The New Economy visited Mobile World Congress 2016 to find out about the future trends that will revolutionise the way we communicate.
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Author: The New Economy
Mobile World Congress 2016: IoT at the peak of people’s expectations
The New Economy speaks with Ericsson/’s Paolo Filetti about the role of mobile services in the evolution of the Internet of Things.
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Mobile World Congress 2016: Cherie Blair – Women held back by lack of mobile ownership
The New Economy spoke with Cherie Blair, Founder of the Foundation for Women, about the significant gender gap in mobile phone ownership and usage in low- and middle-income countries.
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Mobile World Congress 2016: IT networking gets a makeover
The New Economy spoke with John Healy from Intel, at the 2016 Mobile World Congress, about the importance of software-defined networking.
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Mobile World Congress 2016: 5G to unlock mobile’s true potential
The New Economy spoke with Phil Twist from Nokia, at Mobile World Congress 2016, about the next big thing for mobile.
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Mobile World Congress 2016: The mobile phone – a remote control for our life
The New Economy spoke with Nathalie Boulanger of Orange, at Mobile World Congress 2016, to find out how start-ups are spearheading innovation.
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Mobile World Congress 2016: Mobile can revolutionise economies
The New Economy caught up with Antonio Garcia Zaballos of the Inter-American Development Bank, at the 2016 Mobile World Congress, to find out how mobile can transform economies.
Travel widely, and ethically, with new Fathom cruises
Holidays at sea have become more and more popular as a way to see multiple destinations, in an often five-star luxurious environment. But one cruise brand – Fathom, the latest line from Carnival Corporation – is bringing the social impact concept to the cruise holiday. Tara Russell, President of Fathom and Global Impact Lead of Carnival Corporation, discusses the social impact ideals of Fathom, and the new kinds of cruise holidays Fathom will be offering.
The New Economy: Holidays at sea have become more and more popular as a way to see multiple destinations, in an often five star luxurious environment. But how environmentally conscious are these floating hotels? With me is Tara Russell, President of Fathom and Global Impact Lead of Carnival Corporation – the largest cruise line in the world.
Well Tara, let’s start with social impact excursions. Why are these a good idea for holiday travel?
Tara Russell: Well, is there ever a bad reason for holiday travel?
We think that travel is a great way to experience the world and really develop meaningful memories. And social impact travel… Fathom is really about combining your love of travel with your desire to make a difference.
So we make it really easy and convenient for people to go with a group of friends, travel with their family, their loved ones; and come and really see a place, immerse deeply in that culture. But then also, have meaningful ways to give back. And we’ve worked hard to really architect those experiences in a way that is hugely impactful to the local communities, but also a really fun and enjoyable experience to share.
The New Economy: Social impact is of course at the heart of business today. But how does the cruise industry fit into this?
Tara Russell: The cruise industry has made a tremendous impact all around the world. And there’s a tremendous amount of economic development that happens when our travellers and our passengers experience a place.
And so, this is just one more way that we can make a marked difference, and really harness and leverage the assets that we have corporately, for an entirely new purpose. And so, we believe there are a lot of ways that you can give back.
Oftentimes the ships when they’re in port, they may do some kind of medical services for local community members. There’s a lot of gifts in kind and goods that are donated on a regular basis. And you know, we’re creating jobs and creating employment solutions in all these locations that we go.
The New Economy: Well let’s stay focusing on Fathom now. How does it collaborate with partner countries to aid development issues?
Tara Russell: We spent an enormous amount of time in the Dominican Republic. And rather than come in with some solution, we really came in with a desire to learn and understand the needs of the people.
So we spent quite a bit of time in design thinking work and research on the ground, and really understanding from a very diverse group of stakeholders, what were the needs and opportunities that they really felt were worth tackling in their home countries.
And so we found there were three key themes: education, the environment, and economic development. So we’re doing a lot to support conversational English, which really becomes a pathway to employment.
We’re doing a tremendous amount with economic development efforts: supporting women’s cooperatives producing chocolate, and really helping stimulate the job opportunities there.
We’re also doing quite a bit of reforestation and producing clean water, just to help bring clean water to areas that don’t have clean water.
The New Economy: And how do your travellers participate in this?
Tara Russell: We have worked alongside our Dominican partners. We have partnered with a couple of on-ground organisations there that have been working in the country for about 30 years. And so we’ve worked closely with them to develop all these social impact models.
Rather than our travellers doing these activities on their own, they’re actually working alongside local Dominicans. So they’ll get an opportunity to connect, build meaningful relationships; really learn about the Dominican Republic, learn some Spanish, produce chocolate, and have lots of fun.
So we expect that our travellers will spend time at the beach, time in the mountains, time enjoying the local marketplace. But they’ll also have an opportunity to really go deep with these community members, working alongside and serving some of the opportunities there as well.
The New Economy: Sustainability and environmental performance is really at the heart of Fathom; talk me through this.
Tara Russell: There’s an enormous amount that we’re doing corporately around environmental sustainability, and really working to reduce fuel consumption. We’re really pioneering some technology to really scrub some of the exhaust gases.
We’re also always looking for ways onboard the ship to create greater efficiencies. So conserving energy through LED lighting or lower water usage. I’m constantly amazed by just how efficient the operation of a ship and the maritime space is.
When we’re in port there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity within the local communities. And we believe that by really helping these communities stay vibrant and flourish that will also deliver a continued great travel experience to all of our guests.
The New Economy: And finally, how do you see this industry developing, and what sort of plans do you have in the pipeline?
Tara Russell: Really, we’re the pioneers in this social impact travel space.
Today you see a lot of service learning trips, study abroads, mission trips, voluntourism. The difference for us is, social impact travel is really about making a long-term commitment to a place. An ongoing, systematic, long-sighted partnership with these communities.
It isn’t about us coming to do for the Dominicans; it’s really about us coming to do with.
Our partners and our community friends on the ground. And recently we’ve been approved for Cuba, so we’re really excited to begin our cultural exchange trips to Cuba.
And we are developing models both on-board and on-shore that we’ll be looking to roll out across our fleet. So, figuring out which on-board experiences that we’ve developed will make sense for some of our sister brands. Really looking at the models that we’ve developed on the ground in the Dominican Republic, and what other communities across the world that we visit might be a great location to explore those things.
So, we see a lot of potential. I think consumers today are hungry for products and services that marry their desires with their values. And so I think that’s just where the marketplace is going.
We feel really fortunate to really be pioneering, and really be leading the tip of this spear.
Utrecht Science Park brings innovation and employment to the city of Utrecht
Utrecht – at the heart of the Netherlands – is developing into a regional capital of European importance. The city’s current expansion is combining major economic and employment opportunities with innovation. Floris de Gelder, Director of Utrecht Science Park, discusses the science park’s ambitions, and the ‘Utrecht Science Park model.’
The New Economy: Utrecht – at the heart of the Netherlands – is developing from a medium-sized provincial city into a regional capital of European importance. The city’s current expansion combines physical expansion with major economic opportunities and innovation. Here to discuss is Floris de Gelder, Director of Utrecht Science Park.
Well Floris, the Utrecht region has one of the best expectations for economic development within the city regions of Western Europe, so how does the Science Park fit in to this?
Floris de Gelder: Well, we are very happy to be in the middle of the Netherlands. We have eight million people living within one hour travel of our science park. It’s the beating heart of the economy of Utrecht. We have a lot of knowledge, we have 22,000 people working in our science park.
We try to attract employment – companies that if we would not have had a science park, they would probably have gone to the other side of the world. That’s actually what we try to do: we try to add the most sophisticated knowledge-related employment to our region.
The New Economy: And what sort of projects – and indeed discoveries – have been made there?
Floris de Gelder: Well last year – and there was a lot of attention for this – we had a surgeon, who is working 200m from my office. And he saved the life of a young lady who was very sick. She had a problem with her skull, and he designed – using 3d printing technology – a new skull for this lady. And replaced the skull, and she is still alive. She’s working again.
So this is one example. Another example is, we are now building the largest children’s cancer hospital and research centre in Europe, and one of the three largest in the world. And it will be finished in 2017.
The New Economy: Really impressive and important innovations. So how would you say these are boosting the region’s economy?
Floris de Gelder: The interesting thing is that we have a science park – it’s 300 hectares, it’s very small. But basically, we’re not doing this for ourselves, or for the park itself, but for the region. And many cities around Utrecht, they choose their own profile which is related to our science park. And we are developing satellite locations – smaller, little, more specialised parks – which are using our brand.
And together we acquire companies and employment. So we try to combine the region with the science park. And for instance, if a neighbouring city is planning new housing, they come to us, and we discuss which kinds of houses do we need in the neighbourhood to create the best living environment.
So it’s not only about attracting companies, but it’s also about how to develop the region. And we work together with all these neighbouring cities as well.
The New Economy: So community is very important to the Utrecht Science Park – why is this, and how does it aid innovation?
Floris de Gelder: It’s very important. The science park is not about real estate – it’s about people. And it’s about people meeting each other, and sometimes discovering things that you cannot plan. One of my colleagues once said that our job is to facilitate serendipity. So you cannot always predict what’s going to happen – but you can try to help people to feel okay, and to meet each other.
So last year we had the Grand Départ of the Tour de France, as we tried to attract events and organise events on our science park. We’re the only science park that I know that has its own festival – 7,000 people come there in the botanical gardens, and our best scientists tell their stories (very briefly!) in public.
We have something that’s already a little bit famous: it’s what we call the roof garden. It was started by some students who wanted to improve the quality of life, the possibilities for meeting each other on the science park. So we really tried to create an atmosphere in which people are not only working in their own building, but living together, discovering new things together, having fun together, spending time.
The New Economy: So talk me through the Utrecht model. What can other cities learn from this?
Floris de Gelder: Well, I just told you about this roof garden project – it seems like a little, small project – but there’s something important about this project. When these students came to us and asked us if they could organise this roof garden project, we just said ‘Yes.’ We did not exactly know what they were going to do – there was not any kind of management – but it was about trust. Giving each other the possibility just to do what you believe in.
And I think maybe, if there is an Utrecht model, then it’s a little bit about this. It’s about being a team in the region, and working together. Some people call it a leaderless network, and we are together. We try to trust each other as much as possible.
The reason why we are doing this is to improve society. It’s to create a society in which people are happy, in which they can be healthy, and that the generations after us will have the fantastic places we have. That’s why we’re doing this.
And when you’re doing this, and when you share this knowledge, and when you’re in the region working as a team and giving a lot of trust to each other – I think that could be the Utrecht model.
The New Economy: And finally, what’s in the pipeline for future development?
Floris de Gelder: Well, I told you about this children’s cancer hospital. And the purpose of this hospital is that we can improve the percentage of children cured from 75 to 95 percent. So maybe up to 80 percent of the children who don’t survive now, can survive when we have this institution. Basically that’s what we’re doing it for.
But of course, our organisation has all kinds of ways to measure the success, or to measure what we’re doing. So now we’re in a period of six years, creating 5,000 new jobs on our own, on the Utrecht Science Park.
We tried to create a new system of also financing what we are doing. So this children’s cancer hospital is partially financed by crowd funding. So the Dutch public is directly helping us to build an institution like this.
We tried to attract pension funds – not only with our own science park, but with seven other leading science parks in the Netherlands together. So they used to be our competitors, and now we work together to attract capital, to increase the speed of development of our science park.
So we are doing a lot of things, working very hard. And the basic thing is that we are absolutely sure that when we have a science park like this, when we combine university, business, but also politicians, in a common goal: that we can improve society. And that we can keep our Utrecht – and we are very proud of this – the most attractive region of Europe.
What are the challenges of fracking?
In this episode of The New Economy’s series exploring fracking we talk about the challenges and controversies surrounding fracking and fracking’s environmental impact.
So what are the challenges of fracking?
The economics of fracking is a big one, but the biggest challenge is the controversy around its environmental impact.
Public opinion continues to turn against fracking, with many people seeing it as a regression to fossil fuels when we should be focusing on renewable sources of energy.
The process of fracking uses huge amounts of water depleting local sources, a significant concern in arid regions.
Also studies have found that the wastewater that is left over is so toxic that it can’t be cleaned with modern filtration techniques.
As the wastewater is often left underground once the shaft is sealed the risk of contaminating groundwater is a real one. There is also some evidence that links fracking and the disposal of wastewater with inducing localised earthquakes.
Several regional and national governments have cited these environmental concerns as grounds to limit or ban fracking within their jurisdictions, prompting fracking companies to launch costly legal battles.
Fracking is expensive and controversial and in order to survive it would need to invest technology to reduce its environmental impact whilst drastically lowering its costs. With countries such as Saudi Arabia flooding the market to keep energy prices low this is somewhat unlikely.
Please watch our other videos on what fracking is and how fracking is changing on the market.
How is fracking changing the energy market?
In this episode of The New Economy’s series exploring fracking we talk about the changes in the energy market attributable to the resurgence of fracking.
How is fracking changing the energy market?
Fracking has seen a resurgence because high oil prices made it economically viable. This led to numerous start-up fracking companies borrowing huge sums of money, promising to create jobs, growth and economic security.
The US is poised to drill more of its own oil than it imports from other countries for the first time in 18 years.
Unsurprisingly, fracking hotspots, such as Williston in North Dakota, are experiencing a huge influx of workers seeking new opportunities.
However fracking’s success has cast a shadow over it’s future, by boosting supply, it has contributed to plummeting oil prices.
But the process of fracking is more expensive and less reliable than other methods
So as success for fracking depends on high oil prices, fracking companies may soon see their bubble burst.
At least in the short term fracking has changed the oil production market, reducing dependence on traditional exporters like Saudi Arabia but how big an impact fracking will have in the long term remains to be seen.
Please watch our other videos on the challenges of fracking and what fracking is.
What is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking?
In this episode of The New Economy’s series exploring fracking we talk about the physical process of fracking: how it can be used to extract oil and gas from underground deposits.
What is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking?
Essentially it is the process of extracting natural gas or oil from underground deposits by injecting huge volumes of liquid into the ground.
Having identified a suitable deposit a shaft will be drilled to the appropriate depth. Smaller horizontal shafts are then dug towards the reservoir.
‘Fracking fluid’, a mix of water, sand and chemicals is then pumped into the rock at enormous pressure.
This process will fracture the rock layer, the sand preventing the gaps from closing while the chemicals kill off bacteria, compress the water and dissolve minerals.
The liquid is then pumped out allowing the gas to flow down the horizontal wells back into the vertical shaft to be collected in storage tanks on the surface.
Once the deposit is exhausted the fracking fluid is pumped into the underground chamber and the shaft is sealed.
Fracking is a technique that has been used commercially for 65 years, although the combination of advances in technology and diminishing conventional reserves has led to a surge in its use.
This is particularly true in the US where the shale revolution has seen most states with frackable reserves starting the process.
However fracking could become a worldwide trend with large quantities of recoverable shale gas found across the world.
Please watch our other videos on fracking’s effects on the energy market and the challenges fracking faces.