Published on 29 January 2025
This is the third comprehensive collaborative agreement signed by the parties and it will remain in force until 2028. No major changes have been made, with the designated areas of collaboration largely the same as before. An important part of the collaboration is the development of innovations and business, which in part takes place through the Linköping Science Park and the LEAD business incubator.
Other areas include skills supply and international collaboration through networks, specifically the EUniverCities (EUC) and the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). However, one area that is particularly highlighted, and where there have been changes since the last agreement, is around security and preparedness.
So, what concrete results has the collaborative agreement produced over the years? The focus has been on three areas: sustainable urban and societal development, sustainable growth, and sustainable welfare. One successful outcome has been that Linköping became the first Swedish city to win the EU’s iCapital Award. This would probably not have been possible without the good examples in areas such as innovation and social development listed in the application. Another result is the joint ambition to support the place brand “Linkoping – the place where you meet the future” (“Future Now”).
The two contact persons, Anna Maria Lönn-Wahlqvist for LiU and Lise-Lotte Wallberg-Järvinen for Linköping Municipality, both emphasise the good climate of cooperation they have seen at all levels, and not least at an overall strategic level, between, for example, university management and politicians. Kristina Edlund, the Social Democrat chair of the municipal executive committee, agrees that the collaboration with LiU is important for the municipality: “A lot has happened since we started our collaboration with the university. I’d particularly like to highlight the work in the field of welfare. Here we get the chance to improve skills supply and upskilling for both existing and new employees.”
A practical example of developing a productive collaboration can be found in the R&D Centre for healthcare and social work. LiU was represented on the previous board of the R&D Centre and is now also on the R&D Centre’s council for science and experience. Through a reciprocal arrangement, the R&D Centre is represented on the board of the LiU graduate school for integrated care. There have also been mutual service purchases, joint R&D projects and student collaborations. “In the work to continue developing the collaboration with LiU, it’s important to be able to have support in a long-term and strategic agreement that also prioritises investments in the welfare area,” says Mats Eriksson, Head of Unit of the R&D Centre at the Social Services Department at Linköping Municipality.
For LiU, the agreement means that the link between research, knowledge and societal benefit is strengthened. “The exchange of knowledge between our operations strengthens, among other things, the applications of research and helps to solve local societal challenges. Our collaboration stimulates innovation and, by extension, economic growth by creating new companies and jobs,” says Vice-Chancellor Jan-Ingvar Jönsson.
One researcher who can provide concrete examples of what collaboration with Linköping Municipality can mean is Associate Professor Kristina Trygg. Her areas of expertise are strategic community planning linked to the transition to a sustainable society. She is also the programme director for the Master’s Programme in Strategic Urban and Regional Planning. “The strategic partnership has been very valuable for my research. I have gained access to important data and empirical material that has been crucial for my research projects.”
Kristina Trygg describes a collaboration where her contacts at the municipality have agreed to be interviewed, and she has been given access to their work in research projects. The collaboration has also worked in both directions. “I’ve been asked to participate in workshops and seminars organised by the municipality, which has enabled a direct dialogue. They’ve also been given access to research results, and this hasn’t only helped to disseminate research results, but also helped me understand the municipality’s needs and challenges in my research.”
The result so far has been several joint research projects where the municipality has been an active partner. These projects have often focussed on finding solutions to specific problems in urban and regional planning and in the transition to a sustainable society. The collaboration has also had an effect on LiU’s urban and regional planning programmes, where planners from the municipality have arranged and held lectures and study visits, and have been interviewed for student projects.
Photo: Courtesy of Lisa Sjölander. ‘Vice-Chancellor Jan-Ingvar Jönsson, and Municipal Board Chairwoman Kristina Edlund (S) sign for four more years’.
Text: With thanks to Björn Stafstedt
