Challenge description

Context :

The Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie (HEI) - HES-SO Valais Wallis ecosystem, the EPFL Valais Wallis and the campus area, fully operational by September 2020, will bring together on one site all the skills needed to develop a complete ecosystem in the fields of renewable energies, green chemistry and health. Tertiary training, basic research, applied research, development and economic valorization will create a value chain whoes goal is to transform the ideas of tomorrow into concrete and useful achievements for the population.

In the context of global warming, which in the Alps should reach a minimum of +4° C (according to the latest IPCC reports), the Alpine population will have to face many challenges: heat islands in urban centers, extreme weather events that are increasing, seasonal lack of irrigation water, landslides, etc. Combined with the fall of biodiversity and the need to consider a future free of fossil and nuclear energy, it is imperative to develop initiatives, mainly local, in favor of a virtuous approach to our consumption.

This collaboration between HES-SO Valais-Wallis and EPFL (which also inclueds The Ark Foundation to form energypolis) has sufficient critical mass to make a significant contribution to transforming Valais. So could it become the melting pot of alpine research for a greener future ? Should it allow the emergence of durable solutions that meet the needs of the city and the canton ? How could / should it interact with the other component of Valais society to accelerate this transition ? Should its role go beyond scientific research ? And if yes, how ? What can this ecosystem integrate to help accelerate the ecological transition of the region ?

Challenge vision

Expected rusults (form participants) :

Mobilize students and other actors around neighborhood and/or ecosystem projects and their role. Participants will have to think about concrete projects that could be put in place in the coming months and could impact the region. Ideally, the projects will involve the EPFL, the HES, as well as other stakeholders in a collaborative approach. The participants will have to think about the concrete idea, but also how to implement it and how to make it shine on the city and the canton. The projects will aim to meet the following challenges:

1. How to create a campus spirit ? (Life around the neighborhood, collaborations, social dynamics, creativity, innovation ...)
2. What active / pioneering / exemplary role this campus and stakeholders must play in the deployment of the ecological / energy transition? One could imagine projects as varied as energy concept, animation of the district, technology exhibition, conference, place of exhibition, place of life, animation and evolution of the ecosystem, role of the researchers in the political life and as experts, etc.