The exchange between Sweden and Brazil continues to grow. Most recently, the city of Curitiba and KTH agreed to deepen their cooperation in sustainable city planning.
The city of Curitiba is undergoing rapid growth; and its electrified mass transit system is expanding through collaboration with KTH.
“With the help of new technologies, we can be part of creating sustainable neighborhoods here,” says Semida Silveira, Professor of Energy Technology at KTH and responsible for the cooperation in Brazil.
The focus of the Curitiba cooperation is to develop electrified mass transport along a wide stretch of road that was opened in the city, and to bring cutting edge technologies such as hybrid buses.
“To get energy thinking into urban planning is far from obvious,” Silveira says. “KTH can play an important role here.”
Semida Silveira, a professor of energy technology. (Photo: Christer Gummeson)
Urban planning traditionally focuses on land use, transportation and mobility. Curitiba is somewhat larger than Stockholm with about 1.7 million inhabitants. The city already has a working concept for transportation; but the addition of the new road will add more land to the city. Waste management could also become a relevant part of the cooperation as the city grows and expands.
“I think this is just the beginning of a long history when it comes to our cooperation in both industry and academia, and municipalities in Brazil,” says Silveira , who just returned from there.
The visit culminated in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between KTH and the city of Curitiba.
“It is really exciting. Now we have a platform for a range of interdisciplinary projects to be filled with content.”
KTH has previously held research collaborations on both a domestic and European basis, in areas such as energy, materials and biotechnology. Swedish companies have also been active in the country.
“Now there is a new wave researchers and companies who are interested in sharing, she says.
Jill Klackenberg
Exchange on many levels
From November 7 to 14, KTH participated in various events in Brazil to promote Swedish research and enhance the exchange between countries.
One of these was a seminar, Swedish Excellence, which included a delegation from Sweden. The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, (IVA)delegation, which was also on site, included King Carl Gustaf of Sweden and representatives from both academia and Swedish industry.
Nobel Week Dialogue had a panel discussion and CISB (the Swedish - Brazilian Research Centre) held its annual meeting. Moreover KTH and seven other Swedish universities conducted a road show to recruit students to Sweden.
KTH & Brazil in brief:
Brazil is one of KTH's priority regions. KTH has student exchange agreements with five Brazilian universities and since the year 2011, as one of several Swedish universities, in a Swedish -Brazilian Research Centre (CISB) outside São Paulo. The center is intended as a catalyst for projects in industry, academia and the public sector in both countries.
Brazil also has an extensive scholarship program, Science Without Borders, which includes KTH. The program’s goal is to make it possible for more than 100,000 Brazilian students and researchers to have the opportunity to study at universities around the world, through 2014.
Brazil is both a growing research nation and market with stable political development. Many Swedish companies have a presence in the country and the need for engineers is high.
Prize to KTH student
A team from the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship (SSE) won first prize in an innovation competition held in São Paulo. The team, trained by KTH Professor Terrence Brown, consisted of KTH master’s student Max Mohammadhassan Mohammadi, KTH, and Glenn Bilby, from Stockholm’s University College of Arts, Crafts and Design.
The competition aims to bridge the gap between research and business.
