GU goes West

Early in March, a delegation from the University of Gothenburg visited five higher-education institutions in California. The visit was part of an initiative aimed at expanding the partnerships in North America.

it involved the Sireus project.

THE THREE-YEAR Sireus project started on February 1, 2022, with the aim of increasing collaboration between 12 Swedish higher-education institutions and American academia and businesses, says Deputy Vice-Chancellor Torbjörn Lundh.

– In Washington D.C. we had our first in-person meeting at management level. We were in contact with several American universities with whom we will discuss future cooperation and exchange programmes. And two delegations from the USA will soon visit Gothenburg. Representatives of the University of Texas San Antonio will be arriving on May 24, and colleagues from Washington State University will visit us on June 2.

Sweden and the USA have long had active collaborations, within academia as well as in business, Torbjörn Lundh points out.

– THE CULTURAL exchange between the countries is strong, and many Americans work for Swedish companies. American universities are world leaders within a number of fields, but Sweden also has a lot to offer. The Americans are often interested in Swedish politics, technology and environmental initiatives.

Students find other things appealing as well, not least in Gothenburg, and I am not just thinking of Death Metal.

THE SIREUS PROJECT involves creating a platform for talent mobility that will facilitate collaboration between researchers, students and businesses, says Hans Abelius, Unit Manager at the International Centre.

– The academic partnerships with American higher-education institutions are very important. But the collaboration with American industry is also significant, for example in finding internships for our students.

One side-effect of the Sireus partnership is that representatives from twelve Swedish universities have had the opportunity to meet, Torbjörn Lundh points out.

– It’s not very often that so many Swedish colleagues are able to gather at the same time in the same place. But of course it is a little paradoxical to go to the USA in order to meet colleagues from Uppsala or the Royal Institute of Technology.

SINCE LAST AUTUMN , there are new rules governing residence permits in Sweden. People from visa-free countries must present their passport in person at a Swedish embassy in order to obtain a permit for studying or working here. These new rules entail practical problems for both researchers and students, says Hans Abelius.

– But it would appear that the government has realised this and instructed the Migration Agency to facilitate passport controls. So hopefully, this will not lead to a decrease in American interest in Sweden.

Eva Lundgren

→ About Sireus:

SIREUS is a three-year partnership project between the Swedish Chambers of Commerce in the USA (SACC) and twelve Swedish highereducation institutions. The project aims to promote knowledge exchange within science, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as to improve mobility for students, interns and researchers between Sweden and the USA.

The quality of higher education and research will be strengthened through:

Increasing the number of students, interns and researchers who participate in exchange programmes between Sweden and the USA

Increasing the knowledge exchange through new and stronger partnership projects within research and innovation

Strengthening Sweden’s appeal as a destination for studies, research and internship.

The following higher-education institutions are part of the project: Chalmers, Jönköping University, Karolinska Institutet, the Royal Institute of Technology, the Linnnaeus University, Luleå University of Technology, Mid Sweden University, as well as the universities in Gothenburg, Linköping, Lund, Mälardalen and Uppsala.