Press releases

The Swedish School of Economics (Hanken) in Helsinki and IFL at Stockholm School of Economics, the well-known provider of executive education, have announced a collaboration on the Finnish market. The collaboration takes place within a new joint unit, Hanken & IFL Corporate Development, which offers leadership development programmes for Finnish customers.

Within the framework of the EU’s Sixth Framework Program, preliminary studies are underway to build a land-based telescope that will be by far the largest ever, thus offering entirely new potential for detailed observations. For one thing, researchers hope to be able to see so far into space, and thereby so far back in time, that they will be able to understand the creation of the universe and discover whether it is possible that there is life on other planets.

Sweden and the United States are to cooperate on aspects of research and development in the field of security. FOI (the Swedish Defence Research Agency) has been asked by the Government to initiate cooperation and to negotiate an agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security. Relevant areas of research could, for example, include protection against dangerous substances and aspects of border and transport security including harbour security.

In the face of strong competition, FOI is to take part in one of thirteen research projects to be awarded funding for research relating to the fight against terrorism under the EU’s security research programme.

The Swedish government yesterday commissioned the Swedish Research Council to set up a delegation with the assignment of coordinating the Linnaeus Anniversary in Sweden and to appropriate and allocate funds for efforts
within this framework. For 2005 the government is reserving SEK 7 million to coordinate the Linnaeus Anniversary.

New research at FOI has led to the updating of leading disk erasure products and the issuing of new security recommendations.

The Swedish Research Council now officially stands behind this vision, having signed an international Declaration for Open Access.

In its bill Research for a Better Life (2004/05:80) the Swedish government presents its appraisal of how SEK 2.34 billion in new funding for research and development should be used with an eye to bolstering the position of Sweden as a research nation. The measures target both pure and needs-specific research and are geared to stimulate new Swedish innovations for growth and sustainable development

A panel of acknowledged international experts has identified Sweden’s foremost environments for basic research. The Swedish Research Council will be able to finance ten of the 27 research environments of excellence that have been winnowed from 261 applications. These research teams are from all over the country and represent all disciplinary domains.

An important step has been taken on the way to building the world’s most powerful neutron source­-ESS­-European Spallation Source-­in Scania, the southern Swedish province. To strengthen international contacts, not least with the business community, a collaborative group has been established, including members from the Nordic countries and several research financiers. The group will be called ESS Innovation Forum.