Innovation, Digitalization, and Sustainability for Social and Ecological Transition

Innovation—the implementation of novel ideas and creative solutions—is the cornerstone of the global effort to transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future. Innovation, in this sense, means not only technological innovation, but also economic, social, and lifestyle changes. Tackling the biggest challenges humanity has faced in centuries—climate change, the pandemic, and the economic fallout from both—requires a radical shift in technologies, new services and business models, new ways of working, moving, and living together, and a reimagined institutional architecture to coordinate and ensure this transformation.

Digitalization plays a multifaceted role in the ongoing paradigm shift. This megatrend has certainly revolutionized the global economy, but it has also had a profound impact on nearly every other area of human activity. In the fight for a more sustainable future, digital technologies can help by enabling us to communicate, manage data, and share information on the massive scale required for global coordination efforts. Digital technologies can also support sustainability in other ways, for example by facilitating the “sharing economy” and reducing the need for business travel. But digitalization also comes with its own environmental cost, as data centers require tremendous amounts of energy to operate, and extracting the rare-earth elements found in many IT components is devastating to local environments.

Striking a balance between digitalization and sustainability will require the implementation of new and creative solutions—in a word, innovation.

The Diaspora Webinar Series hosted at Luiss, in partnership with the Le Réseau Diaspora organization, is a fitting forum for discussing the innovation–digitalization–sustainability nexus. Universities like Luiss remain at the forefront of societal transformation by fostering innovative research, monitoring the safety, efficacy, and ethical implications of new technologies, and equipping the next generation with the analytical and intellectual tools to navigate the future. The Diaspora Webinar Series itself is a platform for sharing knowledge and exploring avenues for partnerships between countries that could emerge from the relationships between universities and their international students.

Diaspora communities also play a role in the innovation-digitalization-sustainability nexus in another important way: the economic and cultural connections they maintain help drive innovation in their countries of origin, potentially mitigating the effects of brain drain. The phenomenon of brain drain—one of the frequently discussed downsides of globalization—refers to the long-term or permanent migration of highly skilled or educated professionals to more attractive markets, thereby damaging the innovative capacity of the sending society. In the increasingly knowledge-based economy, the loss of specialized technological know-how is all the more detrimental to a society’s overall functioning. Recent research suggests that diasporas—defined as populations who live outside of, but still maintain ties with, a country of origin—benefit their home countries in a manner well beyond the economic remittances they are often celebrated for. According to UNTAD, emigrants make a substantial contribution to the accumulation of human capital and technological capabilities at home through the operation of so-called “diaspora knowledge networks.” These networks serve as “brain banks” abroad and can become a source of knowledge sharing and technology transfer with their home country, potentially transforming brain drain into “brain gain.” According to UNTAD, “technology appears to diffuse more efficiently through culturally and nationally linked groups.”

The April 29th webinar, Innovation, Digitalization, and Sustainability for Social and Ecological Transition, promises to be one of the most interesting in the series so far. Experts will discuss a range of pressing topics that impact us all, in an international atmosphere and in the spirit of a genuinely open and collaborative dialogue.

The event, which begins at 3:30 pm CET (GMT +1), will be introduced by Marco Francesco Mazzù (Recruiting Leader and Professor of Marketing & Digital at Luiss) and moderated by Fabrizio Lobasso (Deputy Director of Sub-Saharan Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation). Keynote speakers will include Philip Thigo (Senior Director for Africa at the Thunderbird School of Global Management), Christine Baguela Soro (CEO of DigieWomen School), Francesca Bartorilla (Legal Contract Manager, Accenture Plc), and Diana Battaggia (General Manager of Unido). Professor Christian Iaione, who is the director of the new Master's in Law, Digital Innovation and Sustainability (LDIS) at Luiss, will also give a talk, along with the xLabs student representative for the LDIS major.

Participation in this event is free. To register, simply click here.