Tech Innovation for Sustainable Development

Klaus Schönenberger holds an MSc in Microengineering (1993) and PhD (1996) from EPFL, followed by a post-doc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After spending over a decade in the medical devices industry as Vice-President of Worldwide R&D and Global Vice-President of Research and Technology, he experienced a pivotal moment in 2009 when he recognized the stark disparity in medical technology access between industrialized and developing nations. This revelation led him to co-found the EssentialMed Foundation and later establish the EssentialTech Centre at EPFL in 2011, which was elevated to a research centre status in 2018. Under his leadership, the Centre has developed significant innovations, including a digital x-ray imaging solution for low and middle-income countries through Pristem SA, where he serves as board chairman. He also co-founded HMCare, which develops transparent surgical masks. The EssentialTech Centre focuses on sustainable development, humanitarian action, and peace promotion through three main divisions aligned with the UN's Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus. Schönenberger currently teaches Development Engineering (ENV-470), a 4-credit course that covers topics such as poverty reduction, sustainable development, and technologies for development in low-income settings. In 2017, he co-directed a MOOC titled Technology Innovation for Sustainable Development, which has attracted over 12,000 enrollees.

Dr. Soli Makohliso serves as the Deputy Head of the EssentialTech Centre at EPFL, where he focuses on leveraging cutting-edge research for sustainable development in low and middle-income countries. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from Brown University and completed his Ph.D. at EPFL, later adding Certificates in Executive Leadership & Finance from Cornell University. At EPFL, he co-teaches Development Engineering (ENV-470), a 4-credit course conducted in English that covers essential technologies, sustainable development, and poverty reduction in low-income settings. The course combines lectures, group work, and practical applications, with assessment methods including group projects and written exams. He also co-developed and taught a MOOC titled Technology Innovation for Sustainable Development alongside Klaus Schönenberger, which provides a methodology for using technology innovation to combat poverty. His expertise spans multiple advisory roles, including serving on the Technical Expert Group for the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics and the Ministerial Task Team for National Technology Innovation Valorisation in South Africa.