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Technology, Innovation & Society

  • AddressShow on map

    Groene Loper, Atlas 8.401

    Eindhoven

    Netherlands

  • Postal addressShow on map

    P.O. Box 513, Atlas 8.401

    5600 MB Eindhoven

    Netherlands

Organisation profile

Introduction / mission

We research innovation and socio-technical transitions towards a more sustainable society. 

Highlighted phrase

Inventions are great, but an invention is not yet an innovation, and not all innovations have a positive impact on society.

Organisation profile

Technological innovations offer many opportunities to address key societal challenges in areas like sustainable energy, mobility, Europeanization and Globalization. However, change is not only about the mere availability of such innovative technologies (like renewable energy technologies or cleaner cars), but rather requires a transformation of existing socio-technical systems: a transition. This includes changes in firm strategies, consumer behavior, social practices, institutions and regulations, etc. Different aspects of such transition processes cannot be studied in isolation, but require a broader, systems-oriented perspective. In our view, society shapes technological progress, but technological progress also shapes our society. Technologies intertwine with radical transformations in work, travel, communication, and private life.

The Technology, Innovation & Society (TIS) group at TU/e is unique in combining questions on innovation and long-term transitions, and aspire to be a leading group in this field worldwide. We have a strong embedding in relevant social science and humanities disciplines such as innovation studies, economics of innovation, Science- and Technology Studies (STS) TS, sustainability transition studies, and history of technology. We study sustainable innovation and transitions in systemic, transdisciplinary, and transnational perspective.

Societal relevance is at the heart of almost all we do at the TIS group. Many of our studies involve governments, companies, NGOs, and users. This helps us to enable smooth transitions and leverage the benefits of innovations, but interaction with these parties has also resulted in new research methodologies and approaches as well as significant contributions to theory development and refinement. With our work, we aim to contribute to a more sustainable society.

The research focus of TIS covers both short term processes (innovations) and long term, pervasive processes (transitions), and addresses multiple aspects of the innovation journey – invention, innovation, diffusion, appropriation, governance, policy intervention, and societal implications locally and globally. Moreover, we believe that innovation/transition questions should be studied in a close linkage with technology. Being part of a technical university, TIS fully uses the opportunities that arise from this unique positioning and has collaboration with other departments at its core.

Our work is along three main axes:

  1. The systemic axis: from individual elements to the system level;
  2. The temporal axis: from short term experiments to long term transitions;
  3. The geographic axis: local, regional, national, European, global and the entanglements between these scales.

We have a special focus on the application domains of sustainable energy, sustainable mobility, and (green) ICT.

Our group works with many collaborative partners, including:

We also operate in many academic networks, including:

UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Our work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 1 - No Poverty
    SDG 1 No Poverty
  2. SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
    SDG 2 Zero Hunger
  3. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
  4. SDG 4 - Quality Education
    SDG 4 Quality Education
  5. SDG 5 - Gender Equality
    SDG 5 Gender Equality
  6. SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
    SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
  7. SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
    SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
  8. SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
    SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
  9. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  10. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
  11. SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
    SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
  12. SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
    SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
  13. SDG 13 - Climate Action
    SDG 13 Climate Action
  14. SDG 14 - Life Below Water
    SDG 14 Life Below Water
  15. SDG 15 - Life on Land
    SDG 15 Life on Land
  16. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  17. SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
    SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

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