Meeting the Rising Global Competition in Sweden: OECD's Science, Technology, and Innovation Outlook

How is global competition evolving, and what measures can Sweden adopt to address challenges in order to enhance competitiveness and growth? The seminar will feature a presentation of OECD's Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Outlook 2023, showcasing a significantly heightened global emphasis on strengthening countries' research and innovation systems. The seminar will feature discussions with Minister of Education Mats Persson, Minister of Energy and Enterprise Ebba Busch (to be confirmed), OECD's Director for STI Jerry Sheehan, Professor Sara Mazur from KAW, as well as Sweden's appointed representatives from various countries' Innovation and Research Councils.

Focus Areas

IVA drives factual, science-based debate in several areas that are important for society. Below you can see what IVA has to say in these areas, in the form of reports from project activities, consultation responses, statements from the President and press releases.

Design Thinking & Change

Addressing global challenges and building sound international partnership

Science diplomacy, the intersection of science and diplomacy in addressing global challenges, has gained prominence on the international stage. While Sweden boasts a long-standing tradition of scientific excellence and international collaboration, it is yet to fully embrace the discourse of Science Diplomacy within its institutional landscape. Join us as we explore the emerging field of science diplomacy and delve into its relevance within the Swedish Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) ecosystem, and whether Sweden measures up to compared to the development in other countries.

IVA's Annual Meeting 2023

International Affairs

IVA is a national academy with a global outlook. The Academy’s international activities are focused on a global outlook and developing influential international relations.

Public Trust in Science – Safeguarding Academic Freedom and Objectivity

Digitalisation

Sweden’s competitiveness will increase if we can exploit the opportunities offered by digitalisation. The conditions are good, but we need to deal with the challenges, not least by stimulating the digital transformation of companies, strengthening cybersecurity and engaging in a nuanced discussion about digitalisation as an enabler of future welfare.

Skills Supply

The school and education system is vital for Swedish competitiveness – as is making Sweden an attractive country for highly skilled people and companies to work in. IVA aims to stimulate lifelong learning, positive attitudes to knowledge and education, and young people’s curiosity, problem-solving skills and joy of discovery.

Energy and Resources

Energy and resource efficiency and the circular economy are key to Swedish competitiveness and achieving the climate goals. Sustainable alternatives are needed if promises of a fossil-free energy system and a climate-smart industrial and transport sector are to be realised.

The consequences of AI: fear in the digital age

PhD Education: A Key to Swedish Entrepreneurship and Industrial Innovation

Seminar with Professor Geoffrey Hinton

Global Tech Diplomacy as a Guardrail for AI and Other Disruptive Technologies

The Future of Solar Energy – research and development of Solar Cells

Climate Urgency and the Nordic Response

With respect to climate policy, Sweden was an early mover in introducing a tax on CO2 emissions from fossil fuels already in 1991. By the end of the 1990s the Swedish electricity sector was almost decarbonised. The remaining sectors, industry and transport, are curerntly the targets of ambitious decarbonization efforts, in Sweden and in the EU.

How can the Swedish mining cluster strengthen Europe's supply of metals and minerals?

Sweden is one of Europe's most important mining countries, and the Swedish mining cluster is world-leading. But what role can Sweden, together with Finland, play in securing the supply of metals and minerals in Europe? Welcome to an international seminar where leading experts from the IVA project's international reference group, with participants from the USA, Latin America, Australia, and Europe, will discuss how we can strengthen our supply chains.

What can Sweden learn from California's innovation system?

California is one of the world's leading regions for innovation and entrepreneurship and has contributed to many of the world's most successful technology companies in recent decades. What makes California's innovation system successful, and how can Sweden learn from their innovation system?

The John and Margaretha Aspegren Scholarship

In 2004, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) established the John and Margaretha Aspegren Memorial Foundation to promote a better understanding between engineering sciences and the humanities.

Smart Industry competition

The Smart Industry Business Competition recognises and rewards companies that take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalisation in a smart and innovative way with clear results. The aim is to stimulate the digital and sustainable transformation of SMEs by highlighting best practice. The business competition has been held annually by IVA since 2016.