Mission organized by CISB in partnership with Saab AB and CNPq brought together leading Brazilian researchers and opened new opportunities for collaboration with Swedish institutions.

The Brazilian AI Researchers in Sweden 2026 mission, organized by CISB in partnership with Saab AB and CNPq, took place from September 7 to 11. The mission brought together a select group of Brazilian researchers for a scientific exchange program that included visits to universities and research centers, as well as meetings with different stakeholders across Sweden’s innovation ecosystem, with the aim of exploring opportunities for new collaborations.

For Edson Mintsu, one of the highlights of the mission was gaining first-hand insight into advances in quantum computing at Linköping University and Chalmers University of Technology. Although he does not work directly in the field, the experience sparked his interest in the possibilities it may offer for the future of computing.

“This is not a field I work in, but I see great beauty in rethinking what we understand as computing today,” says Edson.

The experience also drew his attention to how Swedish universities and researchers organize themselves to secure research funding and generate impactful outcomes. Another aspect he found particularly interesting was the relationship between research and the creation of new businesses, especially the fact that researchers retain ownership of patents arising from their research. According to Edson, this helps foster the creation of new ventures.

For Paulo Branco, the meetings held during the mission broadened his research perspectives and provided opportunities for in-depth discussions with researchers from different institutions, including Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Chalmers University of Technology, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), and Uppsala University. The experience also helped identify opportunities for joint work in areas related to his research.

“The experience broadened my research perspectives, provided opportunities for exchanges with researchers in Sweden, and helped identify opportunities for joint work,” says Paulo.

Among the opportunities identified were applications involving synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, change detection, target classification and tracking, as well as probabilistic methods and autonomous systems. The discussions held during the mission laid the groundwork for further developing these connections and identifying new opportunities for collaborative research.

For Américo Cunha Jr., the diversity of the fields and institutions visited was key to broadening his perspective on potential collaborations. Interactions with researchers from different disciplines allowed him to identify opportunities that had not initially been among his potential areas of collaboration.

“One of the greatest strengths of the experience was precisely the interaction with researchers from different fields, which ultimately revealed collaboration opportunities I had not initially considered,” explains Américo.

During the mission, Américo also participated in the Sweden–Brazil Research & Innovation Conference in Life Science & Health at Karolinska Institutet and visited institutions including KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Uppsala University, and Chalmers University of Technology. The activities provided opportunities to explore connections between applied mathematics, scientific computing, artificial intelligence, and engineering, as well as potential applications in areas such as healthcare, life sciences, and fluid dynamics.

One of these connections has already led to a collaboration with professors at KTH focused on developing reduced-order models for turbulent flow simulations, with applications in wind energy and aerospace engineering. Américo plans to further develop the discussions initiated during the mission and explore new opportunities for joint projects, researcher and student exchanges, co-supervision, joint publications, and collaborative funding proposals.

For CISB, organizing this type of mission is one way to strengthen research networks connecting Brazil and Sweden and foster long-term, high-impact innovation.