Agreements for student exchanges with five Brazilian universities and participation in a Swedish-Brazilian Centre for Research and Innovation are at stake. Now, the Royal Institute of Technology put much effort to develop cooperation with Brazil and their universities.
- It's extremely important to work with Brazil as a research nation. We can see a tremendous increase of qualitative research in Brazilian universities. They have focused on individual talents and now started building institutions with successful scientists, says Semida Silveira, Professor of Energy Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology.
She adds that Brazil is the largest country in Latin America, and that there are many Swedish companies established there. For Scania, for instance, Brazil is the largest market. The number of Swedish companies increase constantly.
- The big question is whether we can afford not to cooperate, says Semida Silveira.
- There is a considerable interest among the students at the Royal Institute of Technology to write their master's theses in Brazil. Sweden has previously not been a first choice for Brazilian students, and we are trying to change that. In addition, exchange students bring increased research collaborations between the universities, says Semida Silveira.
She adds that several cooperations already exist, for example within bioenergy and biotechnology. Recently, a new EU project for flight design was launched where the Royal Institute of Technology and the Brazilian airline EMBRAER cooperate.
- But we have not made full use of the great potential that actually exist, says Semida Silveira.
In addition to agreements with the six universities, the Royal Institute of Technology is also highly involved in a new research center in Brazil.
- SAAB in Linköping operates the research center. The Royal Institute of Technology is a partner and key player in the center, says Semida Silveira.
The inauguration of the Swedish-Brazilian research center took place on May 17 - 18 in Sao Bernardo in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Principle of the Royal Institute of Technology Peter Gudmundson was present, as well as numerous high-ranking politicians and authorities from both countries.
The five universities the Royal Institute of Technology works with are:
1. USP - Universidade de São Paulo
2. UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual the Campinas
3. UFRJ - Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro
4. UFRGS - Universidade Federal de Rio Grande do Sul
5. UFMG - Univesidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Cecilia Helland