Lesson 0.3- 3rd September

The 3rd session of TWC was definitely a stimulating and (as usual) an interactive one. It was divided into two parts.
The first part: we discussed issues related to technology and industrial development - towards sustainability.
Second part: technology and innovation management.
And of course the presentations made by my fellow coursemates.

Technology and industrial development was an interesting topic brought about during class. Basically prof raised the issue of sustainability: DEVELOPMENT VS ENVIRONMENT. However,  I have to point out that we wouldn't be enjoying the lesson in an air-conditioned class and you wouldn't be reading this on your laptop if not for development. The thirst for development (namely economic development) drives the society towards advancement and futuristic goals and perhaps innovation as well (which will be discussed later). But at the same time, the question at hand would be: is it okay to sacrifice our environment, mother nature, at the expense of  development? The consequence of our development is made evident by global warming and even the quality of air and water and size of forest and sea level and so much more. Is it really okay to allow this to happen? This reminds me of Avatar the movie where Man aim to penetrate another planet and take advantage of their resources for economic motivations- and what drives economic motivations? GREED. As quoted by Sara Bareilles,"Who died and made you the King of Anything?" Thats right, who made us the king of anything? Who gives us the right to take advantage of our environment for our own benefit/personal motivations? NOONE.

But thankfully, environmental consciousness is making their way to our hearts. Through media's influence, NGOs and environment activists, environmental awareness is spreading like bushfire. As such, the term "Green Technology" is born. Green Technology promotes sustainable development, to curb the negative impacts of human involvement on our environment. I personally encourage the implementation of green technology. Despite the availability of such technology, its usefulness is largely influence by our decision. As quoted by prof (which struck me): Technology is easy, people are hard. The lack of support may deter sustainable development.

This brings us to the second part of the lesson which revolves around technological innovations. Technological innovation drives technological development. Prof shared the framework he came up with which shows a valley and a summit and a cloud. The valley shows a low interest in investment unless there is an innovative approach. The summit, on the other hand, shows high interest in investment. And the cloud shows a KIV interest. I find this realy interesting because I've never heard of such categorisation of investment.

And there were presentations in relation to the topics raised in class. One presentation which struck me was the one made by Derrick which discuss the falling star of the mobile phone industry: Nokia. I find it really surprising that nokia invest so much more on R&D compared to Apple and Samsung, which are much more popular. I guess this shows that the amount of money used on investment does not directly relate to the increase in sales.

Overall this was a really enjoyable and definitely beneficial lesson. I give it a 9/10. Can't wait for the next session!