Linking Academia and Industry in Green IT 

Having a closer look at the impact of information technology (IT) on our environment, researchers, governments, funding organizations and companies have begun to move in the direction of green IT. But what is green IT? Depending on the research and/or the interest of a group, company, university, etc., there are multiple definitions, some of which take into account only one particular issue like hardware, software, or the cooling system.

In this article the working definition takes into account the motivation (social, economic, environmental, etc.) of the different players involved in the energy saving process. At its essence, green IT is the environmental and resource saving effort of IT. The reason for using green IT may arise from economic or ecological interests. Actions can affect on the whole the lifecycle of information technology – meaning from the construction via utilization through to disposal.

It must be stated that green IT is a part of IT research, which is facing the same difficulties as any other research field. Each player (industry, researchers, universities) has different objectives, different tools and different aims. These issues lead to difficulties in a permanent and an efficient co-operation, moreover it is getting difficult to have an efficient exchange of results between the players. And even if all parties see the necessity of a specific research topic, a unified approach can be daunting.

Here the focus is on contracted research as a temporary bridge between the world of science and economy. To be successful in this co-operation the participants have to take into account the different environment of each partner and each one has to understand the point of view of the other one.

In the following table the different aspects of two partners of a contracted research agreement are shown with the knowledge that some points may be omitted since certain requirements might only occur in special co-operations (special contracts) or in contracts with specific partners (partners being protected by law or dealing with security issues of a country, for example).

Building a bridge between these partners might be the duty of a Technology Transfer Office (TTO). These offices are dedicated to identify common aspects in the field of research and industry. They might already bring these partners together, deal with contracts, observe the market to help in the development for exploitation for a better society. Only a few points might be outlined from this table but already in line B there is an interesting and even crucial point in the co-operation. Currently there is a lot of hype around green IT and companies are interested in marketing or selling "their green IT." But how green is this IT? Is there a green label existing?

Green IT might start if this company uses water from a body of water to cool the server room, but is this hot water afterwards used for the heating or is it just poured back into the water source, changing the ecological circumstances of the aquatic life? The industry is aware of this hype and as their aim is to gain money, this is already the first difference compared to academic researchers being interested in long-term research and in the contribution to the welfare of the society.

Line L gives another indication for a permanent difficulty in relationships of academia and industry: It is the different funding scheme in some calls and the difficulties for (some) companies in having access to some funding. The rules for open calls are changing regularly. Beside the ongoing business in companies and the current economic difficulties, it is not evident that companies do invest in departments dealing with open calls or that they might pay an external consultant for getting information for their participation in a co-operation in an open call.

There are critical issues in both columns to find, and it is not always the industry blocking the development for a greener society, but also researchers being too far from the real industrial life. There are also the funding organizations with their long procedures and rules for projects making in difficult to include popping up research in the quick changing world of green IT in on-going projects.

This table is hopefully a first step for a better understanding, giving new ideas for co-operations including these various objectives. The next step will be to model the relationships and the impact of various partners in a project or collaboration by investigating already existing successful co-operations as well as co-operations which failed and the reasons for both.

There needs to be steps toward a greener society, and green IT will surely play an important role. With close co-operation between academia and industry, the opportunities for meaningful change will be magnified. Information technology will make life easier, giving support in various way, but it has to be green IT to be sustainable for future generations.

About the Author

Christina Herzog has studied medicine in Vienna, law in the US, and cultural anthropology in Austria. Since 2008 she has been working as a project manager in IT. Specializing in green IT and management, Mz. Herzog is a researcher at the university with a close link and a different approach to/towards the industry, giving presentations and workshops for the industry, participating in round tables and always ready for new collaborations and challenges. You can find her on Xing, LinkedIn, Viadeo and on her two websites or you get directly in contact with her: christina.herzog@irit.fr.