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UN Sustainable Development Goals at Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation

UN Sustainable Development Goals at Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation

TEI research and teaching influence more of the UN SDG’s, however, the section is focusing in particular on 6 specific SDG goals

We pursue research about technology entrepreneurship and smart manufacturing and qua the cross-boundary and interdisciplinary nature of innovation we seek to produce solutions for the problems addressed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

International researchers from various research areas and students with different cultural and educational backgrounds work to support SDG goals

Quality Education

The section incorporates Goal #4 (Quality education) in several ways. We provide quality assurance through use of state-of-the-art technology and research within teaching. Also, the section participates in the first-job guarantee for engineering graduates, and all programs consider input of local industry in curricula design, thereby ensuring the relevance of the programs. We also make sure to provide access to resources in the form of lab facilities, professionals, educators etc. for the students.

Decent Work and Economic Growth

In our research we focus on sub-target 8.2 where technological upgrading achieves a higher level of economic productivity. For this, simulation plays a key role to develop, test and demonstrate the sustainable use of resources, analysing from raw material to equipment throughout the whole supply chain. In this way, we focus on ‘Research Factory of the Future’, with special attention on the future workplace that is safe and ergonomically sustainable, thereby contributing to Goal #8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Our research activities contribute to Goal #9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastucture) in several ways. We conduct innovation research where we research innovative engineering solutions in combination with business. We work in the Virtual Reality (VR) domain, where prototyping and production experiments take place with minimum use of material and energy. We have established a digital link between Odense and Sønderborg to demonstrate how collaboration between geographical separated sites work, this could help minimize travelling in international companies. We develop innovative reconfigurable manufacturing systems that can adapt to new situations, prolonging the lifespan of the system significantly. We also provide circular solutions for business model innovation that account for the complexity of sustainability (finance, environment, and society) In particular, our work is oriented at Sub-Target 9.5 (Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending) A more specific goal of ours is to find partners in an African or South Asian partner country in early development. Here, we would like to make use of our resources via Virtual Machines (software for modelling, simulation etc.), and provide online teaching and training for students and staff. Our goal is to go into partnerships with at least two universities there.

Sustainable Cities and Communities

In ‘ProjectZero’ we collaborate with local Danish companies with the overall aim reduce the area’s CO2 emission to zero in 2029. We do this by raising awareness for sustainability through education, industry collaboration, and community involvement. To achieve the goal, we conduct technology/engineering research focusing on how we can make cities smarter and more sustainable, thereby contributing to Goal #11 (Sustainable cities and communities).

Responsible Production and Consumption

Our research revolving around ‘The Smart Factory’ focuses on automation and digitalization, pointing at sustainable solutions with long lifetime, good work life and minimum resource consumption. We focus on the Product Life Cycle from Cradle to Cradle. Smart product development adopts latest digital technologies, and targets on improving efficiency, which will lead to an optimal use of (physical) materials. Through factory simulation we can quantify energy consumption and thereby substantiate possible energy savings, and in this way contribute to Goal #12 (Responsible Production and Consumption) in several ways.

Partnerships for the Goals

We are engaged in several partnerships that can be related to the SDGs, thereby contributing to Goal #17. We participate in ProjectZero in which we collaborate with various stakeholders, such as private citizens, and with public and private organizations. We also involve companies in teaching about sustainability, and open innovation is a guiding principle for our work.

For more information please contact Head of Section Arne Bilberg

Last Updated 05.10.2023