Annual Report 2008 - IVA

More documents

Recommendations

Info

lena gustafsson, vinnova: collaboration – a key to success Sweden can bridge the gap between research and commercial success by coordinating initiatives from Vinnova (Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems) and other agencies, both among the agencies and with independent organisations such as IVA. A key factor is greater collaboration between companies, research institutes and universities. Lena Gustafsson, acting Director General for Vinnova, believes Sweden has great potential to play a key role in the global conversion to new sustainable technology. “we are in a strong position in sweden; proof of this is us Ambassador michael woods’ efforts to gather up swedish know-how on renewable energy and green technology. sweden has considerable engineering expertise in these areas and has established an industry within the sector usually called cleantech. But there are many issues to resolve surrounding intellectual property rights, networking and other business-related challenges if this sector is to experience real growth. one problem is that small businesses often lack the resources to manage this on their own.” lena gustafsson talks of vinnova’s ability to help create networks and structures and provide support so that small swedish companies can also establish themselves in markets outside sweden and europe, while continuing their development in sweden. “our country must remain attractive for the growth of both swedish and foreign companies. one interesting example to watch is a collaborative effort to develop biofuel production in Piteå in sweden and michigan in the us. knowledge environments are being built in both countries, and this is enabling sweden to further develop its role as a technology exporter. if successful, this could be an interesting model. As a small country we are heavily dependent on both exporting and having access to capital from big nations.” lena gustafsson highlights the opportunities for parallel initiatives from vinnova and ivA. »IVA, which is an entirely independent organisation, can play a very important role in moulding public opinion and creating policy« “ivA, which is an entirely independent organisation, can play a very important role in moulding public opinion and creating policy. one of vinnova’s strengths is the resources we have to invest in research and innovation – almost sek 2 billion. our mission is to use these funds to develop the swedish innovation system, an important aspect of which is research that meets the needs of society and industry.” one example is a programme called Research&grow (forska&väx) that provides small and medium-sized companies with support to conduct R&d themselves or in cooperation with others. “most of vinnova’s programmes involve collaboration between researchers and entrepreneurs at universities, within companies, at research institutes and among other players in society. This fosters commercialisation of 12 research results. other important ventures that are in need of public funding include the production of demonstration and reference facilities or plants. vinnova has no resources specifically allocated for this, but it is an important need, particularly for small companies in the cleantech field,” says lena gustafsson. lena gustafsson has a background in biotech research and is a member of ivA’s division x: Biotechnology. she was executive vice President of chalmers university of Technology for just over three years and she noted that the fields in which the university excelled were often characterised by crossfertilisation, which she believes is important in order to meet important challenges. But fresh ideas are needed in technology education to bring in future technologies, researchers and entrepreneurs. “when we talk to young people they are very aware of the need for new solutions in society and that it’s important to think in an interdisciplinary way to meet the needs that people have. if we incorporate their attitudes into the process of changing education and research, we will surely be able to generate more interest in science and technology education.” one important task over the next few years will be to transform transportation systems. ivA is making a major investment in the new project “Transport 2030” in which lena gustafsson will participate. “we are facing great changes in community planning, fuel, vehicle technology and transport systems,” says lena gustafsson. “Perhaps a large portion of personal transportation will go to the service sector by people buying transportation solutions instead of their own cars.”
name: lena gustafsson family: married with two sons home: mölndal, sweden education: B.sc. science and Ph.d in microbiology career: Professor of biotechnology, executive vice President chalmers university of Technology and deputy director general for vinnova member of iva since: 2008 most important role models: People who get involved to promote the sustainable development of society from all perspectives issue closest to her heart at iva: linking science and technology to the needs of society and industry favourite dish at grodan restaurant: fish 13
Page 1 and 2: The Royal Swedish Academy of Engine
Page 3 and 4: ‘‘The Academy’s mission is to
Page 6 and 7: A year at ivA in a year a lot happe
Page 8 and 9: education, research, innovation & e
Page 10 and 11: esearch and innovation foresight: c
Page 14 and 15: mentor programme: mentor4Research g
Page 16 and 17: sustainable development 16
Page 18 and 19: scientist exchange programme: Activ
Page 20 and 21: name: Tomas kåberger family: wife
Page 22 and 23: energy crossroads: important choice
Page 24 and 25: globalisation & competitiveness 24
Page 26 and 27: healthy successful companies: swedi
Page 28 and 29: the business executives council: Bu
Page 30 and 31: jonas wiström, åf: “we want to
Page 32 and 33: international outlook: Perspectives
Page 34 and 35: distinctions, scholarships and awar
Page 36 and 37: iT, internet and Telecom developmen
Page 38 and 39: name: jan uddenfeldt family: wife s
Page 40 and 41: internet & it: internet foresight g
Page 42 and 43: iva’s 89th annual meeting was att
Page 44 and 45: seated at the banquet are lena gust
Page 46 and 47: Rutger martin-löf (div viii) Bo os
Page 48 and 49: 10 November: våra folksjukdomar ge
Page 50 and 51: 16 May: miljöproblemens marknadsv
Page 52 and 53: dr Tomas Ries, utrikespolitiska ins
Page 54 and 55: ivA-m 382 forskning och innovation
Page 56 and 57: executive committee & staff the aca

Annual Report 2008 - IVA

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?