The inauguration was celebrated with a half-day event in Aula Medica focusing on science and collaboration.

“Both Bayer and Karolinska Institutet welcomes collaboration between academia, healthcare and society – it is necessary to collaborate to meet global challenges – we are all in this together,” said Miriam Holstein, CEO of Bayer Nordics when she started the morning welcoming guests from industry, academia, healthcare and society to Karolinska Institutet.

In Sweden, Bayer has entered a number of collaborations through the years, not only within research, but also with initiatives and start-ups such as War on Cancer, Pilloxa and Coala Life, reports Stockholm Science City in a press release.

Global challenges

Sweden’s Minister for Higher Education and Research, Matilda Ernkrans, shared her thoughts on the need for collaboration between academia and industry to meet the global challenges.

“Without cooperation, achievements within research cannot be made. Basic research provides ground breaking knowledge – however, no sector can meet the demands of future health alone, we need to face challenges together,” she said.

Open innovation

Kemal Malik, Board member Bayer AG and Head of Innovation at Bayer spoke on the theme of convergence between biology and technology and Bayer’s thoughts on open innovation.

“What I fundamentally believe is that the only way to address global challenges is through innovation. Today, we are still facing major societal challenges in health and nutrition and we need innovation to solve them. It is our ambition to connect with the brightest minds across the world and to expand our open innovation approach towards innovation ecosystems,” he said.

Photo of the Bayer office at the Karolinska Institutet Campus