Success model to develop Brazil-Sweden cooperation

Year 2018 marks the end of the work cycle for the first Swedish professor to arrive in Brazil through the Chairs program at ITA; three other academics are still active, strengthening ties between researchers from both countries

In its fourth year, the Swedish Endowed Professor Chair at ITA in Honor of Peter Wallenberg Sr. sees the completion of an important stage. Petter Krus, the first of the Swedish professors to take up one of the four openings at the Aeronautical Technological Institute (ITA), is finalizing his first major cycle in Brazil in December. Despite revealing that much remains to be done, the researcher leaves behind great strides in the collaboration between the two countries within the aeronautical field (see more in the interview given to this newsletter).

The rapprochement work between the two countries continues with the other teachers. Dan Henningson, Ragnar Larsson and Tomas Grönstedt continue to travel constantly to Brazil in order to guide researchers in their work, addressing several aspects within the aeronautical segment. At the same time, CISB, which has been acting as a major facilitator between ITA and the Swedish institutions, intends to reach even higher aspirations by disseminating the results and articulating the long-term program in a sustainable way.

"This successful model implemented in aeronautics has generated a lot of fruit for cooperation and can be transferred to other areas such as life science, mining , smart cities , etc. with only minor adaptations," says Alessandra Holmo, Managing Director at CISB. The idea is to follow the same winning strategy of bringing Swedish professors with varied profiles, who have a pioneering spirit and undeniable technical skills in various areas in common. "The professors who are already working in Brazil have established a whole process that can be perfectly expanded," says Alessandra.

The CISB Managing Director’s speech is echoed in the words of Catharina Zajcev from the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation in Sweden. "There is no reason why this model should not prove to be as successful in other sectors. Choosing research and development areas with interested and motivated stakeholders in both countries could accelerate bilateral cooperation,” she says.

Currently, Sweden is ranked the 3rd most innovative nation in the world, according to the Global Innovation Index. "Since both countries have advanced aeronautics knowledge, the results of this and similar programs can be beneficial not only within the research area, but also for production and innovative thinking," says Catharina.

She also points out that the Scandinavian country has much to gain from the bilateral cooperation as well, even though it has been acclaimed worldwide for its innovation model. "Sweden also needs to learn from partners like Brazil to maintain this position. Maintaining competitive co-creation is the key to becoming stronger global players. I see research and development (R&D) and continued mobility to be important,” she points out.