TWO PERSPECTIVES

Why is Brazil/Sweden crucial to your company's technological development?

Jesper Rhode, Ericsson Innovation director for Latin America

"We have 16 centers of research and development and five factories worldwide; Brazil has one of each. The country is immersed in the context of Ericson's international research and development and all projects carried out here influence our business globally. We have executed 120 projects at the research center, and one of those was the designing of technologies that doubled the speed of 3G Internet, which is currently used in all countries. I could also mention a project developed for British Telecom between 2005 and 2009 of IP digitalization and migration, which was completely conceived in Brazil by a national team. Activities in Brazil involve about 370 people, but we want to reach 500 until the end of this year".

Carlos Santos, Research & Development manager at Klabin

"For Klabin, it's extremely important to keep a relationship with countries with technology in paper and cellulose. Sweden is one of them, as it has always invested in research, development and innovation in that area. The research institutes, universities and suppliers offer space for Klabin's needs, like the simulation in pilot-plants, for example. We have been participating in clusters with Innventia for quite some time, involved in studies of biorefinary and biofuels, paper's physical and chemical properties and, currently, we are considering participating in the Polynol project. It's clear that research, development and innovation are key, but we still need to evaluate the real benefits in the short and medium-term. Scandinavian countries, together with North American, are very important to us when it comes to both technological partnerships and investments they bring to Brazil. It's necessary, though, that this relationship keeps its reciprocal aspect".

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SUITE

CISB proposes unprecedented project in Brazil

Initiative envisages the construction of a cooperative laboratory for innovation projects in Sao Bernardo do Campo, to be developed in partnership with UFABC, CSIR from South Africa, the Lindholmen Science Park and Saab

CISB, together with Sao Bernardo do Campo local government, the Federal University of ABC, CSIR – The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research from South Africa –, Lindholmen Science Park and Saab, came up with a proposal for the Capability Development Center (CDC) creation. It's an initiative based on the experience of countries like Sweden and South Africa that has no precedent in Brazil and is open for new partners.

Called Collabora, the laboratory will function with high-tech equipment and strong visual appeal, aiming to serve as a space for researches to tackle complex challenges faced by society. The idea is to use that space as an arena for the development of projects involving, for instance, solutions for the defense field, or for planning and support of big scale events like the World Cup.

One of the strong traits of Collabora will be its distinction in visualization – technology and knowledge related to image, based mainly in digital tools that simplify the visualization of complex information. Those tools could be used as a verification and monitoring method. In practice, it could reduce time and costs of projects.

CISB's director Bruno Rondani explains that this structure will be an important improvement for the development of a multidisciplinary, cooperative research environment, which will bring together specialists from universities, companies and government. "With an extensive system of visualization and communication, besides the possibility of integrating several systems in a sole, unified scheme, the Collabora will be capable of sharing critical information with a significant number of specialists and to be connected with other centers in Brazil and the world – assuring, of course, the safety of said information", he says. Among the technologies present in that center, there are real-time simulation systems, data processing technology (high performance computing e grid computing), numeric models and maths and statistcs.

According to the local secretary for Economic Development, Work and Tourism of Sao Bernardo do Campo, Jefferson da Conceicao, the city is very interested in receiving the laboratory. "We are in a region with a wide range of recognized research and teaching institutes related to technology. The CDC projects will both benefit from the local intelligence and contribute to improve our skills", he says. "Furthermore, it will reinforce the city's position as a reference in the defense area, which, since 2009, has been considered a priority by the local government, together with the gas and oil area". He states that, besides being a sector of strategic importance for the country, the defense field attracts a large number of investments and is directly related to the creation of the technological park of Sao Bernardo do Campo.

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PROFILE

Scania works for increasingly sustainable buses and trucks

Manufacturer invests in projects to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and participates in important urban policies in Latin America

Trucks and buses that flood whole cities with smoke and make their air pollution: if it depends on Scania, that will be part of the past very soon. One of the main manufactures of trucks and buses for heavy transportation in the world - and of industrial and nautical engines -, Scania has been putting a lot of effort so that heavy vehicles produce less impact in the environment.

Per Arne Eriksson, product development director of Scania Latin America

Since the 1980's the company invests in research and development focusing in sustainable solutions for the environment. One of their central projects is the production of engines that use alternative fuels other than diesel. After that, the organization became known for being one of the firsts to manufacture biodiesel engines. Currently, it also offers trucks and buses especially adapted to run on ethanol or biogas.

The company also participates in big initiatives of greenhouse gases reduction. One example is the project of Sao Paulo's local government to substitute, up until 2018, its public transport's bus fleet with vehicles that use renewable fuels. Scania participates in the program supplying the fleet with buses that run on ethanol.

Product development director of Scania Latin America, Per Arne Eriksson, explains that, besides developing technologies focusing on the direct emission of pollutant gases, the company takes ecological issues holistically: "the whole life cycle of our trucks and chassis is designed to offer operational economy and to minimize environmental impact. We also produce engines that present low fuel consumption - consequently reducing emissions - without losing power and performance", he says.

One of Scania's production secrets is their modular system that allows development of custom-made solutions fitting the operational needs of each client. "That includes technologies for reduction of greenhouse gases, fuel economy, maintenance, local support and drivers' training, for instance", says Ericksson.

This quality contributes to Scania's yet another activity in Latin America. Last year, the company participated in the implementation of the Bus Rapid System (BRS) in Rio de Janeiro. It also has joined the execution of Bus Rapid Transit projects in countries like Australia, Mexico, South Africa and Colombia - the latter, a world reference in that transport system. The model implemented at its capital, Bogota, going by the name of TransMilenio, currently counts with 200 Scania chassis. For Eriksson, that portfolio is a result of a very focused work. "Product development starts and ends with our clients. That means we must understand their future needs and define the objectives for our development properties, assuring that all vehicles will be designed to operate according to expectations", he says.

Scania in CISB

Scania is present in more than 100 countries and has strong international operations, in which Brazil plays quite a relevant role. In 2011, Scania's total revenue reached 87,7 billion Swedish krona - and Brazil keeps being, for the 3rd consecutive year, the company's largest market.

That was what led Scania to estabilish a partnership with CISB. According to Eriksson, the decision to become a member was founded on the strong compatibility between the two organizations and on the expectations to generate results in the short-term. Among all areas with which the center works, the company is particularly interested in transport, energy, sustainability and urban innovation. "In those areas, Scania Latin America has been actively present, either individually or by partnership with other companies", he says. The company has projects being developed with universities and has been studying the possibility of extending agreements with other education institutions for improving their innovation processes.

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ARTICLE

Innovation in arenas increases good results

Bruno Rondani, executive director of CISB

When we talk about cooperation and integration of the triple axis - government, company and university -, the model we're immediately reminded of is the innovation based in arenas. The idea is innovative in the Brazilian context, but has already proved efficient in the Swedish experience. If well executed, the establishment of arenas can generate real advances in several different areas, in terms of scientific and technologic development, solution of public challenges and also of companies' revenues.

Specialists have already shown how hard it is to translate and transform human and social needs into practical enterprises. By articulating resources and necessities, multidisciplinary meetings, in the format of arenas, have contributed for the proposition of more efficient solutions for those demands.

The creation of CISB is based precisely on that model. The Center is inspired by the Lindholmen Science Park (LSP) experience, an institution that has been creating several forums grounded on that line of thinking. In the open arenas, there is a strong emphasis in cooperation - and this is more than just a concept, it's a work method. Besides physical spaces, with workstations, laboratories and information technology infrastructure, the arenas are the bases of the created programs not only by the LSP, but also by other organizations.

Currently, there are eight programs using that method: the Security, Safety, Media and Visual arenas, together with Test Site Sweden, TUCAP, Closer and CISB.

The Security Arena is an interesting example. Since it was created, in 2006, it has become a national project for social security involving partners like the Civil Defense (Swedish Civil Contigencies Agency - MSB), Chalmers Royal Institute, Gothemburg University, Ericsson, Saab and Volvo. The arena conducts research and development to deal with disasters and crisis situations. The work involves studies about public security in several aspects, like communications and information security, transport security, early alert and survival in emergencies. Some of the initiatives are pilot-projects in which the technology can be tested since its initial phase.

The Security Arena also conducts researches focusing on several different areas, since transportation of dangerous goods to the use of broadband mobile technology for information spreading during emergencies, as well as technologies for disaster detection and early alert to ports and essential public services. With those tools, society will be more prepared to deal with adversity situations.

Based on that kind of work, CISB has been gathering efforts to bring to Brazil the arena model. A first initiative is the Capability Development Center (CDC) project to Sao Bernardo do Campo, the Collabora, which might become a reference in the defense area or in urban planning. That will be a first step in a new work paradigm, in which different actors tackle great collective challenges in an infrastructure built to achieve the best results.

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BRAZILIAN NEWS

ITA prepares to open Innovation Center

The Aeronautics Technology Institute will build an innovation center for development of products and technology that fits the market's needs. The project will be supported by BNDES e aims to bring innovation to the aerospace and defense fields, as well as to other key areas like gas and oil, renewable energies and information technology. The center, that will encourage the involvement of undergraduate students in research, will focus on long-term technological challenges faced by six selected companies: Embraer, Petrobras, Vale, Telebras, Braskem and Odebrecht, that will directly participate in the projects.

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SWEDISH NEWS

Lindholmen Science Park launches Visual Arena

On March 27th, a new arena of Lindohlmen Science Park was opened in Gothenburg.  Named Visual Arena, it will serve as a collaborative environment for innovation through visualization. The arena is actually a big studio of 278 inches comprising advanced image projection techniques that could be used alongside projects related to research and teaching - and could also benefit the civil society and the business sector in areas like transportation, design, media, education, medical technology and urban development. The structure could be used for tests and certification, conferences and talks - for instance, to demonstrate how the traffic flow could build a sustainable growth with measurable results; to develop 3D graphics based on movement capture; to carry ergonomic conduction studies. The venture is also linked to investments in research and training made by the Chalmers Institute and Gothenburg University in the visualization area.

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PARTNER NEWS

CISB promotes road show in universities of seven states in Brazil

Initiative promoted CISB and Saab's first call for projects through the Science Without Borders program

Over two weeks, a committee of CISB and Saab members visited the 13 best Brazilian universities to promote the first Call for Projects released together with CNPq.  The strategy emphasized the direct contact with teachers and post-graduate students. In seven diferent states, the road show visited USP Sao Paulo, USP Sao Carlos, UFSC, ITA, UFPE, UFRS, PUC Rio de Janeiro, PUC Rio Grande do Sul, Unicamp, IME, UFRJ, UFABC and UFMG

At conferences for a previously selected public, the organizations presented themselves and explained how the Swedish innovation system works. Saab's spokeswoman, Cecilia Alkhagen, explains that one of the main aspects of he Call's proposal is the cooperation between universities and companies in Brazil and Sweden, as well as the way candidates are selected. "As it's an innovative and distinctive experience when compared to other Call models this public is used to, holding conferences and meetings proved itself to be an effective strategy".

All interested researches must access the collaborative platform, developed specifically for the Call, at http://swbcisb.induct.no and there post their ideas. Both Brazilian and Swedish teachers, professionals from Saab and Brazil armed forces, besides the candidates themselves, will be able to access that content. The platform's goal is to encourage interaction between all participants and to provide a space where ideas are developed together. Only at a second stage they will be submitted to evaluation and selection.

The model has already shown signs of success. In the first days of the road show, the website received 100 applications and that number kept rising, closing the week with 230. Even after the visits, the expectation is that the website keeps receiving hits, once the researchers are still evolving their ideas before publishing them.

The associate dean of the Scientific Technical Center at PUC-RJ, Luiz da Silva Mello, for instance, says the university will also bring proposals. "About 40 teachers and students were at the talk and showed a lot of interest in participating. Afterwards, we released some informative material to all post-graduate students and professors. In a week we'll start planning a coordinated reply", he says.  According to him, some of the areas in which PUC-RJ is interested are information and communications technology, logistics, chemistry, nanotechnology and mechanical engineering - in that case, the university already has a partnership with Embraer and means to expand their capacity in researches related to sensors and other aeronautical areas.

At the Military Institute for Engineering (IME), the proposal was also well received, especially in the area of cyber security, a subject in which the army has been increasingly investing. "Those calls are mostly attractive for us, particularly because Saab owns sensitive knowledge - the kind of knowledge we consider hard to obtain. The scholarships are very interesting for the researchers, for the institutions and for the county itself".

Overall, more than 500 people watched the conferences and all visited universities found affinities with the areas contemplated by the Call. The network developed during the visits might also become a first step for future ventures with CISB. Professor José Kleber Cunha, from USP, for instance, has shown interest in even broader Calls, that involves undergraduate students and other innovation partnerships.

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CLIPPING

Brazil receives Swedish Committee

Investor's president Marcus Wallenberg, shareholder of companies like Ericsson, Electrolux, AstraZeneca, Asea Brown Boveri and Saab, has been in Brazil at the beginning of the March. He followed a Swedish business mission in talks throughout the country about investments in innovation and technology as alternatives to overcome the economical crisis, as well as negotiations related to the Gripen fighter jet. He leaded the Swedish parliament's president mission, Per Westerberg, who was welcomed by Brazil's congress' president, José Sarney, and by senator Marta Suplicy, as well as by the Deputies Chamber's president Marco Maia and executive secretary of the Ministry of Development Alessandro Teixeira.

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