Collaboration in focus at KTH FOOD’s first stakeholder meeting
The KTH FOOD centre held its first stakeholder workshop with partners including municipalities, business organisations, non-governmental organisations, foundations and research institutes. The aim of the workshop was to bring together relevant stakeholders and share views and expectations on how to collaborate with the centre in the coming years in order to create and share knowledge for healthy and sustainable food systems.
The goal of the day was to discuss and find common themes and areas for collaboration and to develop working methods to accelerate innovative thinking and projects among stakeholders. Openlab facilitators led the fast-paced process to identify needs and challenges and focus on priority areas to create collective knowledge and solutions that advance food systems sustainability.
“We believe that an open and active forum for stakeholders and KTH FOOD, where we can put our heads together, is essential for rapid action on knowledge co-creation, development of joint research proposals, and infrastructure sharing. Our common goal is to leverage our collective experience, knowledge and passion to realise the potential for sustainable food systems", says Francisco Vilaplana, Director of KTH FOOD.
Teamwork essential
During the workshop, representatives from Axfoundation, Boodla, ICA, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Orkla Foods Sweden, The City of Stockholm/Stockholm Business Region, Sweden Food Arena, Sweden Foodtech, Södertälje municipality/MatLust, Lantmännen and WWF identified challenges and potential areas for collaboration and discussed how to develop the group to maximise impact.
Stakeholders agreed that to achieve more and faster results there is a need to work together. Working together with researchers and students within circularity and valorisation of food waste, new business models, innovative production technologies, diversity and resilience, measuring sustainability, and relations between food and health as well as sharing of competence and knowledge between academia and industry were some of the identified benefits.
Student potential
There is also potential for cooperation within education and sharing of competences, explains Co-Director Rebecka Milestad.
“KTH has talented and hungry students whose expertise could add value to our stakeholders in the form of projects and internships. In turn, our stakeholders could enrich our perspectives through industrial doctoral students and adjunct professors.”
After the workshop, a lunch based on WWF One Planet Plate and mingle took place.