Lund University exemplifies
Swedish innovation
Interview with Per Eriksson, Lund University
Per Eriksson, Vice Chancellor of
Lund University, is responsible for
managing the university’s activities
and ensuring the goals set by the
University Board are achieved.
He completed a PhD in
telecommunications theory at
Lund University in 1981 and
went on to work as a lecturer in
telecommunications and signal
processing at the Faculty of
Engineering, eventually becoming
head of the Department of
Teletransmission Theory.
From 1989 to 2000 he was
Vice Chancellor of Blekinge Institute
of Technology, before becoming
Director-General of Vinnova in
2001. In 2007 he was made
Professor of Signal Processing at
Lund University and in 2009
he became Vice Chancellor.
Founded in 1666, Lund University is one of
In Sweden, academic researchers own their IP by
Scandinavia’s largest institutions for education and
default, which is a much simpler arrangement
research, consistently ranked among the world’s
than in many other countries.3 And they can
top 100 universities. When asked about the
choose to commercialize their research at another
university’s research focus, Per Eriksson described
university or within industry, which makes for a
how Lund University is fulfilling its motto
very competitive environment.
“prepared for both.”1 No longer in reference to the
book and sword, the motto is now a manifestation
The triple helix
of the university’s ability to offer a comprehensive
Lund University offers much to incentivize
education as it establishes top research teams and
researchers to stay within the region with nearby
a new international hub for materials science,
facilities like Ideon Science Park, the largest and
and to champion local development while
oldest of its kind in Sweden. Between the
seeding global companies.
university’s research and Ideon’s go-to-market
Putting fuel in the engine
infrastructure, world-class companies have
Why does Sweden consistently score highest on
which created the first artificial kidney, and the
the European Union’s Innovation Scoreboard?2
telecommunications giant Ericsson. In particular,
Per Eriksson provides two key reasons. First, the
there has been a strong success in combining
country has a strong culture of innovation
expertise in engineering and medicine, such as the
bolstered by the fact that it is decentralized, less
pioneering of ultrasound technology by Dr. Inge
bureaucratic and hierarchical than many other
Edler and physicist Hellmuth Hertz to diagnose
countries, and has an informality that encourages
diseases of the heart.4
individuals to pursue their ideas. Secondly, he
comments, “We put a lot of fuel in the engine.”
Government and industry are very supportive,
whereas he believes there are still opportunities to
strengthen the outputs.
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established themselves in Lund such as Gambro,
A strong triple helix model among the public
sector, academia and industry ensures sustained
growth. If success can be measured in terms of
financial support, the Swedish innovation agency
VINNOVA exemplifies success, having had close
Another key factor is the competitive atmosphere
to a 150 percent increase in budget over the last
for commercialization of intellectual property (IP).
decade.5 However it is VINNOVA’s effectiveness
The Academic Executive Brief - Volume 4, Issue 1 | 2014
Academic-Corporate Collaboration (%)
Lund University
Percentage of academic-corporate articles
published at Lund University versus
the world average
Publication Year
Figure 1: Academic and corporate collaboration
Source: SciVal
in championing scientific quality and impact, and
He would also like to engender innovation by
addressing business and public sector challenges,
increasing the international student and faculty
that are the true measures of accomplishment.
ratios from 10 percent to 20 percent.
of fuel in the
Of course, a university is charged with developing
A local leader
engine.”
a labor force of well-educated young people to
seed society and business. Eriksson would like to
The movement of talent can be seen in a recent
see more movement of talent from academia to
example of the triple helix in action. Three years
industry and back again as a means of transforming
ago Astra Zeneca closed down in Lund; 900
competencies. He sees this starting to take root
people were to be laid off or moved to another
with adjunct professors working in business,
location. A research and innovation council
industry-supported PhD candidates and Centers
comprising university, industry and public sector
of Excellence that attract a blend of researchers.
representatives negotiated and brainstormed with
“We put a lot
http://AcademicExecutives.elsevier.com
| 7
Lund University ... continued
“... the best is
International collaboration
yet to come,
National collaboration
with two new
Institutional collaboration
world-class
Single authorship
research facilities
on the horizon.”
56.2%
11.2%
24.8%
7.8%
13,034 publications, citations per publication: 11.1
2,601 publications, citations per publication: 6.4
5,738 publications, citations per publication: 5.3
1,803 publications, citations per publication: 2.7
Figure 2: Publication output of Lund University
by amount of co-authorship
Source: SciVal
Astra Zeneca to minimize the impact of the
powerful neutron source. This multidisciplinary
shutdown. A creative solution was found to
scientific research center will include a linear
repurpose the Astra Zeneca site into Medicon
proton accelerator, a heavy-metal target station, a
Village, 80,000 square meters of space for life
large array of state-of-the-art neutron instruments,
science incubators and startups.
a suite of laboratories, and a supercomputing data
The university was also involved in discussions
management and software development center.6
around the restructuring of the local Sony
These facilities will put Lund even more firmly
Ericsson business in 2011. Issues discussed
on the map as an international center for science.
included determining which divisions to maintain
At the same time the construction of these
in Lund (the software portion of the business) and
facilities is already having a positive impact on
which others could be formed into new companies
the local economy. To build these facilities takes
(the hardware part was transformed into Sigma
high-competency companies, and the university
Connectivity). A new research institute for cloud
has established programs to train companies to
technology was also launched as a result of these
work with these materials.
actions. However, the best is yet to come, with two
new world-class research facilities on the horizon.
“When you think of Sweden and science, you think
of the Nobel Prize,” says Eriksson. “With these
An international stage
two massive projects located in Lund, Sweden will
Lund University will host MAX IV, a national
also be seen for the strength of its scientific
facility for materials research based on synchro-
infrastructure.”
n
tron radiation, which is jointly operated by the
university and the Swedish Research Council.
Also to be located in Lund, the European
Spallation Source, supported by 17 countries, will
be a unique facility based on the world’s most
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The Academic Executive Brief - Volume 4, Issue 1 | 2014
References: 1.From the Latin “Ad utrumque paratus.” 2. http://ec.europa.
eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/innovation-scoreboard/index_
en.htm 3. http://www.codex.uu.se/en/agande1.shtml
4. http://www.med.lu.se/english/about_the_faculty/history_of_the_faculty/
personalities_discoveries_and_innovations/inge_edler
5. http://www.vinnova.se/en/ 6. http://europeanspallationsource.se/