Shaping the Future

In the 'Shaping the Future' podcast series, Heriot-Watt University's chief scientist Tadhg O'Donovan speaks to the university's leaders and senior academics about their work.

How can global universities better foster key attributes like innovation, collaboration, and community?And how does higher education continue to evolve and adapt, to support in solving the world’s most pressing problems like climate change? For this edition of Shaping The Future from Heriot-Watt University, Chief Scientist Prof Tadhg O'Donovan is with Principal and Vice Chancello

'Wicked problem' is a systems engineer term for something that everybody feels needs to change, but that is also stubbornly complex and multi-faceted.One clear example of an urgent and intractable 'wicked problem' is tackling climate change, and the global transition away from fossil fuels to cleaner forms of energy.For this edition of Shaping The Future, Heriot-Watt University chi

The building sector is thought to contribute around a tenth of global carbon emissions, and require an estimated 50 billion tonnes of sand and gravel annually. That is enough material to build a wall 27 metres wide, and 27 metres high, around the entire planet.This time on Shaping the Future, Heriot-Watt University chief scientist Prof Tadhg O'Donovan is with Professor Gabriela Med

What are the processes and forces that go into shaping our future skills, technologies, and workforces? In this episode of Shaping The Future, we’re lifting the curtain on how what's come to be known as the 'triple helix model' - in which universities, governments and industries work together, to shape, influence, and develop each other over time.Chief scientist Prof Tadhg O'Dono