Let’s Innovate for Resilience!

A signal of a possible change – is something that is already happening today, but which can be a clue for the future – if we only listen carefully enough. The next step is to ask ourselves questions such as: “What kind of change does this signal represent?” What direction does it take us?” and “What trend or larger phenomenon is driving us in that direction?” Signal plus drive equals foresight. Foresight is an approach that gives us the power to help shape the future – and not just let it happen. It’s not about predicting the future, no one can do that! It is about working with scenarios about the future based on the signals we see and the knowledge we have today. With their help, we can make more informed decisions.

Learn what makes Sweden one of the top innovation countries in the world. We will present how it all started and what has kept Sweden innovating and pioneering the possible. Get an introduction to the areas of strength and how you can connect with the top actors in Sweden.

A key point has been to draw upon civil-military synergies in the Swedish innovation and business ecosystems and communities.

“The US Moonshot Approach as a Driver for Innovation – With Examples in Cancer and Space Exploration”.
Maria Brogren, Head of Office of Science and Innovation, Embassy of Sweden, Washington D.C.

“The Chase for Unique Data is the New Gold Rush”. Eva Nahari, Investment Principal, DNX Ventures.

– Foresight from an International Perspective. David Jonason, Policy Analyst, OECD

We are and will continue to face many challenges going forward — from the pandemic, to covid, inflation, Ukraine, technological shifts, geopolitical tension, demographic shifts. We need to think of these tests as ways to strengthen our resilience and capability to take on big things. This will be a test to democracies which will have to prove that they are capable of acting decisively and over the longer term, while staying true to their values and principles. Being able to take on challenges is a muscle that needs training, which we need to do consciously, as we learn from one challenge to another. Each crisis is thus an opportunity for this sort of capacity-building, also an opportunity for innovators to create new solutions and transform the status quo, shedding old models, which we should harness best we can.

How can XR be used to nurture essential skills such as self-awareness, critical thinking, and compassion? And, how is being XR used by the industry to drive innovation and sustainable practices? This session explores the intersection of Extended Reality (XR/VR/AR) technologies with behavioural change, empathy enhancement, and societal sustainability. With a focus on real-world applications, it explores the ways XR can address challenges and opportunities, drawing on insights from research in the field.
Listen to Ylva Hansdotter, Strategic Advisor and XR Expert, Founder XR Impact

The Swedish Energy Agency, Formas and Vinnova stand behind the initiative of Impact Innovation. It is the next generation’s strategic innovation program and an actor-driven and long term collection of forces aimed at contributing to global competitiveness through sustainable development transformation. As of February, five programs have been granted funding. In the programs, a wide range of actors from business, public activities, academia and civil society will collaborate.
Listen to:
Water for Vital Environments – Wave – Magnus Arnell
Metals & Minerals – Lawrence Hooey
SustainGov – Mariell Juhlin
Net Zero Industry – Mats Lundin
Shift2Access – John Hultén
Jenny Elfsberg, Vinnova

Are you ready to learn the truth about the state of our planet?

Climate change is real and human activities are the main cause. The concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere is directly linked to the average global temperature on Earth. The concentration has been rising steadily, and mean global temperatures along with it, since the time of the Industrial Revolution. Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels hit record high in 2023. Not surprisingly, 2023 is the hottest year on record, with global temperatures close to the 1.5°C limit.

The cement industry, a vital component of global construction, represents 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, far more than the aviation industry. Decarbonizing the global cement sector is a challenge that requires international collaboration and knowledge exchange.

In December 2023, Sweden and India launched a partnership to address emissions-intensive industry challenges and to align their industrial development with the Paris Agreement.

The Swedish Climate Startup Map is a visible platform with 508 startups and scaleups contributing to accelerating the green transition.

Cities hold significant importance in achieving climate goals. Here, actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change need to be taken while simultaneously attending to social justice and inclusion.

NeuroDesign is a new interdisciplinary research field about how the brain reacts to built environments and how these impact people psychologically and physiologically. Knowledge about how the brain reacts to built environments has groundbreaking potential to revolutionise urban planning and work aimed at human (health), ecological and economic sustainability, contributing to the UN Goals.

Join AI Sweden’s side event during Sweden Innovation Days, where we delve into projects that may reshape industries and mindsets to drive innovation forward. Our webinar brings together thought leaders and experts to explore the intersection of technology, healthcare, climate and societal impact.

Two Key Topics:

• AI for Deep Green Transition: Explore how AI can catalyze a global shift towards sustainability
• International Collaboration in Healthcare

Ignite Sweden facilitates a process to engage the public sector with startups, driving innovation and discovering solutions to meet their needs and challenges.

DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) is NATO´s accelerator for defence innovation reaching out to startups in the civil secto

Inspired by NASA’s mission to the moon-program, Sweden launched a national innovation program a decade ago with the bold ambition to make the biggest cities in the country climate neutral by 2030, twenty years ahead of the rest of the European Union. Since its inception the program has aimed for something more than zero emissions. It has been using a mission oriented approach to unite peoples of all levels of society towards a common audacious goal, which is to transform cities to places that are livable, lovable and viable. The approach has proven very successful, which is why a lot of cities around the world set their eyes on what’s happening in Sweden.

Swedish incubators hold high quality and several of them are ranked among the best in the world, for example in UBI Globals’s international rankings of incubators. They play an important role in the regions as an engine for innovation and innovation in business.

A national initiative, partly financed by Vinnova – Sweden’s Innovation Agency, is the National Incubator Program. Through joint development and transparent peer-to-peer reviews it not only adds a quality stamp to member incubators, but also drives the developement of outstanding support to startups and scaleups. In this session we will talk more on how this work is carried out.

– About the future of the aviation industry through Advanced Digitalisation and the transformative project Air Mobility

Welcome to participate for 45 minutes to learn more about the Air Mobility project, which is
funded by one of Sweden’s largest research and innovation programs, Advanced Digitalisation.
Advanced Digitalisation is currently an ongoing and significant billion-dollar investment in Sweden.
One of the major projects being funded is Advanced Air Mobility, which aims to explore how,
through broad collaboration and modern technology, we can develop a more digitized future with
unmanned flight in combination with the conventional.

During the seminar, a panel will discuss how Air Mobility contributes to increased automation with
increased sustainability in the transport sector through digitization, automation and artificial
intelligence. How will a developed combined airspace work, what will future airports look like and
what challenges are there to enable door-to-door transport?

The audience will be given insights about various battery innovation ecosystems in Sweden and their focus areas. This seminar is for anyone interested to better understand how to navigate and collaborate with actors in the Swedish battery value chain.

Speakers:
– Göran Stegrin, Swedish Energy Agency
– Karin Kärr, Swedish Institute
– Charlotte Lejon, Swedish Energy Agency
– William Fueller, Business Sweden