Peter Karlsson, Peter Aronsson, Peter van der Poel

The new The Bridge collaboration now officially started

Today, the partnership between Linnaeus University, Södra and IKEA became official when the contract was signed. The collaboration that was initiated in December 2019 has now been incorporated into The Bridge. This will constitute a new collaboration arena with a clearer focus on forestry, innovation and sustainability in both education and research. And it extends over the next ten years.

The Bridge partnership builds on common values, a strong connection to the region of Småland and combining strengths and different areas of expertise, with the aim to achieve a dynamic exchange between the academic world and the trade and industry. The ambition is to bring new perspectives, breakthrough innovations and mutual benefit.

–Through joint long-term and innovative investments, we will be able to contribute to sustainable societal development with much greater creativity and strength than before. This will be beneficial both for us, the collaborating partners, and the surrounding community, says Linnaeus University's vice-chancellor Peter Aronsson.

Katarina Ek, partnership manager for the project, says that now that the contract has been signed, it is possible to start several processes.

–The Faculty of Technology can now proceed with the announcements of professorships. We will also continue the dialogue between the partners on how to continue to develop the arena in the coming years. Focus will also be on developing our internal work processes in order to better utilise the potential for collaboration with external parties. In specific terms, there are many groupings that will now be started, which we will then launch gradually, says Katarina Ek.

Read more about The Bridge on the project's web page on Lnu.se.

Peter Karlsson – Södra, Peter Aronsson – Linnéuniversitetet Peter van der Poel – IKEA on the new partnership.