Understanding and Adapting to Change: From Cities to Greenhouses to Glaciers

Voltiris develops the first solar modules compatible with greenhouse agriculture and their crops. Leveraging spectral filtering technology, Voltiris transmits to crops the essential light components for photosynthesis, while the 'unused' spectral elements are filtered and directed towards solar panels. Voltiris allows growers to leverage their greenhouse surfaces to generate the clean, competitive, and independent energy they need to transition to a carbon-free electrification.

"Permafrost thawing, poses growing threats to alpine landscapes and infrastructure. To propose the sufficient solutions for protecting mountain infrastructure, we’re exploring thermal stabilization techniques—passive, active, and combined. Our project evaluates their effectiveness through modelling and lab-scale experiments.
In our project, we’re assessing how effective these methods are using both modelling and hands-on lab experiments. We’ve also built a working prototype of an active cooling system that uses pipes and sensors to track temperature, moisture, and heat flow in the ground.
In the talk, I’ll walk through how these different stabilization techniques work, and share what we’ve learned so far from our simulations and experiments."

Is everyone in a city exposed to pollution and heat the same way? What if I told you that, even if you live right across the street from your neighbor, your daily routine could put you at much higher risk of health issues? Our daily mobility patterns—where we live, work, and spend time—shape our exposure, but they are not random. Factors like income and age play a key role. Have you ever wondered if belonging to a certain social group increases your risk? In this talk, we will discover the answer.

Rather than an ordinary presentation, I will have a few pop-up talks during the night. They will touch on different topics united by a common fil rouge: the 2-years process that led to the publication of UNIL’s strategy for the ecological transition.

1. A Doughnut to save the world
I will start by briefly presenting Doughnut Economics, developed by Kate Raworth and offering a vision of what it means for humanity to thrive in the 21st century. UNIL was the very first university to adopt the Doughnut to steer its sustainability actions.

2. Power to the people: UNIL's Transition Assembly
I will then talk about the Transition Assembly, an experimental participatory initiative UNIL launched to develop, together with its community, the measures that constitute the strategy itself.

3. CAP2037, UNIL's strategy for its own transformation
Finally, I’ll say a few words about the adoption of the final version of the strategy, CAP2037