Annual Report 2008 - IVA

IVA South
ivA south is a central node for the activities in southern sweden.
in 2008 issues addressed by ivA south included innovation and
the innovative climate, nanotechnology and human capital’s effects
on a company’s brand equity. energy and materials technology
were the focus of ivA west on a visit to the new öresundsverket
power plant and the höganäs AB metal powders company.
Is short-sightedness threatening the
future of the Swedish manufacturing
industry?
globalisation,
fund capital and
internationalisation
of ownership of
swedish industry
have fundamentally
raised expectations
of company boards
and management.
The risk of shortsightedness
has increased. sustainable profitability
requires constant renewal, but the question
is if companies today can really make the
long-term investments in radical innovations
that will form the basis for the next generation
of the swedish processing and manufacturing
industry. have we got the right information,
methods and tools to determine if we are
investing enough in business renewal, or are
there some unpleasant surprises in store?
These questions were the topic of lively discussion
when ivA’s chairman hans dalborg,
mats qviberg of hq and others debated the
issues at a meeting at ivA on 8 october.
Venture capital and entrepreneurship
in biotechnology
Biotech companies
need more than a
promising idea to
gain momentum
to develop into
listed companies;
they also need
long-term support
from financial backers.
development
times are long and not all ideas become
profitable products. it takes time to plough
through the rules and regulations that often
exist in biotech contexts. when the results
are in, it is important to decide how to use
them. license the technology or develop it
yourself? generate revenues from your own
production or through royalties from other
companies?
At a meeting held by division x: Biotechnology,
on 16 september various examples
were presented of how biotech companies
can be developed and what sort of support
they need from backers.
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IVA West
ivA west is the node for the activities in western sweden. nanotechnology,
energy technology, design and innovation have all been
on the agenda there; for example, when ivA west focused on
electrical energy from the perspective of sweden and western
sweden. infrastructure issues were also explored as they relate to
western sweden.
Common diseases give Sweden
a unique opportunity to become a
leading research nation
Potential for preventive
measures
for both physiological
and psychiatric
diseases may
increase drastically
thanks to the
lifegene project
at karolinska
institute. As this
project combines national registration data
with numerous clinical studies and research
projects, scientists are hoping to be able to
document how genetics and the environment
impact the development of our most
common diseases. The project, which aims
to determine the causes of common diseases
such as cancer and psychiatric illness,
was presented at a meeting held by division
vii: Basic and interdisciplinary engineering
sciences, on 10 november.