Ecosystemic Futures

How can higher education cultivate versatile, adaptable graduates prepared to navigate the increasingly complex systems of our technological world?In this episode of Ecosystemic Futures, we engage with Dr. Lisa Kahle-Piasecki, whose expertise spans business education, workforce development, and technological innovation. The conversation explores how Heidelberg University, a 175-year-old institution with just over 1,000 students, creates Renaissance-style graduates with resilient competency portfolios through international collaboration, community problem-solving, and ethical technology integration. Dr. Kahle-Piasecki shares insights about developing students who can thrive acrossdisciplines, cultures, and career transitions while addressing complex systemic challenges.HighlightsCross-Cultural Competence: The innovative "Amigo Project" connected American and Mexican students, and quantitative research showed positive increases across all 38 measured items on the cultural self-efficacy scale. This demonstrates how structured international collaboration builds crucial business skills while enhancing students' ability to work across borders.Systems Thinking in Practice: Students applying design thinking methodologies (certified through IBM's SkillBuild platform) developed community-based solutions, including a mental health stigma reduction program for student athletes and a Lake Erie plastic reduction campaign—translating theoretical frameworks into practical interventions with measurable local impact.Technological Adaptability: Implementing the AI-powered Pitch Vantage platform provided students with instantaneous feedback on presentation elements like tone, content, and facial expressions, objectively measuring delivery effectiveness while helping them overcome social anxiety. Versatile Career Preparation: Heidelberg's approach combines professional skills with interdisciplinary exposure across its 30 majors and 32 minors, fostering the critical thinking, adaptability, and creativity necessary for graduates to navigate multiple career transitions in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world.The discussion reveals how effective education today must cultivate Renaissance-style graduates with versatile competencies spanning technical knowledge, ethical reasoning, cultural intelligence, and systems thinking. Dr. Kahle-Piasecki demonstrates how educational institutions can serve as transformative hubs where students develop depth in their disciplines and the breadth of perspective necessary to connect diverse systems, preparing them to address the complex, interconnected challenges that define our future. #SystemsThinking #CrossDisciplinaryEducation #ComplexSystemNavigation #AdaptiveLearning #TechnologyEthics Guest: Dr.Lisa Kahle-Piasecki, Associate Professor of Management, Phyllis M. Chelovitz Endowed Chair in Business Administration, Heidelberg UniversityHost: Marco Annunziata, Co-Founder, Annunziata Desai PartnersSeries Hosts:Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research CenterDyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin WorksEcosystemic Futures is provided by NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project in collaboration with Shoshin Works.

How can we transform fragmented urban transportation networks into resilient, adaptive ecosystems that drive economic value while addressing complex societal challenges? In this episode of Ecosystemic Futures, host Marco Annunziata engages with Robin Hutcheson, whose multifaceted expertise spans the complex urban transportation ecosystem. The conversation explores how cities generate more than 80% of global GDP despite occupying limited physical space, and function as dynamic testbeds for next-generation mobility systems. Drawing from her leadership roles at USDOT, FMCSA, and city transportation departments, Robin shares data-driven insights about the 43,000 annual highway fatalities in America and the disproportionate impact on pedestrians. HighlightsMarket Transformation: Cities generate 80% of global GDP while housing 56% of the world's population, creating an unprecedented market opportunity for integrated mobility solutions as urbanization accelerates to 70% by 2050.System Failure Metrics: The 43,000 annual American highway fatalities represent a systemic market inefficiency with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations, signaling urgent demand for transformative intervention and cross-sector collaboration.Funding Catalysts: The $5 billion Safe Streets for All program demonstrates how policy innovations can create new market structures connecting federal capital, local implementation, and private sector solutions—a replicable framework for other ecosystem transformations.Digital Twin Integration: Curb space digitization represents a breakthrough application of digital twin technology, creating a networked intelligence layer that optimizes multi-modal system performance across freight logistics, emissions reduction, and public space allocation.Strategic Intervention Points: Urban arterials function as critical nodes where targeted technological and infrastructure interventions can simultaneously cascade improvements across safety, climate, and equity metrics, offering maximum return on transformation investment. The discussion reveals how orchestrating urban mobility requires coordinated physical and digital interventions that break traditional sector boundaries. Robin demonstrates how systems-based orchestration can transform our fragmented approach to urban mobility into adaptive, resilient networks that simultaneously unlock economic value, reduce negative externalities, and create more equitable outcomes—a model applicable to multiple complex system transformations beyond transportation. #EcosystemOrchestration #DigitalTwinInfrastructure #SystemsTransformation #TransportationFinance #ComplexAdaptiveNetworks #UrbanMobilityValue #CrossSectorCollaboration #NextGenCityDesign #DataDrivenUrbanization #ConvexInnovationGuest: Robin Hutcheson, Hutcheson Advisory, LLCHost: Marco Annunziata, Co-Founder, Annunziata Desai Partners Series Hosts:Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research CenterDyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin Works Ecosystemic Futures is provided by NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project in collaboration with Shoshin Works.

Jaspar Roos, a member of the European Commission's OISP innovation group and founding partner of the Human and Tech Institute, discusses the transformative power of ecosystemic models in governance and innovation. He reveals that 80% of employees remain disconnected from innovation efforts, often leading to wasted AI investments. Highlighting the 'water cooler effect,' he explains how informal interactions can spark creativity. Roos advocates for rekindling human connections in the AI era and using humor to foster collaboration, breaking traditional norms to drive real change.

How might understanding the interconnected nature of quantum physics, consciousness, and anomalous phenomena transform our approach to ecosystemic innovation?This episode of Ecosystemic Futures explores how seemingly disparate knowledge systems form an interconnected knowledge ecosystem. Dr. Hal Puthoff, Dr. Diana Pasulka, and John von Blauch join hosts Dyan Finkhousen and Anna Brady-Estevez to reveal how our compartmentalized approach to knowledge has limited our understanding of complex phenomena that transcend traditional boundaries. The conversation examines how space-time metric engineering and quantum entanglement could provide frameworks for understanding extraordinary historical anomalies and future technological development. By embracing a more holistic, ecosystemic approach to science, consciousness, and innovation, we may unlock transformative capabilities that address humanity's most pressing challenges while fostering greater harmony within our planetary and social ecosystems.Highlights• Quantum Entanglement as Ecosystemic Reality: The universe operates as an interconnected system where consciousness and matter dynamically influence each other through quantum processes• Breaking Knowledge Silos: How artificial boundaries between science, spirituality, and historical wisdom have crippled our understanding of phenomena that defy conventional categorization• Consciousness as Technology: Evidence suggesting certain mental states directly manipulate quantum fields, potentially revolutionizing how we approach propulsion, energy, and communications• Pattern Recognition Across Time: Striking parallels between historical accounts of anomalous phenomena and cutting-edge physics models reveal consistent underlying principles• From Fragmentation to Integration: How merging diverse knowledge ecosystems creates resilient frameworks for technological breakthroughs that harmonize with natural systems Guests:Dr. Diana Pasulka - Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina; Author of "American Cosmic"John von Blauch - Grand Prior of the United States, Knights Templar Order of the Temple; Scholar of Western esoteric traditionsDr. Hal Puthoff - Physicist and Director of EarthTech International; Former lead of government UAP research programsHosts:  Dyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin WorksAnna Brady-Estevez, Founding Partner of American Deeptech Series Hosts: Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research CenterDyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin WorksEcosystemic Futures is provided by NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project in collaboration with Shoshin Works.#EcosystemicThinking #QuantumEntanglement #SystemsTransformation #IntegratedKnowledge #InterdisciplinaryScience #KnowledgeEcosystems  #EmergentTechnology

Teri Schindler, Co-founder and CEO of Herzog & Schindler, shares her extensive experience in building innovation platforms. She discusses transforming the chaotic "first mile of innovation" into an accelerator for breakthroughs. Teri emphasizes the importance of 'structured serendipity' for fostering collaboration and highlights a government initiative that evaluated 500 health ideas, showcasing the need for interconnected ecosystems. The conversation also covers the role of AI and blockchain in enhancing idea exchange and the significance of bridging digital communities into real-life engagements.

Join Dr. Fiorenzo Omenetto, the Frank C. Doble Professor of Engineering at Tufts University, as he reveals the surprising power of silk. This ancient textile isn't just for fashion; it’s transforming technology! Explore its unique properties that enable innovations in fields like medicine and environmental monitoring. Discover how collaboration across disciplines fuels groundbreaking research, redefining silk as a sustainable alternative. Dive into the future where nature-inspired materials lead the way, merging the old with the new in extraordinary ways.

Rita McGrath, a renowned professor at Columbia Business School and best-selling author, discusses the transformative shift in organizational value creation. She explains how intangible assets now dominate the market, making traditional hierarchies obsolete. The conversation dives into strategic inflection points that can reshape industries and highlights the rise of ecosystem constellations of small teams as the new units of value creation. McGrath also introduces the 'memories from the future' methodology, helping leaders spot early warning signals in this rapidly evolving economic landscape.

Dr. Aaron Santos, a physicist and president of DNP123 Company, delves into the evolving world of nanotechnology. He argues that breakthroughs may come from accessible resources rather than expensive labs, highlighting how AI and cloud-based tools democratize research. Santos explains how the unique physics at the nanoscale leads to emergent properties, surpassing outdated ideas of 'smart nanobots.' He also discusses the broader societal implications of atomic-scale advancements, reshaping our understanding of scarcity and redefining innovation.

In this engaging discussion, Shelli Brunswick, CEO & Founder of SB Global LLC and former COO of Space Foundation, shares her insights on how space technologies can solve pressing Earth challenges. She highlights the booming space economy, expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, and discusses the impressive 40:1 return on NASA's investments. Brunswick covers the impactful use of satellites in agriculture, innovative medical applications from microgravity research, and the exciting potential of fractional satellite ownership for emerging nations.

In this eye-opening episode of Ecosystemic Futures, hosts Marco Annunziata and Vikram Shyam welcome Dr. Giulia Ajmone Marsan, Head of Startups and Inclusion, at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. Dr. Marsan challenges conventional wisdom about innovation with complex data. In just 20 years, the global share of patenting activity from OECD countries has dropped dramatically by 20 percentage points, signaling a significant shift in the geography of innovation.The conversation highlights how emerging markets are becoming powerful engines of innovation. Dr. Marsan provides fascinating examples of innovation born from necessity, including Southeast Asian fintech "super apps" that have brought banking to millions of previously unbanked individuals, Estonia's digital government revolution built from scratch after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Brazil's central bank-led open banking policy that has sparked a fintech transformation.Dr. Marsan explains how the absence of legacy infrastructure often becomes an advantage, allowing emerging economies to leapfrog directly to cutting-edge solutions. She discusses the phenomenon of "Silicon Bali," where digital nomads are transforming tourism-dependent economies into knowledge hubs. She examines how talent mobility, diaspora connections, and targeted visa programs are reshaping global innovation ecosystems. The conversation also addresses the critical balance between opportunity and inequality, exploring how innovation can advance sustainable development goals while requiring thoughtful policy to ensure benefits are widely shared.Highlights• Shifting Innovation Geography: Patent activity from OECD countries dropped 20 percentage points in just two decades, with innovation hotspots emerging across Southeast Asia, India, Brazil, and Africa • Financial Inclusion Revolution: How Southeast Asian super apps evolved from retail platforms to provide e-wallets, microloans, and microinsurance to previously unbanked populations • The Leapfrog Advantage: Countries without legacy infrastructure (like Estonia after the Soviet collapse) can build more innovative systems from scratch • Talent Mobility as Catalyst: The rise of "Silicon Bali" and how entrepreneurship visas and digital nomad programs are reshaping local economies• Digital Public Infrastructure: India's and Brazil's government-led innovation initiatives that created open platforms for entrepreneurial growthGuest: Dr. Giulia Ajmone Marsan, Head of Startups and Inclusion of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East AsiaHosts:  Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research CenterMarco Annunziata, Co-Founder, Annunziata + Desai PartnersSeries Hosts: Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research CenterDyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin Works