30 October 2023
NorrlandsNavet celebrates 3 years with the Kamprad Family Foundation visiting
On October 25, NorrlandsNavet and the Kamprad Family Foundation met to summarize and evaluate the project's first three years. The day consisted of several appreciated presentations and discussions linked to the work that has been going on until now but also what is to come. All with a focus on development and support for small and medium-sized companies in Norrland with the help of research and education.
On Wednesday, representatives from Luleå University of Technology met together with researchers and students who are active within NorrlandsNavet, together with the Kamprad Family Foundation to summarize the first three years. Some of the companies that collaborated with researchers and students were also invited and they got to present their experiences of collaborating with NorrlandsNavet. It was a packed and much appreciated day.
"The day consisted of fantastic accounts of how NorrlandsNavet works with students who are active in the companies and researchers who presented their research projects," says Lena Fritzén, Kamprad Family Foundation.
NorrlandsNavet is a center for business development in northern Sweden in which was founded in 2020 with funding from the legacy of Ingvar Kamprad. NorrlandsNavet is a collaboration between the Kamprad Family Foundation and Luleå University of Technology to give small and medium-sized enterprises in northern Sweden the opportunity to develop their business through research and education.
"It has been three intensive and instructive years, where we have been able to build a basic structure to offer companies in northern Sweden support and knowledge to develop and grow. We have been affected by several external factors such as a pandemic in the first two years and the large investments in the north which affect all businesses positively but which also present challenges. I'm really looking forward to taking the next step where we continue to work experimentally and with offers that create benefit for our companies at the same time that our students, teachers and researchers also benefit from the collaboration that is carried out in various formats within NorrlandsNavet," says Marita Holst, head of unit in collaboration and innovation at Luleå University of Technology.
The initial work within NorrlandsNavet has consisted of a survey in which business offices in northern Sweden were told what needs they see in entrepreneurs in their immediate area. It then emerged that competence provision, digitalisation, sustainability and marketing were seen as priority areas. With this, need-driven research projects within Luleå University of Technology have been started to share important knowledge with the centre's companies. In addition, five doctoral students were hired to do more long-term research on themes that benefit small and medium-sized companies in the region. Education and competence-enhancing efforts, short and long, have been developed and are offered to industries and companies. These digital courses are called Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which are open and available to everyone. Another example is the possibility for companies to have a student do an internship during the summer who can directly benefit but also contribute to the company's development. Companies can also participate in project courses and receive students for degree projects.
"NorrlandsNavet helped us get in touch with students who were given the task of doing an energy mapping of our entire greenhouse facility in their thesis work. It has been a great project and the students have delivered 40 well-written pages to us. It is a complicated task with many parameters to take into account, but they clearly show how we can save energy and thus reduce costs," says Mikael Albrecktsson, Norrskenstomat Handelsträdgård.
Contact
Marita Holst
- Head of Unit
- 0920-492289
- marita.holst@ltu.se
- Marita Holst
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