Skills development for the green transition of basic industries

The Knowledge Foundation (Stiftelsen för kunskap- och kompetensutveckling) grants SEK 30 million to a new collaboration project, REEDEAM, which will strengthen skills development throughout the value chain for industry’s green transition. In the project, Luleå University of Technology will be collaborating with Örebro University and Mälardalen University along with the business community and Sweden’s basic industries. By offering skills development at advanced level, especially for professionals, the green transition is made possible and Swedish industry will retain its competitiveness.

“It is fantastic that our collaboration project with Örebro University and Mälardalen University, is one of three projects that have been granted funding by the Knowledge Foundation. I am convinced that this investment in skills development, which we are making in collaboration with the business community and basic industries, will be of great importance for the green transition,” says Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn, Vice-Chancellor at Luleå University of Technology.

Sweden’s overall climate policy objective is that net emissions of greenhouse gases within the country should be zero by 2045. In order to achieve this objective, the transformation of the business community is crucial. The Knowledge Foundation is therefore funding three major projects that will help the business community become more adept at navigating the climate change transition over the long term. One of these projects is REEDEAM, Climate-neutral production, electrification, digitalisation and automation for the raw material-based value chain. The project, which will run for five years, will take place in collaboration with industries such as H2 Green Steel, Boliden, Northvolt, SSAB, LKAB, ABB, Alleima, Alstom, Combitech, Copperstone Resources, Kaunis Iron, Komatsu Forest, Lovisagruvan, RISE, SCA, Orica, Scania, Zinkgruvan Mining and Stena Recycling.

“Today we have a serious situation where a shortage of skills contributes to slowing down the climate transition. Several reports show that many industries have difficulty finding the right skills. We are now investing in extensive collaboration between academia, the business community and other operators to meet the many challenges in strategically important areas for the transition of the business community,” says Eva Schelin, CEO of the Knowledge Foundation.

The REEDEAM project is based on the idea that if a sustainable transition of industry is to succeed, new expertise firmly rooted in industry is required throughout the value chain. The courses cover areas in recycling, process industry, raw material supply, electrification, maintenance, energy and power technology, digitalization and automation, climate-neutral production, but also, for example, the legal aspects associated with permit applications.

"REEDEAM is fully aligned with Örebro University’s aims for a multidisciplinary platform for a sustainable future. In REEDEAM, Örebro University’s strengths in AI will be leveraged and combined with other expert areas from our academic and industrial partners in order to ensure that the future competences are in place to address the needs for a greener future", says Johan Schnürer Vice-Chancellor at Örebro University.

”The REEDEAM project brings together three strong universities and industrial partners from all parts of the raw material chain, and we see a great potential in developing education with new approaches. Together we have been entrusted with shaping a sustainable future", says  Helena Jerregård, Deputy Vice Chancellor Managemnet Office, at Mälardalen University.

Each of the higher education institutions, Örebro University, Mälardalen University and Luleå University of Technology, will develop courses at advanced level, corresponding to 90 university credits for professionals and for regular students. The participants have solid backgrounds in industry-relevant research and education in their areas of expertise and the scientific strengths of the higher education institutions align well with the intended educational offer. By making training courses available on the industries’ intranet, it will be easy for employees to apply for and attend the courses. In order to create an additional long-term perspective, and deepen the collaboration between the parties, future industrial graduate schools are planned to give companies access to research-trained personnel with key competence for the climate transition.

Projectleader for REEDEAM is Bjarne Bergquist, Professor in Quality Technology and Logistics at Luleå University of Technology.