Augmented operators, urban farms, indoor surveillance drones, artificial intelligence… These are a few of the 14 technologies selected by Grenoble Ecole de Management in partnership with IRT Nanoelec. They will be used as part of Nanovalor, a platform designed to help anticipate the impact of emerging technology on society and the economy. It will provide GEM students with an important culture on the topic of new technology.
"The platform will help students develop their culture in terms of emerging technology, and in particular, the Internet of Thing. During its first year, Nanovalor will help 800 first year students in the Grande Ecole program develop their awareness on this topic. The goal is to help them understand the impact of new technology on industry, companies, jobs and society. The choice of 14 emerging technologies will enable students to explore what future tech might offer.
For example, autonomous car sharing and insurance, connected sound or connected bank cards, or even solving security risks for cardiac stimulators," explains Sylvie Blanco, a researcher and professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management who co-initiated the Nanovalor platform with IRT Nanoelec. She also directs the GEM Bis Campus, dedicated to developing sustainable innovation.
Understanding the impact of emerging tech
The goal of this pedagogical platform is to analyze which areas of activity will be impacted by new tech. Students will explore how soon tech will come into play and how long these solutions will last. The idea is to understand which players will be first to adopt and capitalize on new markets. The platform will explore mechanisms that could slow adoption such as regulation, ethics and environmental concerns. Nanovalor also aims to measure the impact on citizens. "Nanovalor will provide various academic and professional communities with access to quality data and information on this subject," adds Sylvie.
An "open" platform
"Technology is part of GEM's DNA. Students will work in groups of five or six as part of hybrid classes that combine technology and information management. The results of their work will serve to create a database of articles that will be open to all. It will create an open platform on the topic of connected objects," says Sylvie. The articles will be fully accessible to students and companies. The goal being to democratize technology and encourage management involvement in tech development. This year, a general summary as well as topic-specific summaries will also be created and distributed.
