done strategically, with an action plan in place. It is essential that you are per-fectly clear on the careers and potential employers you are targeting. It is also very important to use the vocabulary of your targeted industry, participate in related events, identify similarities between your skills and the job descrip-tions, etc. Finally, you must meet people that have the job you are interested in, in order to better understand their tasks and the necessary skills and get their perspectives on the experience.

What pitfalls should be avoided?In terms of attitude, one mistake is to defend your search by criticising your current situation. “I don’t like my job”, “I don’t feel fulfilled with my employer”, or “I don’t make enough money”, are some of the explanations that can be perceived negatively. Instead, use constructive dis - course and show a desire to move forward.

Another mistake would be to only focus on traditional search methods and just reply to job postings. You also need to use the hidden market (spontaneous applications) and the opaque market (social networks/LinkedIn). Finally, if you are not motivated enough, you won’t be fully invested in your search. You can’t give up at the first hurdle, and you have

Daniel Porot, career management expert, during a workshop on effective networking techniques, organised by EPFL Alumni.

WORKSHOPS TO HELP YOU IN YOUR CAREER

Managing your career effectively has become essential. As of early 2018, EPFL Alumni now offers a series of workshops to help you better understand essential topics. These workshops will give you the tools you need for profes-sional success and fulfilment.

NEXT CAREER WORKSHOP Wednesday 19 September → Find out your personality type with

the MBTI® (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) – Workshop led by Yvan Galeuchet (PhD PH’87), coach and certified MBTI expert.

Tuesday 23 October → How to successfully handle your

yearly review and negotiate a promotion or salary increase

For more information and registration, visit www.epflalumni.ch

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Alumnist EPFL Alumni

JACQUES DUBOCHET, NOBEL PRIZE WINNER BUT CITIZEN ABOVE ALLVaud biologist Jacques Dubochet’s (PH’67) life completely changed on 4 October 2017, when the Royal Swedish Academy of

Sciences announced that he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. We had the chance to meet and interview him along with EPFL President Martin Vetterli.

Text:Anne-Muriel Brouet

Corinne Feuz Mediacom

What is it like to receive a Nobel Prize?

Jacques Dubochet: That is the question people ask me the most! The night before, I was with my family when the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for gravitational waves. We knew that the next day the chemistry prize would be announced and I said to my wife and son: “A 10% chance.” I was thinking 20... Then my wife picked up the telephone and she said: “It is Stockholm,” and the first thing that came to mind was relief.

“Every scientist dreams of a Nobel Prize.” Is that true?

JD: I don’t know if every scientist dreams of it, but many do. In the scientific community, the Nobel Prize comes up all the time in casual conversation. It is not healthy. It creates tension. It keeps you from sleeping. It wasn’t like that for me, but still... There were a few clues: cryomicroscopy was a revo-lution. Richard Henderson, who also won the prize, recently wrote that I was the “father of cryomicros-copy.” I knew that I wasn’t going to be forgotten.

How would you explain your discovery to a seven-year-old child?

JD: We are pouches of water, made up of billions of little pouches of water. Electrons don’t go through air. So, electronic microscopes must be in a vacuum. Ah! But then water evaporates, so all the microscopy is done dry. But think of aquariums, where fish swim. If we take away the water that is not good... So we want to keep the water. To keep it from evaporating, we have to freeze it. But when we freeze water, that makes ice! We discovered a strange thing: if we froze water very very very quickly, it became solid water that kept its structure. There you go!

Is Switzerland fertile ground for Nobel Prizes and the best scientists?

JD: The statistics speak for themselves. We have a lot of financial support, which obviously helps. I was lucky to have generous professors that encou-raged creativity and expected each student to bring something to the table. It didn’t matter what. A professor’s main role is to inspire confidence in students so that they can grow.

Jacques Dubochet (PH’67), winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

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How do people become scientists? How did you become one?

JD: You have to look a little further than what is immediately in front of you. To do so, the institution can contribute greatly to this by requiring and encouraging this open perspective. The best disco-veries are often the result of interdisciplinary collaborations. So we must promote interdiscipli-nary work. Don’t you think so, Mr. Vetterli?

Martin Vetterli: Interdisciplinary work can be the best or the worst. The approach can bring together two groups who are doing sort of average research separately, but together, with interdisciplinary collaboration, the research becomes greater than the sum of its parts. We have to at least aim for that. But the notion of interdisciplinarity is a bit vague. The Swiss National Science Foundation now has a very clear definition: researchers from fields that wouldn’t necessarily interact with each other come together to solve a new problem.

JD: That is exactly it. As I have gotten older–as I have been for some time now–I am shocked that individuals have such incompatible views of the world, and how hard it is for them to talk to each other! We always think that others understand us, but they only understand themselves! To unders-tand one another, people need to find a subject that pushes them to discover a bit of what others are like. It is very difficult and that is why we need to encourage it!

What do you still hope to accomplish?

JD: I hope to learn to listen to others. That is, understand more what makes others tick. To do so, we must start with listening.

And now the whole world wants to listen to you!

JD: That is the problem with the Nobel Prize. Every day, I realise that I am not in the same position I was in before. Overall, yes, it is wonderful. In Morges (Switzerland), people I don’t know smile at me when they pass me on the street. But at the same time, there are expectations when you have a Nobel Prize. That is the problem with a prize awarded to an individual, because it is groups and institutions that actually deserve the Nobel Prize.

In your opinion, is research a group effort?

JD: The two discoveries that began our cryomicros-copy work were not made by me! I created an envi-ronment where everyone could do their own thing. In the 20 years I spent at Université de Lausanne (UNIL), we started a programme called CEMOVIS which is still active today. CEMOVIS vitrifies speci-mens that are much larger than what we can effec-tively work with right now, in order to study human

tissue. It is a high-wire balancing act! I was highly criticised for using “slaves” to do this difficult work. But the group was so enthusiastic about it that they didn’t feel like they were slaves!

You are a curious person. Do you believe the educa-tion in universities today satisfies that need?

JD: Yes. There are great things being done at uni-versities these days. But do students benefit from the wealth of great things, or the teaching system? I don’t know. Only a small minority are broadening their perspectives. Do you find that as well?

MV: That is true, but I wouldn’t blame the system, or the universities, or the students. The system has become industrialised. The university feels invested in its role to prepare students for a diffi-cult job market. The democratisation of education, which is excellent, also plays a role. When only the wealthy could go to university, students had the luxury of spending many years studying and increasing their knowledge.

How has the practice of science evolved from the start of your career until now?

JD: I don’t really know, but take publications, for example. Typically, I would publish two articles a year and that would take up about half of my time. But I worked very hard! Now I need to publish three times that. Something about that doesn’t add up.

MV: Science is becoming industrialised. But again, we are all part of the problem. By requesting more funding, scientists promised they would provide miracles to civil society and the economy. An insti-tute like ours has promised a lot in terms of the transfer of technology, for example. Policymakers listened to us and said: “Show us the results.” There is sort of a Faustian bargain in place that we can’t easily get out of.

JD: The same is true in biology. The industry requires fast results that are financially profitable. Of course, this changes the atmosphere considerably. I was luc-ky to be invited to an institution that is still far from focused on immediate use: I never once thought of the possibility of filing a patent. The idea of the Humboldtian model of higher education is one that promotes knowledge and is still very enjoyable.

“There are great things being done at universities these days. But do students benefit from the wealth of great things, or the teaching system?”

Martin Vetterli, EPFL President, and Jacques Dubochet (PH’67).

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You are politically engaged. What can scientists bring to politics?

JD: I don’t separate my identities of scientist and citizen. Scientific knowledge is an example of who we are and what our society is. This includes climate change, which is a direct consequence of technological progress! As scientists, we have something to say. Our culture and our way of handling problems are both very good.

But we don’t have the solutions to societal pro-blems. Those can only come from collective work. Democracy is still a very good thing that allows for the collective opinion to emerge and be better than individual opinions. The new generation must learn to govern a constantly changing world. We are leaving them an immense task!

What major scientific discovery would you most like to have made?

JD: The theory of evolution. When I studied physics here at EPUL, I thought I had learned everything there was to know. But that was not the case. Much, much later, I discovered that the theory of evolution is immense, with so much intellectual power and beauty! But it is difficult and subtle.

Companies like GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Ama-zon) are becoming the new spots for cutting-edge science. Does that worry you?

JD: I am very concerned about it. Google, for example, will take the best students from Californian universities. These people will then become obsessed with fast money. Or take Uber: the idea is wonderful and could maybe solve transport problems. But they are not focused on that. They are only looking to make money. Some are even looking for more than money; they want to control genetics... I wonder where the humanity is in that! What values do we want to uphold?

October 1941 “Conceived by optimistic parents”

1955 “First official dyslexic in the canton of Vaud”

1967“Engineer-physicist at EPUL, going on to become a biologist”

1978“Head of EMBL (Heidelberg): discovered the vitrification of water”

1987“Professor at UNIL, in the Laboratoire d’analyse ultrastructurale (LAU)”

4 October 2017 “Ouch! A Nobel Prize in Chemistry”

JACQUES DUBOCHET BY HIMSELF

MV: That brings us back to what it means to be a scientist and what science is. Scientists serve knowledge and society. I cannot, in my system of values, understand how the search for knowledge could be completely privatised. Some of these com-panies are first and foremost generating revenue for their shareholders. Being a scientist is another job entirely. We must not confuse the two.

JD: EPFL’s CO2 impact can be divided into three categories: individual consumption, the impact of commuting by car and most importantly, the impact of professors who are travelling long distances. Is that true?

MV: Those are the numbers. They are not unreaso-nable: in many industries, and even in an average household in Switzerland, if we look at the CO

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impact, the numbers will be similar. We often forget that the carbon footprint of a Geneva–New York flight is the same as one person driving alone in a car the same distance. Even if we are very careful all year, one holiday via aeroplane to somewhere in the world has a major CO

2 impact.

JD : What are science and EPFL doing to combat this?

MV: There is a lot of research about renewable and alternative energies, but that is not enough. Energy is a societal question and it is omnipresent. We can’t flip a switch and say that the problem is solved. The technology is essential, but is far from sufficient to achieve the energy shift that was decided upon in Switzerland.

JD: The means we have given ourselves are not sufficient to attain the requirements of COP21.

MV: I completely agree, but when Switzerland made the energy shift decision, after the abrupt wake-up call after Fukushima, it was already too late. It was in 1973, when we had car-free Sundays, that we should have taken drastic measures. For 40 years, we didn’t think of it at all. Now we have to make up for lost time.

JD : And we will easily have the means to do so, but we need to make bold decisions. When the United States decided to build their motorways and the UK built their naval fleet, they allotted up to one-third of their annual revenue. We need an investment of this magnitude budgeted solely for this vital problem in order to actually make some progress. We could do it. ||

“I discovered that the theory of evolution is immense, with so much intellectual power and beauty!”

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Alumnist Interview

MAKING EPFL A BETTER PLACE FOR WOMEN

EPFL is a mostly male school, especially in terms of professors and executives. But management has announced a clear desire to make some changes. An action plan for 2017–2020 aims to promote gender equality, including

recruiting female students and professors. Here are a few key points to help identify stereotypes and achieve a more balanced campus.

Text:Anne-Muriel Brouet

Sandy Evangelista Mediacom

Making progress, but it could be better: this is the summary of EPFL in terms of gender equality.

The 2016–2017 monitoring report shared at the Écoles Polytechniques Fédérales Board confirmed that while the percentage of women is increasing, there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equa-lity. At the School as a whole, one-third of Bachelor’s students are women, but only one out of every 10 full professors is a woman.

“Relatively poor statistics,” said Vice President for Education, Pierre Vander-gheynst, on 8 March during a round table organised by EPFL Alumni on International Women’s Day (see pages 16 and 17). But the good news is that the School’s management has announced a clear desire to change the status quo. For the first time, an action plan was drawn up for 2017–2020. It includes measures that promote the recruitment of female students and increase the percentage of female professors. It also aims to create an environment conducive to equality and will monitor this through statistical analysis and regular reporting.

“We cannot deny that stereotypes and unconscious bias are still going strong and pursuing equality is a matter of social justice. It advances research, innovation and company performance. Those are more than enough reasons to break through our resistance and work together to create change,” said EPFL President Martin Vetterli.

A preliminary overview guided the action plan. For example, there is a clear drop in the number of women obtaining a Bachelor’s degree compared to a Master’s degree. “Is it because more female students decide to go somewhere else for their Master’s?” asked Helene Füger, Equal Opportunities Delegate. “Or is it because

more male students come from other uni-versities?” One thing is certain: “Women succeed just as much as men do.”

“WOMEN’S SCIENCE”? ABSOLUTELY NOT!Another interesting statistic: the gender equality at the Bachelor’s level in the School of Life Sciences (see next page). Why do more young women gravitate towards this field? “Maybe because life sciences are, upon first glance, less asso-ciated with technical sciences,” guessed Füger. “But the level of maths, physics and technical skills needed for life sciences is very much the same as what is needed for engineers!” Conclusion: “We must work on changing the percep-tion of these fields upstream.”

The action plan doesn’t offer quanti-tative objectives, but tasks the various faculties with coming up with their own numbers for increasing the number of female students and professors. At the professor level, the tenure track system works well, but it is not as effective at higher levels. One approach is proacti-vely searching for female candidates for assistant and full professor positions. “It is a slow process, but if we hadn’t attempted anything at all, the numbers would be even worse,” said Füger. “We need to make a very concentrated effort to achieve even these numbers.”

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While the percentage of women at EPFL has increased, the School is far

from achieving employee parity.

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WOMEN AT EVERY LEVELThe action plan isn’t just for the acade-mic realm. Of the approximately 6,000 employees at EPFL, over a quarter of them are administrative and technical staff. Women are better represented in these positions at more than 40%, but the percentage tends to decrease as women make their way up the ranks. In non-academic management positions, there are only five women compared to 12 men. “We want to benefit from wo-men’s expertise in all fields, as well as in non-academic positions,” said Susanna Swann, director of Human Resources.

Similar to job openings for professors, proactively seeking female candidates for administrative and technical mana-gement positions is part of the action plan. For Swann, this is a component of a larger framework that aims to make the institution’s environment more inviting, open and supportive for women. “Bias doesn’t stop at academic positions. It is important that we–HR–are aware of that and that we work to fight against gender bias for both executives and employees.”

A PIONEERING SPIRITAt the same time, it must be taken into account that women’s professional time-lines are different than men’s. “Between 30 and 40, women often focus on their children, whereas men are solidifying their careers at that time. So women often leave positions that could move them

up the ladder and instead take positions that are better-suited to their family com-mitments. It is important not only to let these women remain in the professional world, but also know how to identify their talents and skills. This includes women who have taken a more unconventional, less linear career path.”

Finally, the HR director insists that women need encouragement and role models. “It can be difficult to imagine taking on leadership positions when they are almost always held by men. To do so, women still need a pioneering spirit even today, whereas for men ’becoming the boss’ is essentially a very traditional goal.”

And what about equal pay? “We are very mindful of it: bias can also result in unequal wages. Beyond monitoring, a certification would be a positive way to demonstrate an equitable environment,” said Swann.

INNOVATION BY GENDER

Gender bias is not just found in the percentage of men and women. It also hides in the way research is carried out and as a result can be seen in innovation. Sexist prejudices are socially harmful and costly and they lead to missed opportunities on the market. It is crucial to identify gender-related biases and understand how they manifest in the sciences and technology.To move beyond the analysis stage, Stan-ford University launched the Gendered Innovations initiative in 2009 in partner-ship with the European Commission and the National Science Foundation. The initiative has a two-tiered goal: provide scientists and engineers with practical methods of gender-specific analysis and conduct case studies that illustrate how gender-specific analysis results in inno-vation and excellence in research.

BSc

MSc

PhD

Research assistants

Senior scientists (MER)

“Tenure track” assistant professors

Adjunct professors

Full professors

Administrative and technical personnel

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

1,621

621

334*

8*

18*

16*

16*

756*

721

* Full time equivalent

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Research assistant

Senior scientists (MER)

“Tenure track” assistant professors

Adjunct professors

Full professors

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

EVOLUTION IN THE PROPORTION OF WOMEN BETWEEN 2013 AND 2017

2013 2015 2017 ENAC SV STI IC SB

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EPFL ALUMNI COMMITTED TO EQUALITYAs the School is putting in place initiatives to promote gender equality among professors and students, EPFL Alumni is doing the same with alumni. On 8 March, the network organised the very first EPFL event on International Women’s Day in conjunction with the Equal Opportunities Office. It will

become a regular event and represents a first step towards other initiatives.

Women engineers at EPFL began in 1907, when Cécile Butticaz received her degree in Electricity

and became the very first woman graduate of the School. Erna Hamburger followed in her footsteps and graduated in 1933, received her PhD in 1937 and in 1967 became the first woman to be named full professor at EPFL. In her honour, each year the Wish Foundation presents the Erna Hamburger award to a woman with an exemplary career in the sciences. As true role models, these two alumnae opened the doors for more than 6,000 women who have graduated from EPFL. This number, which makes up only 20% of the entire alumni community, is increasing over time. In 2018, 30% of Bachelor students are women.

To attract more women to scientific tracks and move towards parity, the science outreach department offers many activities for girls aged seven to 15: “Coding club”, classes on robotics, programming, che-mistry and materials, and “I love maths” workshops. The department also provides essential information to secondary schools to encourage and inspire young women to continue science, particularly by sharing the personal experiences of EPFL students and alumnae.

But how do women choose technical studies? What obstacles do they encounter in their careers? How do they manage it all? The round table–

LAJLA AGANOVIC → SC’08

She began her career at Lombard Odier and since 2016 works at a private asset management company as a senior in vestment officer in the private equity field.

ASSIA GARBINATO → PhD IN’00

She joined Vaudoise Assurances in 2007 after starting her career at Kudelski. She is now head of the Data depart-ment and is part of the company’s agile transformation team.

DÉBORAH HEINTZE→ SV’12

She is co-founder and COO of Lunaphore, which is developing a technology to diagnose tissues, primarily to analyse and classify tumours. Lunaphore was ranked no. 9 of the top 100 Swiss star-tups in 2017.

MARILYNE ANDERSEN → PH’98 & PhD AR’04

She is a full professor and Dean of the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC) at EPFL since 2013. Previously, she was a professor at MIT.

Text:EPFL Alumni

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organised on 8 March for International Women’s Day and moderated by Myret Zaki, editor-in-chief of Bilan–provided a passionate discussion on these topics. Six alumnae with various inspiring careers, including in research, finance, IT, entrepreneurship, watch-making and life science (see opposite), shared their experiences.

Often one’s family environment plays a key role, as was the case for Agnès Simon (BSc GM’93). “My father went to ETH, my brother and great-grandfather went to EPFL and my mother was a biologist,” she said. “Engineering was a natural choice for me.” During their studies, women quickly learn to get used to being surrounded by male students and professors. “That is the way it is and we don’t even notice after a while,” said Marilyne Andersen. “It was only when I became a professor myself that I could see the impact and the positive effect of being a role model for other women.”

FEW WOMEN IN KEY POSITIONSAfter graduation, an EPFL degree carries lots of credibility, commands respect and encourages advancement. It is also a source of pride, for example when a female alumna is the only woman in a meeting. In management, empathy and the ability to put your ego aside to better accept mistakes are, according to Assia Garbinato (herself a team leader), qualities that are increasingly apprecia-ted and can be used to better manage conflicts, for example.

There are still far too few women in key positions. In academia, only 15% of applicants for professorships are women. “We are recruiting to encourage talented women to apply,” said Marilyne Andersen. “That is actually how I was recruited at MIT: initially I thought that I wasn’t qualified enough.” The same problem persists in entrepreneurship. For Déborah Heintze, it was an opportu-nity that led her to co-found Lunaphore at a time where the startup world

seemed quite inaccessible. She believes women must fight this preconception: “You must be daring, put yourself first and gain confidence little by little.”

According to the McKinsey study “Women Matter 2017” presented during the round table, women and men still receive very unequal treatment during their careers. In equivalent jobs, the median salary for women is 16% less than for men in the member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Similarly, while women make up 50% of college graduates around the world, only 25% of managerial positions are held by women and less than 5% of CEOs are women. According to the study, women’s ambition isn’t the problem, but rather a double workload–women do three times more unpaid work than men–and unconscious bias from male-dominated management.

The challenges and issues are now clearly stated. EPFL Alumni can play a key role by continuing to promote role models, raising awareness in the community by changing opinions, encouraging networking and helping graduates and young alumnae in their careers through training and mentoring programmes. These various approaches will be developed in partnership with EPFL, associations and companies. ||

“INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: CAREERS FOR WOMEN... EPFL AND BEYOND”

The event was supported by Medtronic.Thank you to the associations that attended: EPFL WISH Foundation, EPFelles, ETH Women Professors Forum, SATW, Women in Engineering, Girls in Tech, the femme et sia network, Professionnelles en Environnement - FachFrauen Umwelt, Marvel, Polyquity

MICHÈLE REIGNER → MX’01

She started at Rolex in September 2002 as an R&D engineer. After several posi-tions in innovation, she became head of the Technological Intelligence and Patents department in 2015.

MYRET ZAKI

She has been editor-in-chief of econo-mics magazine Bilan since 2014. She is the author of several works on financial news, with a particular focus on Switzerland and the United States.

AGNÈS SIMON→ BSc GM’93

She began her career as a consultant for BCG before joining Medtronic in 2002. Hired as a product manager, she rose in the ranks to become senior business director.

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The Lake Geneva region has made its mark in the drone sector as a global innovation hub. It all started with a reflection on insects, more than 10 years ago.

THE NEW BATTLE OF THE SKIES

Text:Robert Gloy

eBee drones were developed by startup SenseFly (VD), founded in 2009 by Jean-Christophe Zufferey (MT’01 and PhD MT’05) and Antoine Beyeler (MT’03 and PhD MT'09). Easy to use, these models are particularly useful for gathering geospatial and topographic data.

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Marvels of engineering and design, the drones are getting even better, with increasingly advanced flight performances for unlimited explora-tions. These intriguing possibilities have led to increased commercial use of drones.

The sky is likely to be heavy-laden in the future, with some drones delive-ring parcels, others surveying buil-

dings and yet others helping workers on building sites! This scenario is gradually turning into a reality. In the countryside, drones are already flying above fields to control irrigation and measure the right dose of fertiliser. Although 90% of drones are currently used for military purposes, sales of drones designed for private use exceeded two million worldwide in 2017.

Commercial drones, though still in the minority, have also flourished: according to the American consultancy firm Gartner, more than 100,000 models were sold last year. In 2018, the market growth of commercial drones will be close to 60%, amounting to twice the value of drones intended for private use.

EXPLORING COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES

EPFL is a world leader in this commercial drone segment. Its Laboratory of Intel-ligent Systems (LIS), founded in 2000 under the leadership of Dario Floreano, was one of the first to develop flying objects that were not intended for mili-tary use. This was back in 2004. “At the time, the challenge was to reduce the size of the drones, or to design micropro-cessors to enable them to be aware of their environment and to interact with it,” recalled Floreano. Building on this adven-ture, SenseFly (VD) was created in 2009. Founders Jean-Christophe Zufferey (MT’01 and PhD MT'05) and Antoine Beyeler (MT’03 and PhD MT'09) were LIS PhD students. The company is now the world leader in mapping: its ma-chines fly over areas taking hundreds of photographs and create maps based on the data they collect. The entire process is automated–the operator simply needs to manually get it off the ground. Accor-ding to Jean-Christophe Zufferey, nearly 30% of the world’s surveyor’s offices are already equipped with such devices. Based in the north of Lausanne, the company employs more than 130 people and sells about 150 drones a month. In 2012, SenseFly’s success caught the attention of Parrot, a French company which subsequently bought it.

On the topic of EPFL success stories on an international scale, Flyability (VD) and Gamaya (VD) also deserve a mention. Founded in 2014 by Patrick Thévoz (MT’09) and Adrien Briod (MT’09 and PhD MT'14, see inset p.15), Flyability has become the world leader on the market of inspection drones, which can operate in confined, or even dangerous, areas. As for the startup Gamaya, it does not ma-nufacture drones, but equips them with a camera to monitor agricultural crops. Farmers can use this tool to detect di-seases or weeds, and optimise treatment accordingly. Since its creation in 2015 by the former EPFL researcher Yosef Akhtman with two other colleagues, this startup has raised more than seven mil-lion Swiss francs from investors. Its main

WATCH OUT FOR COLLISIONS!

Politicians and industry players are regulating drones

How can drones, aeroplanes and heli-copters cohabit the sky in peace? The increase in drones is causing a higher number of accidents: for example, 29 accidents were recorded in 2015 and 70 in 2016 in the United Kingdom. Most accidents take place near airports, where drones get in the way of aeroplanes. Air traffic con-trollers, national regulators and drone constructors have joined forces to draft an international standardization system. They came together to create the Global UTM association on the EPFL campus in 2017. Benoît Curdy, the association’s Secretary General, says that we can expect the first fruits of their work by the end of 2019: “For now, drone regulation covers three areas: the registration of all drones, their direct identification, and the develop-ment of a system which informs the drones of the areas over which they are permitted to fly.”

Some countries are taking the lead. Since the end of 2017, American authori-ties have set up a system for issuing authorisations automatically to drones flying near airports. Previously, authori-sations could take days and sometimes even weeks to be issued but this new system provides an almost immediate response. In the same vein, Skyguide, the company in charge of controlling Swiss airspace, and the Californian startup Airmap have developed “Swiss U-space”. This tool, which will be operational in 2019, will generate immediate digital authorisations. It will also be equipped with alert systems and will make com-munication between drone pilots and air traffic control services much easier.

At the moment, drones that weigh under 30 kg do not need any authorisation to fly in Switzerland, but the pilot must have his eyes on the object at all times. For all other types of use, the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) makes a decision on a case-by-case basis.

markets are currently Brazil, the United States, Russia and Argentina–countries with vast agricultural lands.

DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM INSECTS

In the canton of Vaud, 20 or so companies, some of which are EPFL spin-offs, are focusing on the drone industry. How did this dynamic ecosystem come to be? When Floreano founded LIS, he was not specifically intending to develop drones. “I was originally interested in applying biological principles to robots and to artificial intelligence,” he explained. “It gradually occurred to me that there could be a real benefit in applying this approach to flying robots, moving away from traditional methods.”

To develop his first drones, Floreano therefore looked into the control and na-vigation strategies of flying insects, such as bees. To enable his drones to perceive a given environment, he took inspiration from the multifaceted eyes of insects. These two principles are reflected in “eBee”, SenseFly’s flagship model. The labo-ratory is still known today for its focus on biology. As confirmed by Zachary Taylor, a researcher from ETH Zurich who is looking into autono mous systems: “This approach distinguishes EPFL from all other institutions in the world.”

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

The strength of EPFL’s ecosystem also comes from its ability to build a real net-work. Firstly, alumni hold key po sitions in renowned laboratories and, secondly, startups maintain strong relations between themselves and with EPFL. SenseFly, for example, works with Pix4D, another startup created on campus in 2011, to process the data collected by its drones. Flyability often invites Master’s students from EPFL to their Lausanne premises to help their projects come to life. Adrien Briod believes that this eco-system inspires excellence: “We’re all in it together. There is no competition between us be cause we are not all working on the same aspects of drones. And we all have the same goal: integrating drones into every industry. When a company from this ecosystem is successful, it has a positive impact on others.”

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“WE HAVE CREATED OUR OWN MARKET”

The startup Flyability uses drones to make industrial inspections safer. Flyability was successful right from its beginnings, in 2014, and now has 70 employees. Its two founders, Adrien Briod (MT’09 and PhD MT'14) and Patrick Thévoz (MT’09), have developed “Elios”, a drone that can access confined areas which are often dangerous for humans. The machine can easily access chemical or mine chimneys to carry out inspections. Flyability has over 300 customers throughout the world and boasts a double-digit annual growth rate. Adrien Briod tells us about the young com-pany’s future challenges and objectives.

You are a world leader in the inspection drone market. How do you consolidate this position?Adrien Briod: We were lucky to create a market that had never existed before. Large companies from the energy, logistics and security sectors want to reduce the risks faced by their employees during

inspection or maintenance work. Let’s take the example of a furnace in a power plant: scaffolding needs to be installed to reach the top. Aside from the fact that this can take several days, the risk of falling is high. With our drone, employees no longer need to be in such spaces, which are dangerous and difficult to access. We are constantly trying to improve our product to secure our position and enter new markets.

What aspects are you currently seeking to improve?AB: Our priority at the moment is to make Elios easier to use. The aim is to turn drones into everyday tools that can be used by inspection professionals without them needing to be qualified pilots. The challenge is to make the machine more autonomous and smarter. To this end, we work closely with the Chinese company DJI, the world leader in civil drones. It provides us with components to refine the image transmit-ted. It is important that we improve these

technologies so that the drones can fly in confined spaces, such as sewers or mines, and transmit a quality image across several hundreds of metres. The inspection expert will then be able to observe the drone’s sur-roundings live, from a safe area.

How do you picture your company in five years’ time?AB: We hope that drones will no longer be considered a new feature but will be fully integrated into work processes. This techno-logy is in its early stages, and should pro-vide scopes of application that we wouldn’t even consider today. As for Flyability, I hope that it will continue to grow despite the increasingly tough competition. To stand up to market giants like DJI, which provides the general public with drones for private use, we must focus on our know-how and develop the industrial inspection market.

Adrien Briod (MT’09 and PhD MT'14) (above) and Patrick Thévoz (MT’09) are the founders of Flyability. Created in 2014, this startup uses drones to safely conduct complex inspection work.

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Last year, the EPFL campus strengthened its position as a hub in the drone sector. In July, the Global UTM association–comprising industrial, political and scien-tific players–made it their base, with the ambitious goal of developing an infras-tructure and guidelines to help manage the increasingly high number of drones that will take to the sky in coming years (see inset p.19). The School also launched “Drone Days”. In 2017, the first edition of this three-day event brought together 5,000 visitors who were able to attend competitions and workshops. The 2018 Drone Days will be held from August 31 to September 2 (see inset on this page).

STANDING UP TO CHINESE COMPETITION

Dario Floreano anticipates that EPFL will nevertheless have to fight for its leadership position. “When SenseFly was founded back in 2009, there was no competition. Today, the company has hundreds of potential rivals, parti-cularly in Asia.” The sector of drones for private use is currently dominated by the Chinese company DJI, which enjoys an estimated market share of over 70%. EPFL’s strategy is to focus on developing technology with high added value and to drive innovation. “Euro-pean players should stay clear of the mass market and focus instead on com-

THREE DAYS DEDICATED TO DRONES

The second edition of EPFL Drone Days —a major event in the flying robotics field—will take place on the Lausanne campus from August 31 to September 2. Open to the general public as well as to specialists, this event will feature exhibitions, conferences, drone races, shows and flying initiations. Three days in the hands of Switzerland’s best pilots and EPFL scientists. → dronedays.epfl.ch

plex applications, such as interactivity, because these domains have a high deve-lopment cost,” explained Zachary Taylor.

Two recent projects have already taken that route. The startup MotionPilot created a motion-controlled joystick to steer a drone with just one hand. Dronis-tics has designed a delivery drone which flies up close to the parcels’ recipients so that they can collect their deliveries in person, without having to go through an intermediary. Floreano has his mind on “creating drones with a supple surface, like feathers. Or drones that travel autono-mously in swarms, communicating like fish or birds.” He can continue to draw a lot of inspiration from biology to perfect his drones. ||

Insects inspire the design for many drones. Their precise flying and compound eyes are also imitated by the devices.

A Flyability drone on a reconnaissance mission in the crevasses of a glacier The device’s light frame protects it from shocks, making it possible to explore places that other flying machines cannot.

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REINVENTING TRUST IN THE BIG DATA ERATraditional regulations are called into question in today’s all-digital era. With the new Center for Digital Trust,

EPFL seeks to reinvent technical, legal, ethical and philosophical tools.

Text:Jean-Christophe Piot

Peggy Frey

In the digital world, players often inte-ract without knowing each other via technical devices, even though most

people don't know how these devices work. They make online purchases and board self-driving trains, because they believe the technology behind them is trustworthy. But the scope and speed of digital transformations erode this trust, which is further exhausted by a series of consequential events: revelations from Edward Snowden about the United States’ large-scale spy operations, manipula-tions of public opinion through fake news, cyberattacks and Facebook's un-controlled data breach. “Everything that created the mutual trust conditions between citizens, countries, institutions

and companies was designed before the digital revolution,” said Jean-Pierre Hubaux, professor in the Laboratory for Communications and Applications at EPFL. “We can no longer function in today's world with yesterday's tools, hence the necessity to invent new ways of establishing trust.”

To do so, the Center for Digital Trust (C4DT) was announced on 19 December 2017 by EPFL President Martin Vetterli. Jean-Pierre Hubaux became the academic head of this organisation that has an ambitious goal: build tools that prevent a shift from a trusting society to a dis-trustful one. It plans to do so by offering a networking platform between EPFL and its institutional and industrial partners. Furthermore, the centre aims to share research efforts within specialised pools and facilitate technology transfers. EPFL also wants to open a course dedicated to cybersecurity and allow for the creation of open-source solutions.

A COLOSSAL TASKFor Hubaux, trust comes from the tech-nical and legal securing of systems, networks and transactions. As the Center prepares to recruit developers and has just named Olivier Crochat (SC’94 and PhD SC’98 ) as its future executive director, the workload is immense. Laws and regulations, contracts, courts, diplomacy, standards and above all, tools: everything needs to be reinvented. The ever-increasing presence of smart objects, as well as the growing power of artificial intelligence also complicates things.

And the situation will only become more complex, since it involves a paradox described by Jacques Fellay, genomics researcher at EPFL and head of the new Precision Medicine Unit at Lausanne University Hospital: “We are constantly torn between the desire to protect our privacy and the trend of sharing increa-singly precise information. An example of precise data is what is collected by smart watches used for sport.” Some people are worried that this data will be used by players with bad intentions. An insurer or a bank could, for example, be tempted to modify access to loans or services based on this data.

SWISS ADVANTAGES AND CREDIBILITYIt is not by chance that EPFL wants to be involved in technical, legal, ethical and philosophical debates. The School is in the centre of a country that is the ideal

CRYPTOCURRENCIES Bitcoin, Ether... These virtual alternative currencies are “mined” using blockchains on a decentralised peer-to-peer IT network. Without legal tender, cryptocurrencies allow for exchanges between users who like that the currencies are forgery-proof and inviolable.

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In terms of technological leadership, Switzerland is a key cybersecurity player.

Kudelski is a global leader in digital security and specifically in the protection of TV and multimedia content. We interview Christophe Nicolas (IN’96), IT security director of the international company, which has 3,950 em-ployees in 33 countries and headquarters in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne and Phoenix (United States).

Kudelski could get involved in the type of work the Center for Digital Trust is doing. Why is your company interested in the platform?The C4DT must be an amplifier for Swiss players that work in the fields of digital security and trust. It complements the EPFL labs where future cybersecurity tools are being developed. It gives its partners, whether industrial, institutional or from other fields, a chance to connect. For us, it is an opportunity to stay informed and discuss with other players in order to further understand the priorities and problems that each of us face.

The Center can also help us collaborate and pool our efforts. Even if each partner has its own problems, digital security must be

handled in a broad, cross-functional way in order to be more effective and create an environment of trust.

To develop innovative technologies, the Center must also counter the drastic lack of talent by training new researchers. Having competent people on-board is essential to face competition in the digital security field.

Digital security is a promising and in-de-mand market. Who are the global leaders in the field and what does it take to stand out from the competition?In the whirlwind digital revolution, Europe is unfortunately behind and hasn't been productive enough. Because of the size of their domestic markets, the United States and China have the biggest commercial digital platforms. The security markets are therefore developing primarily in these two countries.

But Switzerland is renowned for its techn-ological leadership and benefits from institutional support to develop its expertise in cybersecurity. This is one way to counter the advances made by the United States and China and to gain footing in this crucial field. If we take Kudelski, for example, our research offices are in Switzerland and

we develop security tools there. But com-mercial operations are done elsewhere, particularly in the United States and in markets that have a critical mass of users that is larger than in Europe.

What do you think future digital security tools will be like?Faced with new forms of cybercrime and varied levels of attacks depending on the industry, we are forced to develop solutions adapted to the expectations and business models of our clients. To protect their data, Swiss SMEs don’t have the same needs as a government, and our tools must adapt to this diversity accordingly. Currently one of the major concerns in the digital world is the fact that threats are not sufficiently identified. However, the identification of risks is one of the pillars of digital trust.

“DIGITAL SECURITY MUST BE HANDLED GLOBALLY”

An IT specialist with the CIA and the NSA, American Edward Snowden disclosed the existence of mass surveillance programmes conducted by these two organisations in 2013. For his actions, Snowden was charged with espionage and theft. He is currently in exile in Russia, where he was granted asylum.

SMART CONTRACTSAutonomous programmes automatically execute the terms and conditions of a contract without any human intervention once they have been started.

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candidate for these types of questions: Switzerland has one of the strictest fra-meworks in the world for data protection and collective and individual liberties. The very incarnation of neu trality, Switzerland has history on its side. “The country of the Red Cross and the League of Nations, it is also home to the European headquarters of the UN. The Swiss mi-racle is a country capable of developing a culture of consensus unrivalled in the West,” said Hubaux.

These advantages should make it possible for Switzerland to play a pacifying, regu-lating role in the digital world, capable of inventing a “digital Geneva conven-tion” called for by leading players such as Microsoft president Brad Smith, who defended the principle at the last Davos summit.

Another key advantage: EPFL's credibility. It is expertise in cybersecurity, protection of sensitive data, cryptography and smart contract and blockchain technologies is clearly evident. And it's not by chance that the School has launched some of the most promising startups that exist today. Around Lausanne, the concentration of players with lots of experience in infor-mation security favours the ferment of fundamental and applied research.

Companies (SCRT, Kudelski Security), high-level laboratories and various incu-bators work in all industries concerned with cybersecurity: hacking, protecting against data theft, fighting fraud and counterfeiting, preserving personal data, cryptography, anti-virus systems, etc.

At Innovation Park, young startups from EPFL are multiplying. Revapost secures e-mail exchanges via military-grade encryption, Pryv protects highly con-fidential medical data and Cyberhaven guards data stored in the Cloud. ScanTrust fights counterfeiting with electronic certification solutions.

HIGH AMBITIONSThe launch of the Center for Digital Trust embodies the ambition of EPFL: beco-ming a leading hub for digital trust. Why EPFL? “A private company could not take on this role,” said Jean-Pierre Hubaux, academic director of the Center. “It re-quires a neutral establishment, far from any commercial interest but able to display a high level of expertise.”

A guardian of neutrality in exchanges, the C4DT involves other partners. To announce its launch, it has entered into key partnerships such as with Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and the International Committee of the Red Cross. A logical and necessary collaboration, according to Charlotte Lindsey-Curtet, communications and information management director at the Red Cross: “We are currently working on our digital transformation strategy. It seemed natural for us to benefit from the expertise of EPFL, especially in terms of processing metadata and crypto-

TRUSTED THIRD-PARTY These actors are certified to execute, on behalf of third parties, operations requiring confidentiality and security for various transactions using electronic signatures. PayPal is an example.

Quantum cryptography can protect data over the long term via an exchange of encryption keys subject to the laws of quantum physics. Director and founder of ID Quantique (GE), Grégoire Ribordy (PH’95) specialises in this emerging field that is constantly changing. “In data encryption, a quantum computer works

differently than a traditional machine. To handle this paradigm shift, we are developing new algorithms and adaptive protection solutions.”

ID Quantique is the only Center for Digital Trust (C4DT) partner to work on this topic. “Similar to the other partners on

this platform, our skills are useful for the overall development of information security. Because to be effective, data protection must be interdisciplinary and transversal. For that purpose, a platform such as C4DT could be very useful.”

graphy. As we often intervene in armed conflicts, certain data that we manage is particularly sensitive, and even vital for the people involved. We could not handle this alone.”

Lausanne University Hospital had the same reasoning. While the medical world was a little behind the banking and financial industries in terms of handling data protection, the issue is now clearly identified, according to Jacques Fellay, head of the Precision Medicine Unit. “Like other institutions, CHUV is regu-larly attacked: health data has a certain value to cybercriminals. Therefore we are developing strategies capable of gua-ranteeing maximum security, such as extremely complex encryption solutions. The partnership with the C4DT is a logi-cal, essential and necessary next step.”

Other partners of the C4DT are companies whose work is closely linked to the sub-ject: software company ELCA, global provider of security inks and solutions SICPA, telecoms operator Swisscom, Swissquote Bank, re-insurer SwissRe and SGS, the global leader in inspection, control, analysis and certification. Beyond their financial support, each company participates by partnering their own experts with EPFL researchers. “Their interests are complementary,” said Hubaux. “In this time of economic, social and technological transition, no one can single-handedly confront the onslaught of questions regarding digital trust, not even in their own indus-try. Our task is to encourage synergies.”

The Center wants to move beyond isolated bunkers where everyone works alone to a model that promotes shared experience and development. The C4DT currently works with 24 laboratories and is opening two new heads of teaching and research. But it will also develop open source solu-tions that can serve as a starting point to develop bespoke tools for each of the various partners in complete trust. ||

QUANTUM PHYSICS HELPING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

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Alumnist Techno

200 m.Swiss francs is spent each year in

Switzerland to alleviate the damages caused by digital crime.

1 bn.was collected by cybercriminals through ransomware operations

in 2016.

170 bn.is the estimated value of the global

cybersecurity market in 2020.

3 minutesmaximum is all that a hacker needs

to take control of a smart object.

50-200 bn.devices will be connected

in the world by 2020.

400 m.people are victims of a hack every year, whether phishing, data theft, pirating,

bank fraud or identity theft.

DIGITAL WORLD

SAFETY VERSUS CYBERCRIME

GLOBAL DENSIFICATION OF THE WEB

KEY FIGURES

COMPANIES ARE PRIVILEGED VICTIMS

In 2017, 3.8 billion people had internet access, i.e. 51% of the global population. In 2022, web access will reach 6 billion, or 75% of the global population.

97%of corporate networks

have already been cyberattacked.

1 bn.

2 bn.

3 bn.

4 bn.

5 bn.

6 bn.

2017 2022

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QUICKER, STRONGER AND MORE INNOVATIVE

5 WEARABLES TO BOOST AMATEUR ATHLETES

Running

The soles of connected trainers manufactured by the US-based firm Under Armour are equipped with a gyroscope and an accelero-meter. These two sensors measure the cadence, distance covered and stride length. The integrated bluetooth system connects the trainers to the MapMyRun mobile app, which analyses the data.

Cross-country skiing

Gait Up (VD) has teamed up with the Swiss ski manufacturer POMOCA to launch Pomocup. This device, which attaches to the ski, is equipped with a 3D accelerometer, 3D gyro-scope and a thermometer. It measures the cadence, speed, outside temperature and energy used by the skier. The information is transmitted in real time via the correspon-ding mobile app.

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Alumnist Techno

Switzerland already has a good number of sports federations and is becoming a centre for sports research. Revolutionary materials and auto-analysis

equipment are being tested here. We visit the nerve centre of this technological adventure.

Text:Nina Seddik

Winning the America’s Cup – this was the initial, ambitious chal-lenge set by the Alinghi team.

But the gamble more than paid off–the Swiss Challenge became the first Euro-pean team to win the America’s Cup on two different occasions, first in 2003 and again in 2007. How can such prowess from a landlocked country be explained? The answer lies with EPFL, Alinghi’s scientific advisor from 2000 to 2010.

During this period, the university worked in close collaboration with the team’s designers to invent new technologies and help the team achieve its goal. Composite materials, which are resistant and light and are used for constructing the hull and supporting structures, enhanced the performance and reliability of the Swiss boat. Navigation equipment was made more intelligent by incorporating fibre optics capable of transmitting essential information, such as the pressures and stresses that the hull and supporting struc-tures are subjected to.

TECHNOLOGY ON THE PODIUM

The moral of this story is that work and sporting talent alone are insufficient to make it to the top step of the podium nowadays. Without cutting edge tech-nology, it is difficult to get to the top spot, with victory coming down to a difference of a few hundredths of a second. To win this race against the clock, research and development engineers around the world are designing new technologies that help improve performances in all disciplines. For example, cycling has benefited nota-bly from the arrival of carbon fibre. The majority of bikes now ridden in the Tour de France use this material in the frame, wheel rims and other equipment. This makes the bikes lighter and quicker: 6.8 kg for an average of 39 km/h in 2016 vs 20 kg and 25 km/h for the first ever Tour de France in 1903.

The observation that performance is linked to technology is driving EPFL to invest in the potential of this innovative industry that is undergoing rapid trans-formation. “Sport is a sector where we can test new technologies quickly, before transferring them to other domains. This creates a cross-sector dynamic be-tween different branches of engineering, which is the main interest,” says Pascal Vuilliomenet, projects manager at the Vice-Presidency for Innovation at EPFL.

This cross-sector dynamic was facilitated by the experience of working with Alinghi. This unprecedented technological adven-ture tore down barriers between labora-tories. Materials engineers, developers, specialists in optics and other researchers from different fields all worked together. “This project enabled us to break new ground in research in different fields of research. Thanks to this synergy, we achieved high degrees of innovation,” highlights Vuilliomenet. The research teams test these innovations directly on campus. In this vein, the EPFL and UNIL sports centre is opening its doors to amateur and elite athletes from across more than 100 disciplines–including athletics and football–with the aim of having them test components and equip-ment, and then collecting their feedback.

FROM THE DESIGN-PHASE TO THE FINISHED PRODUCT

Once the test phases have been completed, EPFL’s objective is to enable the trans-formation of the technologies developed into marketable products. In this phase, EPFL works in partnership with several manufacturing companies in the region, such as Stöckli–the Swiss ski manufacturer –which has been a partner of EPFL for more than 15 years.

The most recent joint project involved working on Turtle Shell technology. This technology is inspired by the adaptability

Golf

The French startup PIQ Sport Intelligence–a subsidiary of EPFL spin-off Octonion–has developed PIQ ROBOT. This is a multi-function sensor that improves golfers’ performance. The aim is to identify and improve the player’s strengths and help him/her achieve better results. The sensor is inserted into the golfer’s glove. From the rotation to the swing, the sensor analyses the movement and the re-sults can be viewed using a mobile app. This sensor is also available for a wide range of sports, including boxing.

Swimming

Garmin Swim is a watch that is water resis-tant to a depth of 50 metres and is equipped with an accelerometer. Once it determines the length of the pool, the sensor measures speed, the distance swam, the number of lengths and the movements made. The watch is also capable of recognising the type of stroke and calculating its efficiency by assigning it a SWOLF score–a perfor-mance indicator based on the number of cycles of movements and the time taken to complete a length. The data is then sent to a computer, ready for analysis on the Garmin Connect website.

Yoga

The Nadi X yoga pants, created by Australian brand Wearable X, were designed for prac-tising yoga at home. These leggings have several built-in sensors at the hips, knees and ankles which are connected to a control box. This, in turn, is connected via bluetooth to a mobile app that offers a series of training programmes. If the yogi doesn’t hold the correct pose, he/she will feel a vibration in the area of the body that needs to be corrected.

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Alumnist Techno

of a turtle’s shell, which is supple when the turtle breathes and goes hard when subjected to a shock. Skis equipped with this technology copy the turtle shell cha-racteristics: they are flexible when going into a corner and then become firmer at the exit of the corner. This enables the skier to regain momentum. “We wanted to create high-performance skis that were also comfortable, and that amateur skiers would enjoy,” explains Véronique Michaud, head of the Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites at EPFL. Since March 2016, approximately 12,000 pairs of Turtle Shell skis have been sold in 37 countries, accounting for 20% of the brand’s sales. These figures will likely increase with Stöckli’s project to conquer the Asian market by 2022.

THE REIGN OF WEARABLES

In addition to developing new materials that are increasingly innovative, EPFL is also working on technologies that collect data and analyse performance. Thanks to wearables, amateur athletes can now easily measure a wide range of physical and physiological parameters. Data on movement, distance, heart rate, blood pressure and calorie intake are now avai-lable to those who sport a wearable. The results obtained help them adapt their training and improve their performance whilst avoiding injury.

In the era of the quantified self, this market is experiencing huge growth. In 2017 there were 125.5 million wearables on the planet (International Data Corporation, IDC). This figure is set to double by 2021. According to Professor Kamiar Aminian (EL’82 and PhD EL’89), head of the Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement, this is not a trivial matter: “Wearables intended for amateurs give them objec tive parameters that they did not have access to before. This is innovative and provides the wearer with a certain feeling of control.”

EPFL is working with several companies that are active in designing wearables, including Gait Up (VD), which analyses mobility using connected accessories. This startup has developed a small device

that can be affixed to the shoe. It is equipped with a series of sensors that analyse movement when running or walking. This wearable can be used, amongst other things, to help improve athletes’ performances and in physio-therapy. Initially targeted at sports, health and research professionals, the startup is also making this technology available to amateurs and is developing products with partners (see inset).

PlayfulVision (VD), a spin-off from EPFL, is developing software that analyses sports data by using a multi-camera system. Taken over in 2015 by California-based firm Second Spectrum, which is specialised in the analysis and presen-tation of sports data, PlayfulVision’s technology has attracted attention from the upper echelons of the sports world, notably the NBA (see inset). Dartfish (FR), a startup that was co-founded by Martin Vetterli–President of EPFL–is also spe-cialised in analysing video images. The software, developed by a spin-off from EPFL, is used primarily by coaches and enables them to break down a match that has been recorded into several se-quences, analyse the team’s performance and then give the players feedback via Smartcloud, a remote storage system.

SWITZERLAND–THE SILICON VALLEY OF THE SPORTS WORLD

EPFL is as involved in education as it is in the field of research. In 2008, in con-junction with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), EPFL launched the Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology (AISTS). This postgraduate programme offers a 360° view of sports management. Accor-

ding to Pascal Vuilliomenet, EPFL’s priority is still to highlight the region’s ecosystem. “In conjunction with the IOC and sporting federations, Switzerland is now recognised as the administrative and technological capital of sport. But all too often we forget that Switzerland has its own Silicon Valley and is overflowing with highly diverse academic expertise.” To address this perception, EPFL and the association ThinkSport, whose aim is to promote innovation in sport, have launched “The Spot”. This event, held at the SwissTech Convention Center on 15 and 16 May 2018, was an opportunity to bring together the main players in the industry and create a truly international network of professionals, who heralded from the US and more than a dozen European countries. The network com-prises sporting federations, academic bodies, private-sector companies and approximately 40 startups. The Spot and the International Sport Startup Contest–a competition that recognises innovative projects in sports–place the spotlight firmly on small companies and provide access to Swiss and foreign investors. This is another advantage for EPFL in the innovation race. ||

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PLAYFULVISION, THE AMERICAN DREAM

The startup from the canton of Vaud has won over the NBA with its software and embodies the dream of all young entrepreneurs.

What if software would make the invisible visible? In 2014, PlayfulVision–a spin-off from EPFL–created a technology that captures the movement of players on the sports field and converts this into analy-sable data. To do this, founders Pascal Fua and Horesh Ben Shitrit (PhD IN’14) developed a multi-camera system. These cameras provide 360° coverage of a sports field, they recognise the players and can obtain

detailed statistics on speed, attacks and plays in the restricted area.

The Vaud-based startup achieved enormous success and was bought up by Second Spectrum in 2015. The California-based firm, specialised in the analysis and presentation of sports data, had already tried its luck at buying PlayfulVision, albeit unsuccessfully, on three occasions in 2013. “I posted a video summarising the PlayfulVision future tech-nology,” explains Horesh Ben Shitrit. “Second Spectrum invited me to go and work for them in Los Angeles. I refused be cause we had an excellent opportunity to create a startup in our region, with support from EPFL and international sports federations.”

But Second Spectrum’s patience paid off. The National Basketball Association (NBA), the North American basketball league,

has opened its doors to the Vaud-based company through a partnership lasting seven years. Thanks to its optical trackers, sequences from two-thirds of official matches are now analysed using augmented reality. For rebounds, shots and passes, the results offer a better understanding of the game for journalists, sports commen-tators and players. But the real benefit is for the coaches, who, by using this technology, can improve their teams’ performance and analyse their opponents’ game.

In addition to basketball, Second Spectrum is also present on the football field and has dedicated contacts in several European football leagues.

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DR

THE FASTEST DIAGNOSTIC TESTS IN THE WORLD

Abionic has made a name for itself with the fastest allergy screening test in the world. A recent fundraising round resulting in 20 million Swiss francs and a new test project to detect septicaemia has put the Vaud startup even further into the

limelight. We met with the CEO Nicolas Durand (PhD MT’10).

Text:Arnaud Aubelle

How did you become an entrepreneur?I created my first startup at 14! With a friend, we offered IT repair services and gave our profits to a charity. I always knew I wanted to go to EPFL; my grand-parents often talked about “EPUL” when I was a child and passed on their admiration for the researchers that were developing the technologies of the future. Alongside my thesis in nano-fluidics, the technology Abionic is based on, I took many entrepreneurial classes. I also took part in the EPFL Alumni men-toring programme (see inset), which was very beneficial from a strategic and positioning perspective at the key point of creating our startup.

What is different about Abionic?We are developing a system of immuno-logical tests that can produce results in only five minutes, compared to laboratory tests that can take several hours. Our first available test is an allergy diagnostic test. Seventy machines are already on the market, both in pharmacies and at specialists, and 250 others will be on the

market soon. The next step for us is a sepsis detection test (formerly called septicaemia). Obtaining reliable dia-gnoses, in just a few minutes, of serious infections and time-sensitive illnesses could save millions of lives. Using performance studies, we recently de-monstrated that our sepsis detection product works very well.

You recently finished a financing round raising 20 million Swiss francs. What will you do with the money?In order for us to market this new test, we first need to conduct an impact study. A large part of these funds will go to this specific task. The challenge is two-fold: first, using figures, we want to demonstrate the financial impact that our technology will have in hospitals and health clinics, and how they will be able to save money in intensive care. Secondly, we want to show that our technology can help doctors make the best decisions in terms of a potential antibiotic treatment. Developing countries are particularly affected by the abusive use of antibiotics, so Abionic's technology could have a potentially global impact.

JOIN THE EPFL ALUMNI MENTORING PROGRAMME

Like Nicolas Durand, more than 50 entrepreneurs have received support from close to 150 mentors since 2009.

Why should you join the programme if you are an entrepreneur?

· To benefit from the advice and the network of three mentors.

· To get an experienced outsider’s opinion on your choices.

· To work on your soft skills.

Why become a mentor?

· To contribute to a young entrepreneur’s development.

· To support the innovation ecosystem in French-speaking Switzerland.

· To maintain contact with EPFL and develop its innovation network.

Interested? E-mail Emilie Michel (PH’07), head of innovation programmes at EPFL Alumni, at innovation.alumni@epfl.ch

Nicolas Durand (PhD MT’10).

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Alumnist Innovation

ENABLE: A STEPPING STONE FOR TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGIESWhile numerous programmes exist to support entrepreneurs, there is less support for early stage technology development. EPFL’s enable programme plays a unique role in helping these technologies make their first steps toward commercialisation

easier and offers alumni the opportunity to be a part of this adventure.

Text:Arnaud Aubelle

Investing in tomorrow’s technologies, today: such is enable’s commitment. Led by André Catana (PhD PH’90) and

Isabel Casado (IN’99), the programme supports creative innovators by providing funding, expertise and passion to move ideas from the lab to the marketplace. “One of the major challenges in technology transfer is the significant gap between research results and product development. Feasibility studies, advanced proofs of concept and prototyping are decisive steps,” explains André Catana.

Through early stage funding of up to CHF 30,000, enable partners with the labs to help validate ideas and assess their viability. The goal is to support early stages of technological development and ensure that innovation and technology transfer are built into the DNA of the researcher community. Since the start of the programme in 2010, 66 laboratories have benefited from the programme, supporting the delivery of prototypes, product designs, application validation and the development of new ideas.

enable is not just about the money – it is about adding value. The enable team offers support from the start of the entre-preneurial journey – offering researchers advice and the ability to grow and deve-lop their idea.

An innovative internship programme gives students from various disciplines (engineers, biologists, designers, econo-mists, etc.) the chance to get involved with the projects. “Internships are a unique opportunity to connect diverse skills and perspectives with promising new technologies,” says Isabel Casado. It results in a team dynamic that may grow and last beyond the internship, as was the case for Nanolive and Rovenso (see inset).

ALUMNI: A COMMUNITY OF “ENABLERS”The programme is picking up speed: only five projects were supported in 2010 compared to 32 in 2017. It now aims to build a community dedicated to acce-lerating transformational innovation. “EPFL alumni have a central role to play in the programme,” says André Catana. “Through their experiences and expertise, they are key enablers for tomorrow’s technologies.”

Offering business advice, market insights, product development knowhow, net-working opportunities…The needs are varied. A first event for EPFL alumni will be held on Thursday, 4 October 2018. It will be a unique opportunity for alumni to discover several innovative projects supported by enable. Here is a chance for the alumni to engage with EPFL innovation by empowering researchers to be change makers.

PAST ENABLE PROJECTS

Yann Cotte

· PhD MT’12 · CEO of Nanolive

Nanolive microscopes give scientists a 3D view of cells. Located at EPFL's Innovation Park, the company has 18 employees.

“The first functioning prototype was financed by enable. It made it possible for us to de-risk the technology and be selected for the Venture Leaders programme in Boston, where we met our first clients.”

Thomas Estier

· MT’99 · CEO of Rovenso

Rovenso robots carry heavy loads and traverse terrain that is dangerous for humans. The company has four em-ployees and has developed its third generation of prototypes. It is currently conducting pilot projects in Switzerland and China.

“enable played an essential role at a time when no one else would have invested in us. The programme financed the design and physical simulation of our first robot. It also brought in EPFL interns who became the co-founders of Rovenso.”

Lucas Maystre

· SC’12· Kickoff.ai

Kickoff is an advanced sport results prediction tool based on machine learning. Check out its predictions for the 2018 FIFA World Cup at kickoff.ai.

“enable allowed me to create my new plat-form kickoff.ai in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a unique occasion to share the results of my algorithm with fans. The programme also provides access to external resources, diverse perspectives and new potential app ideas.”

CONTACTS:→ andre.catana@epfl.ch → isabel.casado@epfl.ch

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SMARTCARDIA: A WIRELESS PATCH TO MONITOR VITAL SIGNS

Continuous monitoring of vital signs — electrocardiogram, pulse, blood pressure, etc. — is essential for emergency medical care. But monitors and sensors have wires, which isn't very practical in urgent situations. EPFL spin-off Smartcardia developed a system of wireless sensors contained in a small patch that allows health professionals to monitor data remotely and in real time. The device was tested in several hospitals and proved to be just as reliable as current monitors. The product will be available on the market from spring 2018.

REVOLUTIONARY ANTI-AGEING PRODUCT BY AMAZENTIS RAISES 8 MILLION SWISS FRANCS

Co-founded by Patrick Aebischer, Amazentis is taking advantage of the unique way humans digest certain nutrients in red fruits like pomegranates. Our intestinal flora turns the fruit molecules into a derivative, urolithin A, which slows mitochondrial degene-ration in cells, a phenomenon directly linked to ageing. The 8.4 million Swiss francs raised will be used for phase 2 clinical trials. The first trial aims to confirm that the product is effective in individuals over 65 showing signs of muscle weakness. The second seeks to demonstrate that urolithin A improves the endurance of patients between 40 and 65 and who are modestly obese.

AGENDA 2018

Save the date! Here are the next EPFL Alumni innovation events. More information can be found at www.epflalumni.ch.

· 27 September Startup investment event,

co-organised with Investiere

· 4 October Startup mentoring and expertise

event, co-organised with enable

· 17 October Startup investment event, co-

organised with Business Angels Switzerland

· 29 October Swiss Venture Day - Forum Rolex

Learning Center

· 1 November Startup investment event, co-

organised with Go Beyond for Swiss Robotics Industry Day 2018 – SwissTech Convention Center

TAKING BLOOD WITHOUT NEEDLES

Taking one’s own blood sample pain-lessly at home could soon become routine. Technology developed by EPFL startup Loop Medical and its founder Arthur Queval (MT’08) significantly simplifies taking blood samples. Individuals can take a sample of their own blood by placing a small needle-free device on their arm. This technology is extremely relevant, as 70% of today’s medical decisions are based on blood tests. The young company, founded in 2017, has re-ceived support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided $400,000 in startup funds.

11 MILLION SWISS FRANCS FOR MANAGING AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

BestMile, a startup founded by Raphaël Gindrat (GC’14), has created software that coordinates fleets of autonomous vehicles. With more than 50 employees between San Francisco and EPFL’s Innovation Park, BestMile is one of the most pro-minent Swiss startups. The company just raised 11 million Swiss francs in capital for development and is now targeting key partnerships in the auto industry. BestMile’s technology has already been used in Sion, Switzerland, where self-driving shuttles have been used since 2016.

STARTUP NEWSEP

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Innovation for social entrepreneurship

Long confined to philanthropy and associations, development assistance is now being tackled by companies as well.

This new approach aims to make projects with a strong social impact sustainable by making them commercially viable.

Text:Arnaud Aubelle

In late 2017, EPFL welcomed to campus Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. The inventor of the concept of social entrepreneur-

ship is convinced: economic development is the only way to truly achieve a sustainable impact and the three zeros: zero poverty, zero unemployment, zero carbon emissions. It is a true paradigm shift, especially since the business world and develop-ment assistance world have long operated in parallel without ever interacting. Now this is changing and large companies don’t want to be left out. Allianz is providing health insurance for low-income Indian families, Marks and Spencer and Nestlé have impro-ved living conditions for employees from developing countries involved in their supply chains, and Cisco Networking Academy offers IT career training in 170 countries. There are many such programmes that, according to these large companies, have a direct social impact on the people involved and that are si-mul taneously beneficial to companies in terms of profits or recruitment.

At EPFL, students and alumni are becoming increa-singly aware of the connections between engineering and social responsibility. When they finish their stu dies, some students move directly into social entrepreneurship. That was the case for Niklas Van Neyghem (SV’15), co-founder of Alaya, a digital plat-form for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and companies whose employees want to participate in solidarity missions (see inset p.36). At EPFL, a social impact initiative was established in 2017 by the Vice Presidency for Innovation. The goal was threefold: encourage social entrepreneurship through internal initiatives, create a Yunus Business Center and establish corporate partnerships (see inset p.35).

ADAPTING TO LOCAL CONSTRAINTSSince 2012, EPFL's EssentialTech unit has focused specifically on designing technologies for developing countries and creating business models to dissemi-

nate these technologies around the world. Founded and led by Klaus Schönenberger (PhD MT’96), the programme – part of the Cooperation & Development Center (CODEV) – now has around 10 project ma-nagers and just as many technologies in development. With projects as diverse as radiology devices, new foot prostheses for people who were injured by mines or explosives, or protective clothing against viruses such as Ebola, each is in line with the Social Develop-ment Goals (SDG) as defined by the United Nations (see p.37). But that doesn't mean the business aspect will be secondary. “By integrating a real business model into our projects, we aim to make each pro-ject commercially viable and sustainable,” explained Schönenberger. “The important thing is to aim for large-scale social impact.” To do so, at the end of the chain, each technology must result in a technology transfer to an existing company or a new startup, such as Pristem for radiology devices (see inset p.34).

The most unique aspect of the EssentialTech pro-gramme is its ability to accommodate the local constraints of developing countries, even within the technological development process itself. There are usually four types of difficulties: a lack of qualified personnel, dilapidated infrastructure, limited finan-cial resources and weather conditions. Pristem is a case study, insofar that all four of these constraints are in volved. “First, our radiology devices are designed for Cameroon, where less than 10 radiolo-gists are trained each year,” said Schönenberger. “There are frequent electrical outages in hospitals, as well as a limited budget and high tem peratures and flooding in the rainy season.” Faced with these conditions, radiology equi pment currently used from northern countries systematically breaks down. But Pristem developed a prototype of a machine that can withstand the extreme usage con ditions in Cameroon and many other countries in Africa, Latin America and South Asia. The project involved more than 40 scientists, doctors, technicians and other specialists

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Alumnist EPFL

in both Switzerland – from EPFL and its partners (notably HES-SO, CHUV, Paul Scherrer Institute and SwissTPH) – and Africa.

PROJECTS PROMOTING COLLABORATIONThese technologies are not free, but the final objective for each project is the same: offer the technology at a radically lower cost than existing solutions. To do this, sometimes teams need to be creative with ma-terials and technological solutions, and above all ensure that the product is viable over the long term. “We always calculate the price over several years, that is, we include all the life cycle costs: purchase, operation, maintenance and repair. It is also over the long term that savings can be made.” Pristem radiology equipment will be sold with a six-year warranty. This is far better than the current one-year warranty, which is often not even honoured because of distance. For Schönenberger, designing lower-quality products because of financial and other con-straints is just not an option. All technology follows the golden rule: anything developed for southern countries must be relevant for northern countries as well. As a result, Swiss and international companies are taking an interest in EssentialTech technologies. “For example, we are working on de veloping pro-tective clothing for viral diseases in partnership with the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and three companies that are interested in the potential market. Having rugged, sustainable and well-priced solutions is good for everyone, not just developing countries!”

At EPFL, EssentialTech includes approximately 15 labs and several professors for various projects. “Beyond the social impact, these projects bring up fascinating scientific and technological problems for labs and professors to solve,” said Schönenberger. As a hub, EssentialTech brings together the best of both entre preneurial aspects and systems engineering. An agreement was also signed with the Swiss Data Science Center, opened in 2017 on campus, and Terre des Hommes, an NGO. The partnership hopes to develop an application that can detect malnutrition by calculating the height and weight of a child from just a photo. EssentialTech also offers a free MOOC (“Technology Innovation for Sustainable Develop-ment” available on the EdX platform). The online course provides a methodological approach for students to imagine, develop and launch technolo-gies and corresponding business models that will help fight poverty. These many examples are proof that development challenges take on a new impor-tance in the technological world, and EssentialTech has a key role to play. ||

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4 EssentialTech technologies at a glance

What is the technology? Conditions in southern countries are such that the device must be resistant to humidity, temperature and dust. Furthermore, instabilities in the electrical infrastruc-ture cause more than one-third of all medical equipment outages. The Global-DiagnostiX is heavy-duty and still works if there is an electrical outage.

Who is it for? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), two-thirds of the global population does not have access to radiological imaging. However, 90% of car accident victims live in sou-thern countries. Radiology is essential in order to diagnose precisely these types of injuries. It is also very important for complications associated with tuber-culosis. Cameroon is the test country.

Where does the project stand? A functional prototype exists, as well as a detailed business plan, which resulted in the creation of startup Pristem SA. Currently, it is raising funds for its first financing round.

A rugged radiology device for southern countries

From left to right: Bertrand Klaiber (CEO of Pris-tem), Dr. Jean Roger Moulion Tapouh (Radiolo-gist from Cameroon), Dr. Klaus Schönenberger (Director of EssentialTech), Romain Sahli (project manager).

“Development challenges take on a new importance in the technological world”

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In late 2017, EPFL welcomed Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and inventor of the concept of “social business”. In conjunction with the entrepreneur's conference, the School announced a social entrepreneurship initiative.

EPFL's Social Impact Initiative (SII) aims to bring together the academic and business worlds to solve global societal problems by focusing on three priorities: education, innovation and awareness. EPFL will also be home to the only Yunus Social Business

Center in Switzerland. Interview with Beatrice Scarioni, head of Tech 4 Impact at the Vice-Presidency for Innovation

Why is EPFL hosting a social initiative?Beatrice Scarioni: Due to its key role as an innovation hub, EPFL can, as Muhammad Yunus said when he was here, be a catalyst for projects that have a direct social impact. The goal is also to educate EPFL students in social entrepreneurship and turn them into responsible engineers.

So, what exactly are the projects currently underway?BS: In terms of education, we will offer a MOOC entitled “Tech4Good – Starting Your Social Venture” to be launched in late 2018 and an SHS course for EPFL undergraduates called “Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship”. In terms of innovation and research, at the end of 2017 we launched a partnership between Bühler, a company located in the EPFL Innovation Park, and mechanical engineering students. The goal is to design innovative agricultural technology at a low cost for small farmers in Africa. Other par-

tnerships will be announced soon. Finally, we are supporting EPFL laboratories and re searchers as they develop responsible technological projects, as well as engaged associations such as Ingénieurs du Monde and Act for Change Lab.

Can you describe what the EPFL Yunus Social Business Center will be like?BS: The goal for these centres is to create a virtuous context in which to develop social initiatives and identify local players that could play a decisive role in these projects. As Lausanne was an Olympic capital, the EPFL centre will focus particularly on collaborations between sport, technology and social entrepreneurship. These could take several forms: reconversion of high-level athletes, access to microcredit for athletes in training, partnerships with major sporting events, etc. Muhammad Yunus returned to campus on 15 and 16 May to discuss these synergies during “The Spot” event. The centre will open in 2018 and will be the only Yunus Social Business Center in Switzerland.

What is the technology? Surgical masks worn by medical personnel contribute significantly to patient stress and dis-comfort, especially for children and the most vulnerable patients. This is due to lack of visual human contact. This pro-blem was particularly significant during the Ebola epidemic where doctors were complaining of the lack of this human connection with very ill patients. A new material would make these masks transparent.

Who is it for? All hospital personnel.

Where does the project stand? The new material is being developed in col-laboration with Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology) in St. Gallen.

What is the technology? Electrical outages in southern hospitals increase the rate of infant mortality due to hypothermia. This incubator will be more heavy-duty and can withstand electrical outages lasting four hours by using phase-change materials.

Who is it for? Newborns with a low birth weight that need to be hospitalised and in an incubator.

Where does the project stand? A proto-type was created through EssentialTech in partnership with several EPFL labora-tories. A patent was filed. The project is seeking financing to finish developing the prototype and business model and to launch a startup.

What is the technology? The goal is to develop more flexible prostheses that are more dynamic and far less expensive than the models currently on the market. The project comes from Humani-tarian Tech Hub, a collaborative platform between EPFL and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which carries out its projects through the EssentialTech programme.

Who is it for? Victims of mines or explosives.

Where does the project stand? A partner-ship was established with the ICRC and includes four EPFL laboratories. A proto-type was developed that reduces the cost by a factor of approximately 35. A patent is pending.

EPFL launches a social impact initiative

A transparent medical mask An incubator that retains heat without electricity

A radically less expensive dynamic foot prosthesis

As they did not have transparent masks, some doctors and nurses put photographs of their faces on their clothes in order to humanise treatments.

Incubators increase the survival rate for low birth weight newborns.

Pic Battambang rediscovered some autonomy thanks to his prosthesis.

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Alumnist EPFL

Niklas Van Neyghem, a 2015 graduate of the Life Sciences programme, flawlessly re-presents a new type of social entrepreneur. The company he co-founded, Alaya, aims to use digitisation to bring companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) together in order to optimise the skills of employees that want to help a cause they care about. Alaya works with over 150 NGOs, large companies such as L’Oréal, Pricewater houseCoopers and Société Générale, as well as several small and medium-sized companies.

Where did the idea for Alaya come from?Niklas Van Neyghem: In 2016, right after I graduated from EPFL, I travelled to Asia and South America to share my engineering skills with local NGOs. While I was able to find field missions, I wasn't able to use my technical knowledge. I also noticed that NGOs had very specific needs in several fields, including programming, accounting, translation, data analysis, communications, and many more. Since it was hard to find the right intermediary for both NGOs and volunteers, a collaborative platform seemed like it could really be useful.

How did this first idea become a startup?NVN: In 2016, my co-founders and I parti-cipated in the first Lausanne edition of the incubator MassChallenge. We didn’t have a business plan or structure, but we had a simple idea and about 10 NGOs ready to participate. MassChallenge was an opportunity to understand the com mercial potential of our concept and to gain access to key people from large companies, which allowed us to unders-tand what companies were expecting from a project like ours. This first startup, Share A Dream, merged in March 2018 with Hope It Up, another startup in the industry, to finally become Alaya.

How does the platform work?NVN: The service is free for NGOs. Each NGO has an account to post missions and specify its duration. Each company can manage which employees are active on the platform. They pay a monthly subscription fee based on the number of active employees on the platform. So we work on an entirely business-to-business basis: volunteers go through

Alaya: a platform to connect NGOs and volunteers

companies rather than individuals. While there is a wide range of fields re-quested, skills directly related to engineering – those that EPFL alumni have – are in creasingly in demand among NGOs.

What is the benefit for companies?NVN: Social responsibility has become a key challenge for companies. They see Alaya as an excellent opportunity to promote their image with the public, but also and especially to use their employees’ skills for causes that are important to them. The collaboration communicates positive solidarity values, contributes to employee fulfilment and strengthens their attachment to the company.

Niklas Van Neyghem (SV’15), right, and the co-founders of Alaya.

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Alumnist EPFL

Peace, justice and

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Zero hunger

A�ordable and clean energy

Climate actionGood health and well-beingQua

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Decent work and

economic grow

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Industry, innovation

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Reduced inequalitiesLife below water

Life on land

17 UN Sustainable

Development Goals

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Alumnist EPFL

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