Newsletter CISB n.11 | Special Edition 5th Open innovation Seminar | December 2012
TWO PERSPECTIVES
How do you evaluate CISB’s role in the relations between Brazil and Sweden, after two years of operation?
Magnus Robach,
Swedish Ambassador in Brazil "The Brazil-Sweden history is quite a long one. We consider of extreme importance to continue this history, sharing knowledge and advancing together. The world has changed, it is a mutual dependency; innovation must be open, whether for a single project or as a general policy. It is important to learn how to work together – companies, universities and public agencies. This is the biggest role of CISB: work for such convergence ."
Carmen Ribeiro Moura, Head of the Advisory of International Affairs at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) "In terms of international cooperation, Brazil has significantly advanced, which enable us to cooperate with many countries equally, much more balanced than 20 years ago. Brazil has a deficit trade balance with Sweden. We have U$ 1.6 billion of deficit, and since 2007, our exports have fallen. Thus, our innovation activity should be well used as an attempt to alter this situation. Sweden is a country with high indices of industrialization and innovation, and the launching of CISB is a very positive event to intensify our collaboration activities."
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ANNUAL MEETING
CISB launches two open innovation arenas and rewards students in its second annual meeting
The Swedish-Brazilian Research and Innovation Centre (CISB) welcomed authorities in its annual event, as part of the 5th Open Innovation Seminar.
A tool for convergence and cooperation. Those were the words used by the Swedish Ambassador in Brazil, Magnus Robach, and by the Ambassador Carmen Ribeiro Moura, head of the Advisory of International Affairs of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) of Brazil to describe the Swedish-Brazilian Research and Innovation Centre’s (CISB) second year of operation. The two of them participated at CISB’s second annual meeting, that took place in November, as part of the 5th Opem Innovation Seminar, in Sao Paulo.
During the event, results of the role of CISB in the promotion of partnered technological innovation between Brazil and Sweden were presented, besides the launching of two open innovation arenas and the reward of the winners of the Students Competition, who received scholarships to study in Sweden. In the occasion, the Secretary of Regional Planning and Development of the State of São Paulo, Julio Semeghini, the vice-president of Technology of SAAB and Chairman of CISB’s Board, Pontus de Laval, and the CEO of CISB, Bruno Rondani, were present.
“During this second annual meeting, we could realize that Sweden has a lot to contribute to Brazil on key issued for the 21st century, such as the importance of innovation for sustainable growth. The present authorities confirmed the government’s interests in partnering for the development of projects with CISB and its members,” said Bruno Rondani.
As a way to promote the agreement signed between Brazil and Sweden as part of the “Science without Borders” program, CISB - in partnership with the Swedish Embassy, Saab AB and Stora Enso - has organized an online competition between 1st cycle students in which the award was two scholarships to intern in Sweden. Andre Passanesi, Engineering student at the University of Sao Paulo is going to the Chalmers University of Technology, while Rafaela Flack, from the Federal University of Parana, is going to Linköping University. “More than 20 thousand Engineering students in Brazil have visited the competitions’ website, more than a thousand have participated of the competition and we have found outstanding talents among them. The excellency for the contribution was the main criteria and the experience was so worthwhile that we expect to somehow continue with this experience next year”, says the Swedish Ambassador in Brazil, Magnus Robach.
Besides the students rewards, CISB has inaugurated two open innovation arenas: Attractive, Smart and Sustainable Cities and Industrial Ecology. The Arenas were attended by representatives of various companies, universities, research centres and governments; and important discussions were brought up for the development of initiatives under those themes.
“CISB annual meeting has as its main goal to get together agents willing to deal with big challenges in the areas of Sustainable Energy, Defense and Security, Transports and Logistics, and Urban Development. The event this year has generated great results and opportunities of potential projects aiming at solving complex problems that we face today,” says Bruno Rondani.
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ARENAS
CISB Arena discusses Industrial Ecology during Open Innovation Seminar
Representatives of Swedish and Brazilian institutions have discussed the economical and environmental advantages of the integration model among companies
Borås, a traditional city in western Sweden with more than 60 thousand inhabitants, has managed to reduce to zero the amount of sanitary landfill by changing the way they treat all the waste produced in the city. There, 27% of the waste is recycled, 30% goes through biological treatment and 43% is incinerated. That was one of the cases shown in the Industrial Ecology Arena, by Hans Björk, representative of the University of Borås. Björk explains that the initiative started 20 years ago and it only went forward with the support of the government, civil society and local industries: “We see advancements in the way Brazil deals with waste, but the improvements are only concentrated in large cities. One must believe that innovative initiatives can also work in smaller cities.”
 In contrast to what many think, environmental sustainability can go beyond organizational responsibility and be a way of profit for companies, increasing competitiveness and reducing costs. Improvements are possible through the increase of efficiency in internal processes and through a good relationship between industries. The idea is to generate new products from industrial waste or, in order to solve environmental challenges, create new business. That new posture is classified as Industrial Ecology. “Companies always want to make money and Industrial Ecology could be a path using cheaper energy sources and new consumer markets: the biogas generated by a company’s waste, for instance, can be sold to other markets. It is just a matter of time to get the return on such investment,” says Björk.
Brazilian case studies presented in the arena illustrate how the process has the potential of bringing numerous competitive advantages to the national industry, besides the significant benefits to the environment. In order to discuss cleaner methods of production, as well as research and development activities to contribute with the preservation of environment, representatives of Braskem, Scania, Natura, Verti, Tetra Pak and Petrobras were present.
To invest on the cooperative and organized integration of different actors, Braskem, a company that produces thermoplastic resins and biopolymers, has created the PMSI: Minas Gerais Industrial Simbiose Program (Programa Mineiro de Simbiose Industrial), in partnership with Fiemg. The program of profitable interactions among companies of all industrial sectors has expanded to other Brazilian states. Internally, a company maintains a tool to evaluate the opportunities of industrial symbiosis since 2005. “The challenge is to make companies interested in joining a network,” says Beatriz Luz, from the Sustainable Development department of Braskem. According to her, it is necessary to demonstrate the economic benefit and transform problems into opportunities of new business. “We must assume a vision of a circular economy, in which everything is utilized and reprocessed to generate new businesses, avoid waste and reduce emissions. For that, it is necessary for the government to stop just regulating, but also educate universities, industry and environmental agencies on the matter,” she says.
In the Bioeconomy, Claes Tullin – from the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden – raises the importance of individual action. “Consumers also affect the gas emission and the waste production chain. In the food industry, for instance, it is possible to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by reducing the consumption of beef. Why not eating more chicken and vegetables and not waste food?”, he provokes. Tullin also questions the government subsidies to non-renewable energy sources. “Politicians must think of long-term policies, especially in the energy field. Nowadays, there are many discussions on sustainable development and economic growth. Scientists are in the front, governments have much to learn.”
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Specialists defend that cities of the future should be more creative and dynamic
The Attractive, Sustainable and Smart Cities Arena has focused on the challenge of urban centres as the target to innovation for companies and government.
Whoever believes that it is only the government’s duty to overcome the urban challenge must revise their concepts. Several companies have taken an active role to confront this reality, and not just as a matter of corporate social responsibility. They see business opportunities in the development of the cities. Saab, Siemens, IBM and Volvo are one of those companies and they participated in the Attractive, Sustainable and Smart Cities Arena, promoted by CISB during the 5th Open Innovation Seminar.
The spokesmen for Siemens, Wikings Marcelo Messias, explains that besides directly investing 4 million euros a year with research and development activities, in the last year the company has learnt that it must also offers to society solutions that will meet the concept of more competitive and attractive cities that generate wealth, comfort and quality of life. “We started studying various areas of society, such as urban planning, demographic changes, climatic changes and globalization. From those macro visions, we drew investment axes, such as energy, health and infrastructure of cities”, he says. A practical example of how a broad view of the city is transformed into a product is the BRT – Bus Rapid Transport –, developed as an affordable alternative to rail transportation.
Volvo has also found solutions to improve the quality in public transportation after observing the urban dynamics of Sao Paulo. SP Trans – Sao Paulo’s transport company – currently uses a coordination system of traffic lights, which increases the efficiency of traffic flow in 7,5%. According to Basso, Volvo presented a proposal to expand that system, coordinating data from sensors installed on traffic lights with satellite information in order to create an intelligent communication network that would avoid buses loss of time because of red lights.
The intelligent system was developed in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he said there was a gain of 30% compared to the time spent in traffic, which consequently leads to economy of fuel and decrease of greenhouse gases emission. “Using the integration system of traffic lights at the moment the bus is at its stop, the systems calculates if the driver will have time to catch the green light. If the system predicts that the bus will have to stop right ahead, the driver is instructed to wait at the bus stop, allowing more passengers to board and avoiding unnecessary stops along the way”, he explains.
Professor of Urban Planning at the Mackenzie University, Carlos Leite sees as a big step the fact that companies see opportunities in urban challenges. According to him, the main role of the government is to create conditions for individuals to interact in a creative and innovative manner, since independent initiatives in that atmosphere arise naturally and tend to be more durable and effective. “There are many present day examples that can be enhanced with incentives, such as the case of Heliopolis slum, in which two renown physicians from Sao Paulo University whose business model combined inclusivity and profitability. They offer treatments of quality for very low prices (similar to what they would receive as if they were part of an insurance plan),” he says.
For Sergio Borger, director of Strategy and Operations at the Research Laboratory of IBM Brazil, the country is experiencing a positive economic moment and has a talented society, but there are biases that deserve attention concerning the development of creative ecosystems. As an example, he cites the fact that around 25% of the Brazilian population declares to have some kind of disability, while the world average is 6%. “Those data make us question ourselves: why Brazilians don’t feel as capable? There are indeed skills and abilities that are technical, but capacity itself is connected to the way the individuals see themselves,” he says. According to him, it is important that companies reflect on that because “the country develops if cities are organized and working towards creativity and innovation; and if the country grows, the company grows together.”
Today, more than half of the world population lives in cities, and it is expected that in 2050 this number will be over 90%. The improvement of the quality of urban environment has become a key objective of policy makers, also a matter of attention from companies and universities. In this aspect, Swedish experiences can be observed. An example is the initiative of the Lindholmen Science Park, which created the Visual Arena, with a world-class visualization environment for the interaction of academic, business and government sectors in the understanding of urban issues and how to face them. Another case study was the one of Lund University, which seeks to understand urban dependencies regarding security and sustainability. The Arena also received contributions from the Inter-American Development Bank, which presented “Emerging and Sustainable Cities Platform” that aims to support emerging cities of Latin America and the Caribbean to address their sustainability challenges.
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EXCHANGE
CISB opens second call for the Science without Borders program
CISB, Swedish-Brazilian Research and Innovation Centre, opens in December the second call for 20 scholarships in Sweden "5 for sandwich PhD and 15 for postdoctoral studies" as part of the Science without Borders program. This is a continuation of the 100 scholarships offered by Saab to the Brazilian government, which had its first call in March this year.
For this round, one of the news is the inclusion of two new areas of interest of Saab: Energy and Environment and Attractive and Sustainable Cities. Energy and Environment area includes climatic studies applied to the use of energy, as well as renewable energies. The area Attractive and Sustainable Cities is divided into urban planning, sustainable constructions, monitoring systems and smart grids/distributed generation.
Applicants must use the collaborative platform of the program, a virtual space for the interaction of researchers, teachers and employers of Saab, available in the website: http://swbcisb.induct.no
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ARTICLE
CISB confirms its potential as an entrepreneurial model for innovation management
Bruno Rondani, CEO of the Swedish-Brazilian Research and Innovation Centre
After 18 months of CISB’s operation, a project that brought together efforts from Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) and Vinnova, along with the initiative of corporations and entrepreneurs interested in the partnership between Brazil and Sweden, the two countries can now be proud of having a broad range of activities in innovation projects through international cooperation. During this one and a half year, CISB has built a portfolio with 47 project, in which 14 are in progress with public (from Brazil and Sweden) and private fundings. Altogether, the approved budget for the preliminary stages of those projects is R$ 19.2 million - approximately US$ 9 million. Of these resources, R$ 8.5 million (US$ 4 million) came from Swedish industry investments, R$ 2.1 million (US$ 1 million) from the Brazilian industry, R$ 6 million (US$2.8 million) from the Brazilian government and R$ 2.6 million (US$ 1.2 million) from the Swedish government
The most interesting fact about those results goes beyond numbers. They evidence a methodology that proves to be efficient. The challenge is to put into practice some of the projects that were already in mind. This mission has been guided according to the logic of effectuation: there are several obstacles for the advancement of bilateral projects, such as facing bureaucratic and funding challenges, as well as alignment of interests, but when there is an entrepreneurial spirit and discipline, many paths are found.
Instead of focusing on traditional processes of technology transfer, the work of the centre has been focused on a model of shared knowledge and co-creation. Sweden does not see itself - and does not see Brazil - as a country that came only to sell technology or knowledge. The focus of the cooperation is to combine the strengthens of each country and their complementarities. Therefore, the projects have sought to advance in areas where either Sweden or Brazil are a reference and have common interests, such as defense and security, transport and logistics, sustainable energy, and urban planning.
The funds raised are directed to five structuring programs: Science without Borders; Microgrid Cluster; Collabora Demonstrator; Polynol, and Transport and Security Arena. All those projects have the support of both governments, as well as of major companies that embraced the initiatives, which shows the extent and scale of a short, but intense, period of work.
In the case of Science without Borders, for instance, since September nine high level researchers were selected to go to Sweden and work on strategic areas. New calls are going to be launched, one of them exclusively directed to the Armed Forces. Moreover, CISB articulates with Brazilian companies that have independently joined the program to send their candidates to Sweden. CISB aims to expand the potential of the program connecting Brazilian researchers not only to academic organizations, but also to innovation projects in partnership with the local industry.
The Microgrid project was approved thorough calls regulated by the Brazilian Energy Agency, Aneel, and the Sweden’s Innovation Agency, VINNOVA, aiming at consolidating an international network of reference entitled ‘Sustainable Urban Smart Grids’. In the case of Collabora, Brazil follows the Swedish successful initiative in the creation of a demonstrator and visualization environment for the development and integration of solutions for defense and civil security, involving 17 partners from different Brazilian states, Sweden and South Africa. Polynol aims to facilitate the large-scale production of cellulosic bioethanol from the collaboration between paper and pulp, and sugarcane industry, as well as between producers and users. Finally, the Transport and Security Arena represents the formalization of the partnership with the Lindholmem Science Park in November 2011 to extend to Brazilian partner the so-called “arenas” programs in Sweden.
The dimensions of the bilateral work could also be seen by the size and quality of the network of partnerships. It is increasingly clear that the creation and structuring of an active network demands the leadership of an intermediary organization oriented to challenges, with expertise in innovation management and able to articulate and engage actors. Currently, the centre has 11 support members: five companies, three research institutions and three universities; besides the partnership in projects with 70 other Brazilian and Swedish entities and an active network of 3,200 people.
The results of the first 18 months of CISB operation confirm the potential and interests of the Brazil-Sweden cooperation for innovation. However, the road is still long and challenging. The main lesson learnt so far is that the commitment of resources made by partners and the entrepreneurial spirit guided by good innovation management practices are what make the difference for a project to advance or stagnate.
It is possible - and desirable - that soon networks and arenas will be well established and independent of an active intermediation of CISB to keep working and furthering their activities. Nevertheless, while they are recent and depend on a leadership, it is necessary to continue working for the effective articulation of the triple helix – governments, businesses and universities – with a focus on well-established challenges, deadlines and goals for cooperation.
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BRAZILIAN NEWS
Raupp and Swedish Minister discuss the expansion of partnership in innovation
Brazil and Sweden plan to strengthen their ties in innovation. The present and future of the bilateral partnership defined the framework of the discussions between the Brazilian Minister of Science, Tecnhology and Innovation, Marco Antonio Raupp, and the Swedish Minister of Defense, Karin Enström during a meeting in Brasilia.
On the occasion, Raupp emphasized the strong industry of the Nordic country, as well as the possibilities of working together. “We see many opportunities ahead”, he noted. For the Minister, “the first steps were important, but I don’t see any difficulties to strengthen our efforts. Innovation is our challenge at the moment,” he said.
For the first time in Brazil, Karin said that the focus of the Swedish mission - which included representatives from government and industry – is to discuss ways to expand the partnership. “Historically, we have a long path of cooperation in technology and innovation. To become competitive, we will work together”, she added.
Inaugurated in 2001, in São Bernardo do Campo, in São Paulo, the Swedish-Brazilian Research and Innovation Centre (CISB) aims at identifying, developing and supporting high technology projects. “It is a good starting point and an opportunity to work together in specific areas, such as telecommunications, spatial technology and defense”, said the Secretary of Technological Development and Innovation (Setec/MCTI), Alvaro Prata.
According to the Secretary – who was in Sweden in August this year, together with the vice-president Michel Temer – the cooperation is strategic from the innovation and industry perspective. “Even if they are only 9 million inhabitants, they make a gigantic work related to technology, with many competitive companies around the world,” said Prata. “There, government, industry and society work together for innovation. It is a great opportunity for us,” he concluded.
Students’ exchange
Right at the opening of the meeting, Raupp asked for support to improve Swedish participation at the Science without Borders (SwB) program. To date, 54 scholarships were awarded, of which 40 are already being used by Brazilian students in Sweden. “Please, participate”, asked the Minister. “When students come back to Brazil, the government’s preference is that they will work at the industry and not for the government”.
The Swedish Ambassador in Brazil, Magnus Robach mentioned the last public call of the Coordination for the Improvement of High Level Personnel (Capes/MEC) for the program in collaboration with the International Program Office (IPO) in Sweden. Registrations can be made through the portal of SwF until January 14.
In March this year, the National Council for Technological Development (CNPq/MCTI) and CISB signed an agreement for 100 scholarships for PhD, postdoctoral studies and Senior Researcher as part of the program. Saab, Swedish company in the area of Security and Defense, collaborates with the initiative.
This meeting was attended by the Chairperson of the Administrative Board of Saab, Marcus Wallenberg, and the main executive of the company, Håkan Buskhe. The Head of the International Affairs Advisory of MCTI, Ambassador Carmen Moura was also present and recalled the discussions at the 5th Open Innovation Seminar – event co-organized by CISB, from 12 to 14th November, in Sao Paulo.
Source: http://www.mcti.gov.br/index.php/content/view/344062.html
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SWEDISH NEWS
Joint Announcement Brazil-Sweden/Stockholm
On the occasion of the meeting between the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antônio de Aguiar Patriota , and the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt
The Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt, and the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antnio de Aguiar Patriota met in Stockholm in August. Both welcomed the intensification of bilateral ties and mapped the main areas of cooperation. Both sides pledged to develop a stronger relationship on foreign policy issues.
Science, Technology, Innovation and Education
Brazil and Sweden highlighted the deepening of cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation based on the agreement of Cooperation of High Technology Industries, signed in 2009. They welcomed the fruitful cooperation between the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) and the Sweden’s Innovation Agency (VINNOVA). They have highlighted the importance of the Swedish-Brazilian Research and Innovation Centre (CISB), inaugurated in 2011, with its headquarters in São Bernardo do Campo, and the Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg, as channels of creative collaboration.
Both sides recognized the ambition and vision of the “Science without Borders” program. The Swedish Government has expressed its strong commitment to participate in the program of academic mobility in order to accommodate a significant number of Brazilian students and researchers in institutions of advanced education and research in Sweden, as expressed in the Letter of Intentions signed during the visit of the Brazilian Vice-President Michel Temer to Sweden, in August this year.
Renewable energies
Recognizing the important role of biofuels in the promotion of sustainable development, once it combines environmental, social and economic benefits, Brazil and Sweden stressed the role of bilateral cooperation in the areas of renewable energies within the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Area of Bioenergy - biofuels included - in 2007.
Environment and Sustainable Development
Ministers celebrated the progress made at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Rio de Janeiro in June this year, and highlighted the importance of the results of the Conference, including the launch of the process for the establishment of the Objectives of Sustainable Development, and the creation of the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development. They reaffirmed the contribution of Rio+20 to strengthen multilateralism and the relevance of its results as a conceptual and political basis for a new plan of action for Sustainable Development in the 21st century. Patriota expressed to Minister Bildt the satisfaction of the Brazilian government with the high level participation of Sweden at the Conference.
Brazil and Sweden stressed the great potential of bilateral cooperation in the areas of Environment and Sustainable Development and welcomed the signature of the Letter of Intentions on Cooperation on Environment Protection during Rio+20.
Cooperation in Defense
Brazil and Sweden have shown their intentions to increase the cooperation in the area of defense and strengthen the partnership between the two countries. Advanced technology, innovation and industrial development are important aspects of this cooperation. Ministers welcomed the deepening of the cooperation agreed under the current Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Defense Related Topics.
Source: http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/sala-de-imprensa/notas-a-imprensa/comunicado-conjunto-por-ocasiao-do-encontro-entre-o-senhor-ministro-das-relacoes-exteriores-e-o-ministro-dos-negocios-estrangeiros-da-suecia-carl-bildt
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