By HanneGießen, Vijay Shankar Balakrishnan, and Diana Kwon
Our group perfectly reflected EUSJA’s vision of bringing European science journalists together: we came from Spain, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom. Our hosts in Heidelberg were the German Center for Cancer Research (DKFZ), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the City of Heidelberg.
On the first day at DKFZ we received a clear impression of the advances in cancer research, driven primarily by progress in radiological imaging techniques withthe potential to improve early detection of the disease and therapeutic decisions.
We were also fascinated by the enigma of the marbled crayfish, afascinating animal with the unique ability to produce offspring solely by parthenogenesis (i.e. only the female animals reproduce). We learned that these mysterious creatures may one day serve as an animal model that could help scientists develop a deeper understanding of cancer epigenetics.
Later that day, we also visited the National Center for Tumor diseases (NCT), where scientistsbrought us back toa presentation of an overview ofboth the possibilities and the pitfalls of cancer immunotherapy.
Our visit to the EMBLon the second day was filled with new and thought-provoking insights into the world of molecular lifesciences. The laboratory’s scientists provided a series of presentations, which includedstunning images of microscopic life provided by advances in biological imaging, the adventure of conquering the brain-blood-barrier,and the role of big data in genomics and epigenomics. We also had the chance to try a hands-on experiment where we played the role of detective in a mock murder investigation through aDNA fingerprinting exercise.
In addition to discovering the science taking place in Heidelberg, we also had the opportunity to learn about the city itself. On the second night, we had a private guided tour around Heidelberg, which was a golden chance to bask in the city’s rich history: from the historical floods of the now calm Neckar River to the house of Friedrich Ebert, the first democratically elected leader of Germany. We also had a chance to meet the mayor of Heidelberg, whogave us a warm invitationto a banquet dinner.
On our final evening, the Vice Chancellor of the Heidelberg University guided a group us through the treasures of the Library, such as the Codex Manesse, one of the oldest books of medieval poetry. At the same time, a few of us decided to instead tour the university’s Studentenkarzer (“student prison”), a private jail where rule-breaking students were punished.
After a night of peering into the history of Heidelberg University, we spent half a day deeply enthralled by brilliant sessions on water dating, neuromorphic computing, and robotics. At the MarsiliusKolleg, we learned about how the university connects researchers from different areas of science, and discussed how Heidelberg and the institutions therein push the frontiers of science and international culture.
While devouring this fascinating program, our international group became quite close. We all made new colleagues and friends while enjoying a perfectly organized trip with plenty of fantastic insights into modern scientific research happening in the fairy tale city of Heidelberg.
EUSJA has 7 travel grants for its members to attend the prestigious European Health Gastein Forum that takes place Bad Hofgastein, Austria from 28 to 30 September 2016. This year the main topics of this outstanding meeting will be demographics, diversity and health. Leading scientists, experts from academia, NGOs, business and industry, decision makers in health policy will be present to share new ideas and use the EHFG as a platform for the exchange of experiences and opinions at the international level. See the preliminary program to http://www.ehfg.org/1210.html
Travel grants for EUSJA members include conference fees, accommodation up to 4 nights, meal, transfers from and to Salzburg airport. The first press conference is expected in the morning of September 28, thus the arrival day is September 27. The applications (name, association, media, e-mail, mobile) should be sent via national associations by July 15.The announcement how to proceed and the rules of the applications were sent to EUSJA national associations. Please contact your national delegate.
Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting and the Heidelberg Laureate Forum, summer doesn’t equal with relaxing on the beach or hiking in the mountains.
Since a couple of years I always try to have some blank space in my agenda in the last week of June and the first week of July. That’s because I know this is the time of the year for my annual ‘retreat’: one week amongst the brightest and most inspiring minds of the planet, amidst the beautiful surroundings of little charming Lindau and the magnificent Bodensee.
I don’t lie when I’m saying that by now I’ve become a regular of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. The last edition, which was held from 28 June until 3 July, was already the fifth one I participated in. The highlight of my stay – which again was bathed in the summer heat of this sunny part of Germany – was a long interview with François Englert, the Belgian physicist who won the Nobelprize in 2013 for his discovery of the Higgs boson. This year the Meeting was dedicated to the ‘Interdisciplinary’ sciences – a clever excuse of the organization to choose and invite the most interesting people from all scientific areas. For a science reporter this is a goldmine: as interdisciplinary means that everything is connected with everything, it’s much easier to find interesting stories that are no too detailed, specific or complex for a lay public.
Although I have been in Lindau several times, I’m always struck by the organizational perfection of conferences like the Nobel Meeting. Wherever it’s a plenary lecture, an arranged interview or a social event, everything really breaths German Gründlichkeit. And no to forget tradition. While the economic crisis has cut deeply in many institution’s budgets, removing conferences’ garnishing like good food, enjoyable gatherings and entertaining and inspiring side events, this is not true in Germany. The organizers of the Lindau Meeting seem to live in another universe, where tradition and continuity with the past are more important than the hype of today.
Last August, I went to Germany again, for a similar meeting: the Heidelberg Laureate Forum, which took place in Heidelberg from 22 until 29 August. The Forum is similar to Lindau because also here the brightest minds in a specific field of study are invited: mathematics and computer science – in which there are no Nobel Prizes to win. The laureates that are invited all have won the Fields Medal, the Abel Prize (mathematics) or the Nevanlinna Prize (computer science). Another difference with Lindau is that this event is rather young: the last Forum was only the 3rd edition.
One of the absolute stars of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum – of all three editions – is Vinton Cerf, vice-president of Google and nicknamed ‘the chief evangelist of the internet’. It’s really inspiring to hear him speak, not only about the past – Cerf was one of the fathers of the internet – but especially about the future. His latest panel addressed how the original architecture of the internet handles modern regulatory fragmentation, referencing how global data streams now route everything from medical records to traffic for the best offshore betting sites without regard for physical borders. He tackled many hot potatoes, like privacy, net neutrality, big data and artificial intelligence. For reporters covering these ‘new tech’ subjects, the Forum is a must to attend.
All-time record: 27 sci journos flooded Moscow for a Grand Tour through research labs. In times of political tension, they were allowed to take a close look at Russia’s top science & technology departments. Quo vadis – East, West, regulated or free wheeling – or heading towards new horizons?
Moscow State University: “IN FIVE YEARS WE’RE BACK ON THE MOON” (c) MSU
The locals call it “Stalin Tower”. It reminds of New York’s Empire State Building, however much more empire-style. The colossus is a landmark in the architecture of the Russian capital, 240 m high with 5000 rooms, connected by corridors, which measure many kilometers. Constructed by the dictator in the early 1950’s the premises house the Moscow State University MSU. With 40 000 students, it is the hub of higher education and research in the Russian Federation.
On the 9th floor, the rector Professor Victor Sadovnichy receives the visitors. He speaks about the 260th MSU anniversary next year and the challenges ahead. The top academician leaves no doubt that Moscow considers itself a center of the global research elite, especially with its supercomputing center “Lomonosov”, a “hotspot of Europe’s computing power”, as it is introduced, with a peak performance of 1.7 PFlops, 1015 operations per second.
Sadovnichy is fond of a unique career unmatched in many parts of the world until today. He comes from a lumberjack background. When he describes exciting outlooks, like the construction of a “Technological Valley” with cutting edge science in nano- und biotechnology his voice remains monotonous. In the 20 m high room with gigantic chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, many of the rector’s words are getting lost in echo and translation.
MSU Rector Victor Sadovnichy (standing) with EUSJA Delegation (c) MSU
Inside Stalin Tower
High ambitions and a strong desire to gain the world leadership is felt everywhere in the Moscow research community. However many places seem to have encapsulated the atmosphere and may be also the spirit of the 1950s, just like MSU. The hallways are gloomy, all doors are closed, dark-coloured oil paintings feature Soviet pioneer deeds such as the construction of high voltage power lines. Between the art work, photos of highly decorated MSU scientists are scattered with heavy metal on their chests.
But, hey, are visits with presidents and rectors not formal and somewhat dull, all over the world? The next stop compensates for this. It is a jump right into scientific action. At the Institute of Biomedical Problems IBMP, a man on a sort of divan must feel like a hero. Hundreds of pictures are shot, he is filmed and interviewed. The student has been resting there for several days already, motionless and closely monitored by a whole array of medical detectors.
Inst. of Biomedical Problems: Motionless (c) EUSJA/Goede
The goal of this and other experiments is to shed light on some of the critical questions of manned space flight. How do cosmonauts and astronauts keep their body, muscles and skeletons in shape during long journeys, with little physical exercise in zero gravitation? And how can depressions and mental disorders be averted during extended periods of isolation?
Sex in Space
The journalists can catch a glimpse of what this means when they climb through the Mars 500 habitat. In very small rooms, a group of men had been living for 520 days, as long as a journey to the Red Planet would take. The experience provides a feeling of what it’s like to be confined to a tight little vehicle in the middle of nowhere. Claustrophobia, was felt, becomes your constant companion.
Mars 500 Habitat (c) EUSJA/Goede
There are other severe drawbacks of space travel. One is radiation. Our environment beyond its protective atmosphere is highly radioactive, as Soviet research already in the 1950’s demonstrated, especially during solar outbursts. Even if the crew survives a flight to Mars or other planets, it will a one-way ticket. To survive as an extraterrestial colony, the crew requires females who become pregnant and give birth to offspring.
Probing motion and gravitation (c) EUSJA/Goede
Being asked about correspondent tests in the International Space Station ISS, IBMP director Professor Igor Ushakov becomes vague. “We think about it”, he responds with a not very convincing smile. So far there were various mixed crews on board. But the scientific decision makers prefer to test the fertility of animals. Not with butterflies, prime target of former educational efforts to explain sexuality, but geckos. Unfortunately, admit Ushakov and his colleagues, without success.
Cosmonauts – Still a Man’s World
Right during the study trip the first female cosmonaut to travel to the ISS took off. Yelena Serova is the fourth Russian woman in history to venture into space. She will spend six months in the station. As the liberal Moscow Times acknowledged, women in space have not enjoyed support by the Russian Space Agency, while NASA has sent 40 women into orbit. Soviet Russia but also the Russian Federation, readers may conclude, have fostered a man’s world in space. The last female cosmonaut was almost 20 years ago Yelena Kondakova, the paper reminds along with citations which reveal that she was bullied.
Space Museum: Mars Rover (c) EUSJA/Goede
The Moscow visit starts to become very real and exciting at the Space Research Institute. Its museum exhibits an intriguing cross section of Russian space vehicles and technology. It documents that the Soviet Union was a pioneer in space. In 1957, it had sent the first satellite into orbit and caused in Washington the so called “Sputnik Shock”. Only four years later in 1961, Moscow sent the first human, Jury Gagarin into space. Eventually the Cold War culminated in a race to the Moon which the US in 1969 narrowly and very luckily won.
“In Five Years We Return to the Moon”
The director of the institute Professor Dr. Lev Zelenyi underlines in his welcome note that Russia is still good for surprises. Other than his MSU colleague he speaks flawless English and is as agile as quicksilver. Zelenyi knows how to tease the journalists with good stories, wit, and suspense. The new Russia meets the old Soviet Union.
New sophisticated satelite devices (c) EUSJA/Goede
“In five years we return to the moon”, the Space Boss confidently says, either in a joint effort together with other nations or Russia on its own. Three Luna projects have been dedicated to thorough exploration. It includes the search and drilling for valuable resources.
An ExoMars project scheduled for 2016 and 2018, in collaboration with the European Space Agency ESA, will explore the Red Planet and probe for water and geochemical materials as well as atmospheric trace gases. Along with the German Space Agency DLR the tracking of the X-ray sources in the universe will be continued.
Like other colleagues, Zelenyi emphasizes that science helps to bridge the gaps between nations. The sanctions of the US and EU against his country, due to its Ukraine politics and president Putin’s alleged imperial gestures don’t hurt at this point, the space scientist concedes. Germany, for example, remains a reliable ally with many traditional ties, especially in education and space research. With Washington, Moscow stays connected via their ISS co-operation.
“Prostitute of Imperial Science”
Satelite picture: Russia and its immense resources (c) EUSJA/Goede
It seems, though, as if Moscow has become the leading force in this. The Moscow Times, again, becomes concrete: “ISS Promised Massive Funding Boost”, with 8.2 billion US$ investments for, among others, additional new modules, announces the Sept. 25 front page report.
The current Luna projects are supposed to culminate in 2030 in deploying cosmonauts on the moon, according to the Russian English daily. This could be the start of the colonization of our nearest companion in the solar system which, of course, no official would confirm. After all, Russia seems to be more determined to score in space than the US.
Dr. Alexander Kudryavtsev at Vavilov Museum (c) EUSJA/Goede
At the next stop the visit takes a sharp turn. It reminds of both, the painful history and the controversial presence. Dr. Alexander Kudryavtsev takes the group on a tour through the Nikolay Vavilov Memorial Museum. Vavilov was an internationally highly esteemed biologist, even a member of the British Royal Society, who introduced genetics to Russia and founded the institute. “He became a victim of Stalin”, the Deputy Director of the Institute remarked, when genetics in 1937 were pronounced “a prostitute of imperial science”. During imprisonment Vavilov starved in 1943 to death.
“History of Old Testament Written in Our Genes”
A little booklet issued in 1997 in reverence of Vavilov recognizes his outstanding accomplishments, for example the collection of 200 000 plants. “Due to the mass elimination of natural habitats”, the script acknowledges, the conservation of genetic variety could provide important genetic materials for mankind’s future. “New samples of wheat have already been developed”, asserts Kudryavtsev.
He is not a Soviet apparatchik type, nor a cool NASA engineer, but comes off as a Russian intellectual, a thoughtful and opinionated character who could have leapt right out of a Dostoevsky novel. To create new plants from the old seeds will be a future challenge, foresees Kudryavtsev. This and genetically modified organisms GMOs will be the two pillars of future nutrition, he firmly believes – and nobody wants to disagree.
Vavilov Collection: Old seeds can beat climate change (c) EUSJA/Goede
Russian genetics have come a long way. The discipline is nowadays open to even exotic, or shall we call them religious views, for example: “How human gene geography helps to reconstruct ancient elements up to 30 000 years old of myths and fairy tales”, presented by Dr. Svetlana Borsinskaya, finishes with the concluding sentence that “the history of the Old Testament is written in our genes” – what a beautiful title about genetics in any popular science magazine and a great chance to get common folks interested in the complex subject!
“Russia is a Black Market For Pharma”
Unfortunately the English translation is, like others, rather difficult to follow, so many details escape. While most Russian scientists speak very good English, they prefer to lecture in their own language and risk to be misunderstood because of the loss of relevant information in the interpreting process.
In the Stem Cell Lab ethical questions arise. As lead scientist Dr. Maria Lagarkova explains, the biologists derive stem cells from people affected by neurodegenerative disorders. The goal is to find pharmaceutical targets for the therapy of the defects. Russia has become a heaven for drug companies. It is in some ways a “black market”, Lagarkova agrees. In fact, many pharmaceutical tests are run in the country during which many Russians are treated like guinea pigs, critical reporters have observed. For the poorer population however this is sometimes the only way to receive help.
Stalin’s victim: Vavilov’s desk (c) EUSJA/Goede
Currently legislation is under way which tries to provide more regulation and control. “In my view, the proposed measures are too rigid”, Lagarkova says. A journalist from the Netherlands suggests to run open debates with the public about future stem cell and pharma policy, for example at the Moscow Science Festival. It is aimed to popularize science and attracts every fall several hundred thousand people to the labs.
Global site: Russian Science City Dubna (c) EUSJA/Goede
Visit to the Russian CERN
And, once again, the group boards a bus, this time to encounter real Big Science. The route to Dubna cuts through seemingly endless forests, beautifully lit by the autumn sun. The bus, after having fought its way through heavy Moscow morning traffic, passes by wooden cottages and old peasant women selling huge mushrooms at the wayside. After 120 km and four hours later the vehicle reaches the Russian CERN.
What a historical site! Study trip participants cheerfully climb the old Soviet particle accelerator. It goes back to 1957 and was powered by electro magnets which weighed 36 000 tons. The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research JINR, made up of 18 member states throughout the world, is devoted to put Russian elementary and particle physics on the world map. 4500 experts are living in the science city. In search of new Super Heavy Elements, so called SHE’s, Dubna has been highly successful. Among many others “Dubnium”, the element 105 of the periodic table was discovered.
During a specially convened press conference for the European science journalists, the JINR top scientists explain their plans for the construction of NICA, “the younger sister of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider LHC”. Some remarks are surprising, even for experts. Other than the colleagues in Geneva, the Russian counterpart does not apply heat but pressure to simulate early stages of the universe. This new approach helps to save money. NICA will only cost one tenth of LHC, in figures 500 million US dollars.
An Accelerator for the Poor?
That’s still a lot, a whole lot of money. Asked how the scientists would justify the expenses for the new collider in the public the unanimous response is: “Curiosity is science’s major drive and it never stops.” And: Fundamental science always creates new knowledge which helps to create new technologies, many times in most unexpected ways, for example membranes to filter blood, the Big Bang searchers say.
A question of a Spanish colleague was not publicly raised, therefore remains unanswered and most likely would have been passed on to the department of philosophy or sociology: “What an accelerator for the poor would look like?” A highly thrilling question, a group of three journalists found with a magnitude of ramifications.
Press Conference in Dubna with worldclass physicists (c) EUSJA/Goede
After almost four days, this truly Grand Tour through Russian Science phases out right around the Kremlin and the Red Square. All in all, it included 30 presentations in 20 different labs, extremely well organized, almost “Prussian-like”, with photographs everywhere allowed and no strings attached. The final stop is the Historical Building of the old Moscow University.
It houses the Russian Faculty of Psychology. It masters the art of hands-on science. A series of impressive experiments facilitated a look into the human brain and how it works. The research may serve to counteract phobia or to promote sales and neuro marketing. Eventually the knowledge could help to steer brains from the outside, one of the scientific aids speculates. “May it remain a black box as long as possible”, one visitor comments.
Psychology Dean Zinchenko in an interview (c) MSU/Psych. Fac.
The dean of the faculty, Professor Jury Zinchenko runs down in a theater-like auditorium the facts like an accountant. Impressive research, lots of publications, plenty of hurdles, for example how to mold one hundred different ethnic groups in the Russian Federation, living across ten time zones to form one nation.
Window into Brain: Neuro Research (c) EUSJA/Goede
Shadow of the Past?
After Stalin is so omnipresent in Moscow with “seven sisters”, seven skyscapers like the Moscow University, all in socialist classicism design, one question seems to be appropriate: The dictator’s suppression of science, with millions of Russians deported to Gulags, ethnic cleansing, the vast system of spies implanted in families – how do these traumas impact present life? The question is not answered and only after the interpreter kindly resubmits it, professor Zinchenko responds, pragmatical: “We are not concerned with Stalin but rather with the time period after 1989 and an uninvaded transformation.”
Metropolis Moscow with Kremlin in the back: World’s largest urban economy, tourist attractor, major research hub — connects East & West (c) EUSJA/Goede
In a Nutshell
Despite or because of all these tectonic shifts in its recent history, Russia remains a world power and is to be counted with. Its immense territory, from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea, connects the Orient with the Occident. In this socio-political bi-polarity the nation constitutes both, a bridge and turbulent counter currents. While Russian scientists, naively or diplomatically, unanimously deny any political impact on their work, they are part of their system and its contradictions – like scientists all over the world.
On the global scale, science and particularly technology seems to be driven by mostly economic and thus capitalistic goals, growth and consumption, with altogether little consideration for the planet and sustainability criteria. Opposition against this alienation of science and its unethical exploitation for materialistic ends is growing.
Science Debates: Participation tool for Russian civil society? The picture shows the EUSJA Nano Debate@ESOF 2014 (c) EUSJA/Goede
The EU is finally opening up towards participatory science and accepting the civil society and NGOs as stakeholders and co-discussants. This understanding of dialogue, democracy and partnership, geared towards the creation of robust, broad-based science and technology, as expressed in the Horizon 2020 projects, has not arrived in Russia yet.
Science, in many ways, seems to act top down, as many discussions during the visit indicated. The notion of a civil society, as a pillar and major societal force, has not been much of a driver in the current transformation process, neither in politics nor in science. The civil society is in a nascent state and could receive boosts, if Brussels should decide to dedicate some of its perspective Horizon 2020 projects to its Eastern neighbor, as a follow-up of the current EU-Russia Year of Science 2014.
EUSJA Study Trip participants on famous Red Square: 27 sci journos from 10 EU countries say “Good bye and thank you, Moscow!” (c) EUSJA/Goede
It could reinforce and broaden the bridge.
Organizers of the 2014 Moscow Study Trip
All Russia Science Festival, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Institute of Biomedical Problems RAS, Space Research Institute Roscosmos, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Joint Institute of Nucelar Research, Association of Science Writers and Journalists Intellect, European Union of Science Journalists’ Associations EUSJA
The author of this report serves as the Honorary Secretary on the board of the European Science Journalists EUSJA >>> www.eusja.org. He is the vice-chairman of the German Science Writers TELI e.V., the world’s oldest association for technical journalism >>>www.teli.de|www.wissenschaftsdebatte.de
Please note: The EUSJA Study Trip to Moscow was compiled in the brochure “2014 EU – Russia Year of Science” under “Study Trip of European Science Journalists (p. 168/9) >>>
Report by Daphne Riksen on the EUSJA study trip to Tallinn and Tartu, May 14–17, 2014
Estonia is a special country regarding the use of ICT, Information and Communication Technologies. Soon after its independence in 1991 (four months before the final collapse of the Soviet Union), the new government chose to use computers and the Internet on a large scale. At the time of the EUSJA study trip in mid-May, Estonia’s citizens were able to vote online in the European Parliamentary elections. Voting online was already happening for the sixth time. At the local elections in 2013, 25% of the voters used their smart phone or an Internet browser to cast their vote.
Another striking example of Estonia’s digital excellence is the e-ID Card. Introduced in 2003, it is used to access all kinds of information, such as data that government agencies have collected about you or your health records. The same card is also used in public transport, online banking, the library and as a loyalty card for shopping. Apart from all this, Estonia, with a population of 1.3 million, is the country where Skype was developed by three Estonians, a Swede and a Dane. Skype itself led to many other ICT start-up companies which may have required services similar to the best llc service in mississippi.
In short: Estonia is a unique ICT country. Reason enough for my fellow Dutch colleague Bennie Mols and myself to participate in this EUSJA trip, which was financed by the European Union Regional Development Fund and organised by the Estonian Research Council and the Estonian Association of Science Journalists.
The programme starts on Wednesday, May 14 in the evening with a visit to the Tallinn TV Tower. This 314 meter tower is internationally famous from the time of the Soviet coup attempt in 1991, when radio operators risked their lives to keep the transmitters working. Currently, at a height of 165 meters, there is an observation deck and a restaurant. Because of the beautiful spring weather we have a free view of the Baltic Sea, the Estonian nature surrounding the tower, and the city of Tallinn (with a population of 400,000, Estonia’s biggest). We meet our fellow science journalists from Spain, Greece, Latvia, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Finland and of course Estonia, where 20 science journalists are united in the Estonian Association of Science Journalists.
The next day we have an early start at the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia’s only university of technology, where we are met by computer science pioneer Enn Tõugu. He gives us a short introduction to the history of his field, which the Russians used to call cybernetics. Subsequently we attend a number of lectures on speech technology, the use of crowd sourcing and big data (look for example at sightsmap.com for an overview of visually interesting travel locations based on pictures from Panoramio and information from Wikipedia, Wikitravel and Google Maps). We also hear about Estonia’s experience with cyber riots in 2007, when web sites of the Parliament, ministries, banks and the media were attacked after the relocation of the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet-era statue, from the city centre of Tallinn.
In a neighbouring building, we visit the offices of Skype. Here we hear the latest developments since Microsoft took over Skype in 2011. Immediately after that we go by bus to TransferWise, founded in 2010 by (amongst others) Skype’s first employee. Using this service, it is much cheaper to transfer money to other countries. At the moment, €4 million is transferred daily by the users of TransferWise. This company aims to change the system of international money transfer the same way Skype changed the system of making international phone calls.
Our second day ends with a guided tour of the old town of Tallinn ‒ which is a UNESCO world heritage site ‒ and a very nice dinner at the Town Hall Square.
On Friday we take the bus to Tartu, 185 kilometres to the south-east of Tallinn. This city near the Russian border with 100,000 inhabitants has the oldest, biggest and most famous university of the country (founded in 1632 by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden). The bus ride is a nice opportunity to talk about the situation in Ukraine, which has its impact on Estonia, but also on Finland.
The Institute of Computer Science of the University of Tartu has 700 students in computer science, who are already in their first year very attractive for ICT companies because Estonia is in high need for these professionals. Although the faculty has only existed for 15 years, it has already led to 45 ICT spin-off companies, and its researchers work together with big multinationals. We learn more about the choices Estonia has made in order to become digitally excellent in ICT.
At the Institute of Government and Politics we get to know more about online voting and the research that can be done on the impact of Internet voting on, for instance, political participation. This research has made clear that online voting does not improve the turnout. It also shows that it is no longer used mainly by early adopters or young people.
Still in Tartu, we visit the Estonian Genome Project, which has collected the genetic material and medical and background information of more than 50,000 inhabitants (5% of the population). By analysing the material from these donors, Estonia hopes to be able to predict their risk for chronic diseases and to improve public health in Estonia. In the coming years, all inhabitants between 35 and 65 years old will be asked to join the Estonian biobank on a voluntary basis. A yearly poll shows that only 20% of them are not willing to participate.
The biobank functions as a screening programme, for instance by combining the genetic risk of type II diabetes of people over 45 with their BMI. When necessary, the risk is communicated to the general practitioner of the participant. It is hoped and expected that lower health expenditures will take care of the cost of the biobank within 10 years.
At the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences ICT is used for a totally different kind of research. They use mobile positioning data provided by telecom providers to research ethnic segregation. Estonia’s largest minority is the Russian speaking part of the population (25%). It is not difficult to select this group because the preferred language on their mobile phones is Russian and they receive their invoices in Russian. From research on the anonymised data it can be concluded that there are differences in mobility between Russian speaking people and other Estonians. For instance, the Russian minority does not leave the city as much as other Estonians, nor do they visit other countries as much. There is also a difference in daily and weekly rhythms.
As the end of this busy second day we visit Cybernetica, the company that developed ‒ amongst other things ‒ the digital infrastructure X-Road for the government in 2002. This X-Road guarantees the safe transport of data between users and not only government agencies, but also thousands of other organisations.
Picture: Liis Livin / Estonian Research Council
On Saturday morning we visit the Estonian ICT Demo Center in Tallinn, where we are given the opportunity to talk to a representative of the Estonanion Information Systems Authority (responsible for solving cyber incidents, amongst other things), the chairman of the e-voting committee and a representative of the Estonian Internet Society. Online voting is a much discussed topic this week because of an article in the Guardian on research by American scientists pointing at alleged weaknesses in the Estonian voting system. The three people we talk to are convinced this is a PR stunt of the Centre Party, and explain to us that the article is based on the assumption that every computer in Estonia is contaminated with a virus.
Picture: Liis Livin / Estonian Research Council
We discuss how it is possible that Estonia is so successful in using and adopting ICT, which is visible in e-voting and the availability of a great number of online governmental services. Are Estonians not afraid of privacy issues? The answer is that there are special laws which make misuse punishable and of course there are security measures in place. Data transported over the X-Road is encrypted; there is a reward of €30,000 for the person who manages to break the encryption. Government agencies store their own data, which means that there does not exist a single, very large and therefore vulnerable database. A user portal collects all relevant data through the safe X-Road and shows it to you only after you gain access using your e-ID Card, which has a double pin code. This portal shows information varying from school diplomas and health records to tax and land registry. You can also check which public servant has looked at your data. If the access has been inappropriate, this person risks a huge fine.
We end this well organised trip with ‒ again ‒ a wonderful meal, before everyone leaves for the airport or a ferry. Estonia is not only an enthusiastic ICT country, but also a very generous and hospitable country. I have decided where to spend my summer holidays!
