Innovation Europe > News > Innovation EU Vol1-1 > Karlstad University

Karlstad University is a comparatively young, strikingly modern and thoroughly innovative Swedish university. Benefiting both from its location in the trans-border county of Värmland, close to the Norwegian border, and originating from Sweden, which is widely recognised as one of the innovation leaders across the European Union (EU), Karlstad University (KAU) has been at the forefront in the Nordic region in seeking to integrate the twin concepts of modernity and innovation into every aspect of its activity. This status has been specifically recognised by external bodies. In 2006, for example, the University was audited as part of an OECD report that specifically acknowledged the “exemplary” efforts of KAU in seeking to foster and promote innovation, both nationally and regionally. In 2007. KAU was the first university approved for participation in the Key Actors Programme of VINNOVA , the Swedish national agency’s eight-year programme that targets the increased utilisation of research findings and innovations. More recently, KAU ’s position as “a lead actor in innovation” was confirmed in May 2009, in an evaluation report for VINNOVA under this Key Actors’ Programme. Furthermore, the University is a recipient of EU funding – and presently manages innovative projects funded by, amongst others, the EU’s INTERREG, Framework Research and Development and Lifelong Learning programmes.

The University has also refused to sit on these laurels. Under the leadership of its present Rector, Kerstin Norén, KAU, designated as a full University in 1999, and presently a medium-sized University of over 10,000 students, has sought to chart a distinctive path in the Swedish higher-education sector by developing the concept of “a modern university”. This “modern university” concept and strategy represents a creative approach that seeks to integrate collaboration with society and business with the University’s research and education provision. In particular, attention is placed on developing knowledge synergies and innovation outputs between the core activities of KAU, namely: research, teaching, knowledge transfer with society, and business consultancy and commercialisation, in a environment based on openness, multidisciplinarity and creativity. As part of this “modern university” strategy, KAU continues to invest in its innovation competencies, and opened, for example, in 2008, one of the most modern technological learning studio buildings, covering 5,500 square metres, in Europe. This builds upon the University’s existing location next to the Stora Enso’s international research centre. The University continues to develop research centres and research with the capacity to enhance innovation as part of the “modern university”. Among others, one of the most notable is the Service Research Centre (CTF) – one of the world’s leading interdisciplinary research centres focusing on service management and value creation through service. CTF, has, for example, over 50 researchers drawn from business administration, working-life science, sociology and psychology. KAU is also home to innovative research being undertaken on Surface Treatment. International research on Broadband Media Services and Internet and Data Security in Computer Science are also in evidence, with Computer Science researchers helping to establish an EU-funded European Collaborative Innovation Centre for Broadband Media Services (E-CLIC) in Värmland in 2009. In the Social Sciences, Political Science researchers are also completing Nordic Council of Ministers and EU-funded projects exploring how policy-makers “get the best out of the European Union”.

Pioneering Innovation System and Support

The University, industry and public actors founded their off-campus business incubator, Inova, in 1994. Inova is an open incubator handling innovations, not only from KAU academia, but also from industry, the public sector and individuals; with, on average, around 25% of the total incoming business ideas coming from the University. Each year around 150 innovations are screened in order to assess their innovative merits, capacities and prospects for future commercialisation. Approximately 40 of them are usually taken forward to “pre-incubation”. The University has also established a set of proven tools and processes in order to support innovation and these are highly integrated and connected into the regional and national innovation systems. The annual innovation and entrepreneur event, RAMP, gathers around 650 investors, entrepreneurs, key persons from industry, business and the public sector from across the surrounding region, and also from other parts of the Nordic countries. The purpose of RAMP is to inspire and inform, and has been held at the KAU for the last six years. Alongside this, there are “matchmaking” events that seek to bring together investors and academic and business entrepreneurs, For example, EVenture is an event where investors and business angels meet start-up companies looking for venture capital. Moreover, KAU’s established support mechanisms encourage and foster innovation for all; with, for example, the establishment of the Drivhuset as a forum to enable KAU students to develop their own ideas and innovations. Students of KAU are, for instance, involved in around 30-40 “startup” companies per year.

At the heart of this substantial innovation system involving the University lies close cooperation with the region’s existing and well-established innovation clusters, most notably: the Paper Province, COMPARE, The Packaging Arena, and the Cluster of Steel and Engineering. Established in 1999, the “Paper Province” – one of the Top 16 Clusters in High Innovation Regions in Europe – brings together a cluster of 250 companies, including some of Europe’s largest paper and pulp companies such as, Tetra Pak and Stora Enso, and its principal activities focus is on networking, coordination, procurement and research, not least with KAU leading involvement. From 2009, KAU is home to the regular meetings of the cluster. Similarly, the 100-company strong, world-class cluster of COMPARE (Competence Area), established in 2000, focuses on cooperation in the IT sector, and provides a shared platform in terms of products, information dissemination and telecom consulting for IT businesses across Värmland. Likewise, “The Packaging Arena” cluster brings together stakeholders from the graphics and forestry industries, as well as academia, and seeks to enhance the best packaging competencies and develop them on a global stage, not least through a dedicated Competence Centre, committed to innovation in terms of business development and internationalisation. The Arena has been a recipient of EU innovation support, and in 2009, for instance, the cluster’s Competence Centre attracted SEK13.5 million in ERDF funding. The Cluster of Steel and Engineering also represents a group of 300 companies across the region, has close ties with KAU and is strongly committed to the application of the Triple-Helix models of innovation. Surveys in 2009 indicate that 80% of the companies in the respective clusters are collaborating with KAU, placing the University at the core of innovation strategies of the clusters.

Indicative Cases – Evidence of Integrating Modernity and Innovation

Innovations spinning out from KAU cover traditional high-tech inventions, soft innovative services and new business concepts. The SSE algorithm, which can trace small pieces of illegal encrypted data in large amounts of data is one example – and is being further developed in the FIVES sub-project as part of the EU’s Safer Internet initiative. Furthermore, the starch-based packaging barrier, Cailar, represents an innovation of two KAU researchers (together with a researcher at Sheffield Hallam University) – the researchers have previously been involved in the SustainPack programme of the EU. Among service-related innovations, the internationally recognised “Left is Right Company” and “Edvardsson Quality Mapping” (EQM), also originate from KAU. These examples can be taken as clear evidence of successful innovation being undertaken at Karlstad University.

Patrik Bangerius
Manager Interaction and Outreach
Innovation Office, Karlstad University, Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)54 700 1431
E-mail: patrik.bangerius@kau.se
Website: www.kau.se

Professor Lee Miles
Senior EU Academic Advisor
Grants Office, Karlstad University, Sweden
E-mail: lee.miles@kau.se
Tel: +46 (0) 70606 5950