Klaus Schönenberger

Klaus Schönenberger holds an MSc in Microengineering (1993) and PhD (1996) from EPFL, followed by a post-doc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After spending over a decade in the medical devices industry as Vice-President of Worldwide R&D and Global Vice-President of Research and Technology, he experienced a pivotal moment in 2009 when he recognized the stark disparity in medical technology access between industrialized and developing nations. This revelation led him to co-found the EssentialMed Foundation and later establish the EssentialTech Centre at EPFL in 2011, which was elevated to a research centre status in 2018. Under his leadership, the Centre has developed significant innovations, including a digital x-ray imaging solution for low and middle-income countries through Pristem SA, where he serves as board chairman. He also co-founded HMCare, which develops transparent surgical masks. The EssentialTech Centre focuses on sustainable development, humanitarian action, and peace promotion through three main divisions aligned with the UN's Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus. Schönenberger currently teaches Development Engineering (ENV-470), a 4-credit course that covers topics such as poverty reduction, sustainable development, and technologies for development in low-income settings. In 2017, he co-directed a MOOC titled Technology Innovation for Sustainable Development, which has attracted over 12,000 enrollees.