Collaboration for the future at the SPARK conference

On 10 April, the annual SPARK conference was held at the School of Engineering (JTH) at Jönköping University (JU). The SPARK conference is a meeting place for industry, academia and public actors where JTH presents research results on how the research and education environment SPARK strengthens the country's manufacturing industry.
“I think this day is proof of what it means for a region with a strong university that is good at collaborating,” says Linda Assbring, Head of Programme and Analysis at the Knowledge Foundation.

The theme of this year's conference was ‘Attracting and developing talent through collaboration in Småland’. Presentations were given by both JTH researchers and company representatives who talked about their experiences and how SPARK research is beneficial.

During the day, the winner of the SPARK Award was also announced, which is awarded to one of JTH's research projects that has shown great collaboration skills between academia and business. This year, it was the project IFT@JKPG - Innovative Foundry Technology that took home the prize. Read more about the project. External link, opens in new window.

Shared arena for development

Per Orestig, Director Shared R&D at Husqvarna Group, was one of the speakers and emphasized the importance of attracting the right skills to the region and constantly developing both companies and universities so that the right skills want to start training in Jönköping County.

“Attracting and developing talent is essential to continue developing advanced products. This is a challenge that is becoming more difficult with the rapid pace of development in the market today. We have many contact channels both in management, in the research groups and directly with our development organizations,” says Per Orestig, emphasizing that Husqvarna Group has a very good collaboration with JTH.

Karin Hermansson, Regional Development Director at Region Jönköping County, was another speaker.

“I am passionate about collaboration and co-operation. There is a great deal of concern about the supply of skills and demographic trends, which is why today's theme is so important,” she says.

Linda Assbring from the Knowledge Foundation thinks that the SPARK conference is an important initiative, and sees great opportunities in academia, industry and the region coming together in a common arena.

“The SPARK research centre is one of the Knowledge Foundation's flagship initiatives that has been running for ten years. The fact that it is such a long-term initiative feels very special and fun. We have many common challenges and ambitions that we will have the chance to discuss and share with each other during the day,” she says.

JTH's important role in future skills supply

Ingrid Wadskog, Dean and Managing Director at JTH, thinks that more days like this are needed.

“We need the chance to meet, interact and be inspired by each other. As a higher education institution, we have an important role in securing the supply of skills in the region and connecting students with companies so that they want to stay in the region,” she says.

During the afternoon of the conference, JTH researchers presented various projects on the theme of lifelong learning. These included Professor Ehsan Ghassemali, who spoke about the CIRCUMET project, in which JTH is developing courses for lifelong learning linked to metallic components in a circular value chain, and Madelene Zetterlind, Lecturer, who provided information about the opportunities for lifelong learning in various research projects in collaboration with companies.

Together towards an innovative ecosystem

Kerstin Johansen, Associate Dean of Research at JTH and Programme Manager for SPARK, was pleased that this year's SPARK conference attracted a wide range of participants. She emphasized the importance of consensus, collaboration and respect for each other's contributions in building the region.

“Alone is not strong. A lot is about how we can recruit and develop together. Several companies are looking for the same skills, which can lead to a change of company rather than place of residence. Everyone should feel included and welcome. Without a competitive industry with the right skills in the companies, we have no income and no world-class welfare. We need to build an innovative ecosystem,” she says.