Linköping and Enschede connect in Smart City topics

Linköping’s initiative

This visit fits inthe long standing relationship between Linköping and Twente. This time, thevisit was initiated by students of Linköping University and a delegation of SciencePark Mjärdevi. The students were eager to learn more about how we in Twentework together with companies and what roles students play in this cooperation. TheStudent Union & University Innovation Fellows were happy to host theLinköping students. 

Scientific cooperation

The cooperation inlarge European Research projects takes a major part in the Enschede-Linköpingrelationship. Currently nine projects are active. One of the examples is theSHERPA project, in which ground-aerial robots help improve rescuing activitiesin Alpine environments. Another project is the SATORI project, in whichphilosophers work together to assess the ethical impact of research andinnovation.

Science for regional impact

The University ofTwente and Linköping University also work together in the European Consortiumof Innovative Universities (ECIU). Recently the project called RUNIN ‘The Roleof Universities in Innovation and Regional Development’ started, funded with3.7 Million Euro by the EU. Seven universities (6 ECIU universities) and nineregional development organizations are partners (including Regio Twente), and atotal of seven European countries.

This project fits theambition of ECIU perfectly: being the leading international consortium ofresearch intensive universities, with collective emphasis on innovation,creativity and societal impact, driving the development of a knowledge-basedeconomy.

Working together towards smart future cities

The twomunicipalities of Linkoping and Enschede took part in the program. Linköpingwas represented by Niklas Nåbo (Vice Mayor) and Christian Gustavsson, andEnschede was represented by Eelco Eerenberg (Vice Mayor), Toon Bom, RichardKokhuis, and Dayenne Smolders. In the public administration domain werestriking similarities between the cities: a great interest for Smart Cityrelated topics, such as mobility, sustainable energy, waste management,housing, etc.

 In the near futurecooperation is explored in the context of EUROCITIES, in which NetwerkstadTwente and Linköping take part. Inspired by earlier organized hackathons andcreathons, the starting point is to use these kinds of events to developpractical collaborative programs. Both Enschede and Linköping have a closerelationship with Palo Alto, USA, and further international collaborations willbe explored.

Other highlightsduring the day were the site visits to LOPES Rehab Robot, the ExperimentalCenter for Technical Medicine (ECTM), and spin-off companies like SciSports,Xsens and Demcon. 

Innovation in Europe

The Mjärdevi science park in Linköping supported the student initiativefor a visit and asked Novel-T (KennisparkTwente) toorganise a visit. The relationship between these two organizations results fromthe ECIU European Consortium ofInnovative Universities.

Contact

Please contact Wilbert Pontenagel (Novel-T / University of Twente) or Toon Bom (Gemeente Enschede) for further information.