“A common theme among the speakers was that collaboration is a key factor for success in life science, this is especially true in Umeå with us being kind of an outsider due to our geographical location. That’s why it’s so important to create events like this — where new connections are made, and opportunities for collaboration emerge,” says Andreas Lindberg, business coach at Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) and moderator at Open Up For Innovation.

During the opening hour, Andreas Lindberg and Lisandro Bernardo from UBI provided an overview of developments in the industry. Mikael Elofsson and Anna Arnqvist Björklund shared insights from Umeå University, while Agneta Filén from Umeå Municipality spoke about life science as a priority growth area for the municipality.

Regional pitches were held by Johan Henriksson from the Business Research School, who talked about his collaboration with Sartorius, Björn Schröder talked about his collaboration with Arla Food (where he was headhunted by Arla for the collaboration), Jonathan Love about his collaboration with Michael Holmboe at the chemistry department at UmU, and Malin Walfridsson about the hackathon that Nordic Biomarker conducted with researchers from UmU, under the Open Up For Innovation flag.

Michael Holmboe, Jonathan Love, Johan Henriksson, Malin Walfridsson and Björn Schröder shared insights on regional collaborations between the academia and industry. Photo: UBI

International pitches were held by Else-Marit Inderberg, the University of Oxford and Chiesi with different approaches to academia-industry collaboration.

”Compared to Oxford, who spoke at the event, Umeå is a fairly young university and we are in the beginning of an exciting journey. The fact there were a number of people at the event shows an interest in collaborations with the industry and actually making something that would be an added value to the academic world,” says Mikael Elofsson, Dean of Faculty of Science and Technology at Umeå University (co-organizers).

About the event

Open Up For Innovation is part of UBI’s regional development project “Life Science City”, funded by Tillväxtverket and EU, and was arranged for the second year.

“Highlighting the innovation opportunities possible through the excellence of Umeå University’s research is a core in the development of Umeå as a “Life Science City”. Setting the regional industry first in line to assess it is natural to increase the competitiveness of these companies,” says Lisandro Bernardo, business coach UBI and moderator at Open Up For Innovation.

Related article

Umeå event gathered the life science industry to drive innovations

On February 27th the Open up for Innovation event brought together over a 100 representatives from the academia from Umeå University and industry players from both local and national sectors. The event was organized by Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI), Coalition Umeå 4 Life Science and the Innovation Office at Umeå University. “We have world-class research […]

“It was inspiring to take part of the event and the great networking opportunities. The discussions really highlighted the strengths of collaborations and the thriving life science sector in Umeå. Collaborations are essential for the growth of life science in Sweden,” says Alexandra Patriksson, Testa Center/BRIDGE Sweden.

Alexandra Patriksson, Testa Center/BRIDGE Sweden, and the speaker Else-Marit Inderberg, who pitched the CellFit Project. Photo: UBI

A broader concept

Building on last year’s event, ‘Open Up for Innovation’ has now evolved into a broader concept, encompassing additional events.

Later this spring UBI have invited AMT Telethon, a French patients’ organization and fundraiser fighting neuromuscular diseases. AFM-Telethon is a pioneer in the research and support to improve patients’ lives. In Umeå they will connect with the top-class researchers Umeå University has within this space.

The panel debate finished the event with Else-Marit Inderberg, Johan Trygg, Sartorius, Malin Walfridsson, Nordic Biomarker, and Mikael Elofsson, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology participating, including David Lough from Chiesi Pharma on link. Photo: UBI

Co-arrangement with CU4LS and Umeå University

Open Up for Innovation is arranged by UBI together with Umeå University and Coalition Umeå 4 Life Science (CU4LS), an association of academic centers and research infrastructure within Life Science in Umeå. CU4LS’s role is to contribute to making research visible and promote interdisciplinary collaborations.

“It’s important for academia to open up and learn about the needs of companies, maybe we find common interests or come up with new ideas. Innovation is created when you open up and interact with others, if you are always inside the same box, you don’t learn anything outside the box,” says Teresa Frisan, a member of the steering committee for CU4LS.

Open Up For Innovation is an initiative from Umeå Biotech Incubator and co-organized by Coalition Umeå 4 Life Science and Umeå university. Photo: UBI