4IR – The key to our future on Earth, and beyond?

By Sharon Dell. If universities exist in part to solve the most pressing problems of our time, they have their work cut out for them. The reality is that if humans maintain their current rate of consumption, which already exceeds the capacity of Earth to renew itself, we will soon need two planets to live off, National University of Singapore mechanical engineering professor and circular economy guru Seeram Ramakrishna told the annual South African Technology Network (SATN) Conference held in Durban, South Africa, last month, which explored the role of universities in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). More...