Events

Thomas Kriese

Disruptive Innovation

On 18 April 2016, the Rafael del Pino Foundation and Singularity University organised the conference "Disruptive Innovation. The solution to humanity's greatest problems through technology", to be given by Thomas Kriese, Singularity University Vice President, Community Development & Engagement.

Thomas Kriese is a technology executive specialising in the design, development and management of systems that enable commercial strategies and large-scale online communities. In his area of expertise, he notes that advances in this area and in different technologies have had a major impact on the development of innovation as the global community uses technology to its advantage. His clients include Nike, National Geographic, Eli Lilly and Company, Genentech, the Rockefeller Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Alliance for Financial Inclusion, and Blue Shield of California Foundation.

Following his speech, our guest will develop a dialogue with
Jacobo ElosuaFounder of Civio and Iris AI.
Ignacio Hernández MedranoFounder of Savana and Mendelian.
Diego SoroaFounder of Cuantics Creatives and Wuzzin.
Miguel A. LuengoFounder of MalariaSpot and Chief Data Scientist of UN Global Pulse.
Regina NjimaManager Singularity University, Global Inpact Competitions (moderator)

The challenge we have posed this year in the Call to innovation competition that we are developing with Singularity University is: how would you solve one of Spain's major problems and improve the lives of 10 million Spaniards through technology?

The two winners of this competition, who will be announced at the end of the meeting, will receive a scholarship, valued at 24,000 euros each, to participate in the postgraduate programme (Global Solutions Program) at Singularity University during the summer of 2016, at NASA headquarters in Ames Park in Silicon Valley (USA).
The Singularity University programme has as professors and speakers some of the most important technology entrepreneurs, such as the founder of Google, Larry Page, technology pioneers such as Vint Cerf -one of the fathers of the Internet-, astronauts such as Buzz Aldrin, Nobel Prize winners, etc.

Summary:

On 18 April 2016, Thomas Kriese, Vice President of Singularity University, gave a lecture at the Rafael del Pino Foundation on solving humanity's greatest problems through the application of technology, an area in which Singularity University has been working since its creation in 2008 through intensive ten-week programmes at the NASA campus in Silicon Valley. According to Kriese, Singularity University's mission is to educate, inspire and train people with leadership skills to apply exponential technologies to solve humanity's greatest problems. To do this, they ask course attendees to think about how something can be done that will impact a billion people through exponential technologies. Specifically, they are asked to reflect on how to act on any of eleven global problem areas: poverty elimination, security, space, access to water, health, resilience to natural disasters, food, governance, energy, environment and education. The working method is to form groups of people to work on solving a problem related to these areas. Today's tools allow for a tenfold increase in the potential of people working in groups and using these instruments. The ultimate goal of this technique is to enable people to create viable start-ups using exponential technologies. There is a great global diversity among the people accessing these courses, in terms of gender, thought and experience, and people with different types of backgrounds, be it technical or otherwise. The selection of participants is not limited to engineers and scientists, but also includes people with other types of backgrounds. There are two ways to apply. Candidates can apply directly to Singularity University, or they can participate in the national editions of the Global Impact Competition, whose winners get a place and a scholarship.

The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for the comments, opinions or statements made by the people who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their sole responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the debates held at the meeting held for this purpose at the Foundation and are the responsibility of their authors.

The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for any comments, opinions or statements made by third parties. In this respect, the FRP is not obliged to monitor the views expressed by such third parties who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their own responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the discussions that took place during the conference organised for this purpose at the Foundation and are the sole responsibility of its authors.