The Research Institutes of Sweden and the Japan Innovation Network has now signed an agreement on Innovation Collaboration

©Hanna Brasar

The agreement includes professionalisation of Innovation Management for a structured approach for innovation processes, and connecting the Swedish and Japanese innovation systems, engaging academia, research institutes and industry in addressing challenges for society and industry, and bringing forward innovative solutions.

The signing ceremony was organised by the Office of Science and Innovation (OSI) and hosted by Ambassador Pereric Högberg at his Residence, with JIN CEO Hiro Nishiguchi attending physically, and RISE CEO Pia Sandvik online. Business Sweden Tokyo also attended, as well as several RISE colleagues online, and the Japanese Embassy in Stockholm.

After the signing, discussions continued between all the participants in online rooms around expectations and implementation of the agreement. Clear was that the agreement has high potential for bringing our countries closer together in real innovation collaboration!

The signing ceremony event also illustrated a small step for the Embassy into Society 5.0, connecting the physical world with cyberspace, where the set-up gave a good feeling of physical presence from the distant participants, and informal discussions could be held similar to a pre-pandemic situation.

The Embassy and Team Sweden now looks forward to future outcomes of this new collaboration, and joint Swedish-Japanese innovations for SDGs, societal challenges and industry!