Falling Walls Falling Walls Science Summit 2023

Our project involves installation of mobile breastfeeding booths in public places. The booths are unique, private, clean and gives mothers a comfortable place to breastfeed. We aim to increase EBF levels.

Mental Health: Do we Need a New Super Science? Falling Walls Circle Tables are lending the spotlight to world-leading scientists, science strategists and policy-makers from academia, business and politics discuss how we can apply science, research and innovation to get the world moving again. While stigma around mental health may…

Ready to take a deep dive into the Top 10 breakthroughs in the Physical Sciences category? This Winners Session will take you from the bottom of the ocean all the way to outer space to explore the most remote living environments. Learn about new ways to observe climate-related changes on…

Natasha Theriault is developing a bacteriophage-based vaccine platform which can be rapidly adapted against newly-emerging pathogens and safely distributed in locations regardless of cold-supply chain infrastructure.

The nominating institution Max Planck Society on the breakthrough: Kaufmann’s work on Tuberculosis shows how basic research can lead to the rational design of novel interventions. The vaccine VPM1002 has been licensed to Vakzine Projekt-Management, Hannover / Serum Institute India, Pune. It has successfully completed phase-I clinical trials in adults…

Alisha Badal is addressing the challenges of treating aggressive triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) with BRCA mutations by proposing a strategy that involves molecular gene editing to upregulate a downregulated long-noncoding RNA (lncRNA) gene. This innovative approach aims to restore aberrant regulatory networks in TNBC, testing the synergistic efficacy of a…

Nominated by: Linköping University Presented by: Dr. Johannes Bintinger

CREATE is a unique applied research centre that develops practical solutions to foster the economic and social integration of refugees through education and employment. CREATE has developed innovative Virtual Career Clinics based on a mentor/mentee model that support over 150 people each year to access employment. Working in close partnership…

PRESENTED BY Michele Bandecchi NOMINATED BY University of Novi Sad Tags: Soil Health Sustainability, Time to act

A yeast that naturally produces provitamin A will be genetically engineered to grow using cellulose-based agricultural byproducts. The cultivation process will then be optimized for VAD communities.   Tags: Bio-Tech, Circular Economy, Engineering, Food & Agriculture, Global Cooperation, Green Tech, Resilience, Trust in science.

Precision Prevention in Health: The Power of Genomics – Falling Walls Circle Plenary Table 2023 As we are living through the 4th industrial revolution, the congruence of technological advances in genomics and the digital revolution has the potential to transform healthcare. Genomics can benefit precision prevention and improve human health…

Coronalogy is a 40-day long exercise undertaken by a group of communicators to introduce one topic related to COVID-19 pandemic per day, during the initial days of nationwide lockdown in India. One topic was chosen per day and was introduced in a 150-word long article. This article was published in…

A biologist by training, Vincent Widmer holds a master’s degree in Learning in Teaching Technologies as well as a Ph.D. in Educational Sciences from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, where he worked and conducted scientific research in collaborative learning. As co-founder of Beekee,Vincent brings his passion for pedagogy and emerging…

This Winners Session presents the Top 10 breakthroughs in the Science and Innovation Management category. From Stanford University to the Max Delbrück Center, and from EPFL to CERN – every institution, and with it every society, faces challenges. How to share knowledge? How to improve the Peer Review Process? How…

Daniela Labra Cardero, Director at AtentaMente, specialized in curriculum development, teacher training, and instruction of contemplative-based socio-emotional education, linking scientific research and pedagogical practice. In Mexico, one in two children lives in poverty, and 60% of students are considered behind in school by the time they’re in 6th grade. The…

LifePorte Educational project implements several educational flagship projects geared towards science engagement and advocacy. These includes Science advocacy for youngsters (SAPFY) and Train-the-trainers Biology workshop (TTTBW). Science advocacy program for youngsters (SAPFY) exposes elementary and high school students to basic science experiments. Students are trained to be creative with scientific…

“EcosySTEM” is a project that targets the population of the Pomaks, which is situated in the mountainous area of Thrace, in Northeastern Greece. This population is both geographically and socially isolated, as their religion and language differ from the remaining population of Greece. The past and current situation still fosters…

Katerina impressed the jury with her work on “Breaking the Wall of Cardiovascular Diseases”. Her idea of a new technology helps doctors improve surgical procedures that are tailored to the needs of each individual patient and provides optimal treatment for cardiovascular diseases.

Atmospheric Forest is an immersive VR artwork by artist duo Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits, visualising relations between forest emissions and climate change. It is based on Swiss climate scientist studies on ancient Alpine forests suffering from drought. The VR viewer gets immersed in a laser scanned forest with animated…

The Future of Online Management Education (FOME) alliance is a group of like-minded business schools with collaborating on strategic, international online initiatives. The FOME alliance responds to the following challenges: how can business schools collaboratively respond to the new market demand for accessible, flexible, high-quality online education; and how can…

The nominating institution National Research Council of Canada on the breakthrough: The pioneered development of quantum dot lasers has revolutionized modern-day digital communications. This technology boosts the fiber communications-network backbone, thereby improving fixed wireless access for rural communities and optical satellite communication for the truly remote. This technological capacity leads…

Bettina Müller and her team are tackling fibrotic skin diseases by proposing the use of a non-invasive objective mechanical device that allows for a comparison between diseased tissue and a healthy counter measurement with immediate information about the degree of difference.

Paulius Viskaitis is addressing the limitations in stroke rehabilitation by developing SmartVNS, an automated neurostimulation tool. SmartVNS activates the auricular Vagus nerve with small electric pulses, enhancing recovery by reorganising the brain, and it is specifically triggered when desired movement patterns are detected through a smartwatch worn on the affected…

Diamond on the Soles of their Feet is an inclusive citizen science project focusing on groundwater monitoring in Hout Cachment in the Limpopo province. Through graphic facilitation, storyboards and participatory methods such as network mapping and the “river of life”, the project involves actors at various levels – from local…

The nominating institution Japan Science and Technology Agency on the breakthrough: Quantum information technologies are expected to bring scientific and social benefits that will change the world. Prof. Oiwa in Osaka University is conducting a JST project to develop a Poincaré interface using quantum dots as hardware for realizing long…

Debayan Dasgupta is addressing the challenge of treating untreatable diseases, such as bacterial infection in dentinal tubules and cancer microtumors, by proposing the use of remotely guided magnetic nanorobots as nanosurgeons for targeted treatment. His innovative approach aims to overcome the limitations of modern medicine and effectively treat disease sites…

My artistic processes have led me to recognize myself and all – symbolically – as a drop, as a center, as the very particle with which the universe has been created. It has been a constant exercise, a path of recollection and expansion. My trips as I usually call them,…

Carsten Streb, FRSC, is Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany. Carsten’s research vision is to overcome global challenges in energy conversion, energy storage and public health by developing technologically important multifunctional materials. His research group work at the interface between molecules, nanostructures and solid-state materials…

Astrophysics: How space exploration can answer one of the most pressing questions of all time There is no planet in our solar system quite as fascinating as Mars. For centuries, the red planet has fascinated scientists and the public alike, ultimately leading to one question: Has there ever been life…

The aim of this project is to allow anybody anywhere to do genetic detection, simply rapidly and affordably. To demystify, empower educate and inspire. Tags: Bio-Tech, Citizen Science, Covid-19, Energy, Environment & Nature, Food & Agriculture, Green Tech, Med-Tech, Open Access, Resilience, Science Communication, Science Diplomacy, Trust in science.

Bring together and develops the best of two technologies in conjunction- topologically stable nano-skyrmions and fast dynamics of ferrimagnetic materials, thereby breaking out of the trilemma wall. Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Digital Health, Digitalisation, Energy, Engineering, Quantum Technologies, Information/Data storage and processing.

Ayitévi F. E. Hounou-Adossi’s vision is to use information and communication technologies to reduce preventable deaths and disabilities through simple actions that everyone must know and can do.

Instagram is one of the most used social media platforms where people post the positive side of life and breathtaking photos, this makes it perfect for science! Mitocondria.cc is all about sharing the amazing facts of the universe and the way science is part of our everyday life. Our non-scientific…

How Cyber Security Research Defends Our Critical Infrastructures The year 2014 saw the biggest cyber bank robbery in history – a Hollywood-style scheme, as researchers described it – which resulted in an estimated total of 1 billion dollars being stolen from more than 100 banks across 30 countries. The financial…

How to Debunk Myths About the Public Sector and Achieve More Inclusive Growth  How many times do we hear that to increase innovation and competitiveness, we need more market and less state? This commonplace position ignores history: the IT, biotech, nanotech and emerging ‘green’ revolutions have all been initiated by a courageous…

Nominated by: Tohoku University Presented by: Hiroya Abe

PRESENTED BY Andresa Berretta e Silva NOMINATED BY University of São Paulo – Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto Tags: Bees, Pollination, Sustainable

This intelligent project will monitor health status, enhance self-management and predict worsening of health and alert for action; thus, improve health outcomes, independence, morbidity and mortality.   Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Digital Health, Med-Tech, Mobile Health.

Dilip Menon was talking about creating a paracolonial framework that goes beyond the nation state, and that looks at the ways in which humanity’s destiny is framed by shared heritages through oceanic connections. In a time of global warming, the rising waters, and vast human migrations, we need a politics…

Project P-FORVIS aims to design, develop, and produce novel antimicrobial peptides based on the natural and potent Killer Peptide (KP), with no negative effects on the patients and their microbiota.

The nominating institution University of Innsbruck on the breakthrough: AQT is building upon 2 decades of European quantum research to now turn this know-how into a commercially successful company. Within one year of its first funding round AQT has managed to realize a first European quantum computer demonstrator, implemented cloud-access…

Georges Khouri has developed an immunochromatographic rapid test capable of diagnosing Chagas disease, Leishmaniasis, Malaria, and Gram (+)/Gram (-) bacterial infections made from polyclonal antibodies in a single strip.

The 10+10+30 radio program is a serial radio drama on childhood vaccination designed with and for communities in Jimma. The program is moderated by healthcare workers who are trained as radio panelists and invited to answer the audience’s questions during 30 minutes. Each 10-minute episode is developed with key audiences…

Malaria deaths are rising, in part because the parasites which cause the disease are evolving resistance to our frontline drug treatments. Merryn Fraser argues that we need new ways to target these parasites and suggests taking advantage of essential biological pathways to deliver drugs directly to parasites, improving existing antimalarial…

Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Deme is producing biochar for removing a wide range of mineral and organic pollutants from wastewater responsible for pollution before discharge.

Presented by: Natalie Jing Ma Felix Biotechnology was founded in 2019 to accelerate the deployment of novel biotherapeutics treating microbial infections, a growing threat in human health and beyond. It combines cutting-edge synthetic biology technologies from Yale and Berkeley into a pipeline that enables it to target, engineer, and deploy…

Anıl Axel Tellbüscher is addressing the environmental pollution caused by aquaculture waste by proposing a solution that combines coagulation technology, sludge pumps, and dewatering units. This innovative approach not only provides aquaculture farmers with a means to outsource their pollution problem but also creates a new business for external service…

How Philosophy Can Provide Frameworks for a Global Biotech Revolution Throughout history, when presented with new technologies, humans as a species have shown a recurring pattern: a tendency for reckless exploitation, often ignoring harmful side-effects and hazards, and only much later pausing to consider the need for ethical reflection and…

Female Leadership in Science, Business and Society The Falling Walls Foundation and the Bayer Foundation invited to a mutual networking event in July 2021. The Female Science Talents Gathering offered all participants discussion formats that allow insightful connections with outstanding female leaders and scientists. We were happy to welcome three…

Background and Aim In Japan, it has been noted that interest in science declines as the school year progresses. According to the 2019 TIMSS results, the percentage of elementary and middle school students who say “studying science is fun” declined as they reached middle school, falling below the international average…