Innovators of the Year 2020 - for the benefit of many people

The Innovator of the Year 2020 Employee of the Year award goes to Ulrika Rova, Professor of Biochemical Process Engineering. The Innovator Student of the Year award goes to David Sundvall and his brother Kristian Sundvall.

Through the Innovator of the Year award, Luleå University of Technology wants to draw attention to a student, researcher or employee at Luleå University of Technology who has taken an idea further for the benefit of the surrounding society and who has been creative, innovative, driven, visionary, committed and entrepreneurial.

Happy winners

–We are very grateful for this attention. This means a lot to us. It really gives us a boost to continue working as entrepreneurs, which often means that you work outside your comfort zone. It also means a lot that the award comes from a jury with, among other persons, representatives from the academy, David Sundvall says, student at the Master Programme in Industrial Design Engineering at Luleå University of Technology.

Ulrika Rova is also very happy with the award.

–It means an incredible amount to receive this award. When working with both basic research and applied research, an important driving force for me is that there is also a societal benefit to my research. The award shows that there are those who believe in this idea and innovation, Ulrika Rova, says.

The motivation for Innovator of the Year 2020, employee:

In recent years, Ulrika Rova has run the project "prebiotics from forests and the sea" focused on developing sustainable food products from forest residues. The innovation contributes with new opportunities to solve three of the world's biggest problems: poor public health, unsustainable resource management and limited food supply. And this without a negative impact on the environment. With great commitment, deep expertise and an admirable drive, Ulrika has taken her results to potential innovations.

The motivation for Innovator of the Year 2020, student:

David Sundvall and Kristian Sundvall's innovation is a service and a water purification machine. The innovation produces clean and cheaper water than existing alternatives for people living in economic water scarcity. It provides direct customer value and is a simple solution to a problem that can be described as a human right. In this work, David and Kristian have become inspiring role models as innovators for the benefit of society, especially for other students at Luleå University of Technology.

Wants to reward innovators

–The purpose of Innovator of the Year is to help highlight Luleå University of Technology as a breeding ground for innovation and pay tribute to the individuals who have contributed extra to just this, Johanna Carlsson, says, project manager at the Innovation Office at Luleå University of Technology.

–We at Nordea, via Nordea's Norrlandsstiftelse, are proud to be part of the jury and also contribute a prize money to this year's winners, Anna Edin,says, Head of Business Banking Unit at Nordea in Norrbotten.

The jury for Innovator of the Year includes Luleå University of Technology, LTU Business, Norrbotten Chamber of Commerce, Arctic Business, Nordea and Go Business