Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)

01 Déc Generation Equation

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2021
What motivates young people to want to learn? What kind of knowledge creates meaning - both for the individual and for building a sustainable and democratic society? With Generation Equation we aim to investigate Swedish students' attitudes towards knowledge and learning, with a particular focus on science, mathematics and reading. Generation Equation is produced by IVA's Future Knowledge Society project, whose vision is a society where knowledge empowers people to build a better world for all. The report is based on both international and Swedish studies. It is divided into three main chapters: how enjoyable or interesting young people perceive learning to be; how they perceive their own abilities and situation, for example in relation to self-confidence and stress; and how they see the benefits of what they learn for the future. IVA concludes by identifying several themes and challenges where IVA finds a need for future discussion. One example is whether a broader perspective on possible educational and career paths for young people can be mobilised, in the light of society's major common challenges and rapid developments. The report is available in Swedish.
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01 Déc Agenda for sustainable water supply

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2021
Access to clean water is a challenge for sustainable development in Sweden as well as globally. IVA's Sustainable Water Supply project addresses the following issues related to water supply of freshwater in Sweden - climate change, water supply in urban environments, water cycles and water management. Ten areas where challenges to the common water resource exist in Sweden today are identified, including the lack of time perspective in planning, and managing water issues. Several keys to more effective water management and water supply follow, including the need for collaboration and synchronisation between more stakeholders going forward. IVA concludes with ten policy proposals on what should be done in Sweden to meet current and future water challenges, including developing knowledge and models on how climate change affects water resources, giving river basins a central role in planning, and initiating Water Plan 2045, a national long-term strategy for water resource management. The proposals are presented in a ten-point agenda - the Agenda for Sustainable Water Supply. The report is available in Swedish.
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01 Jan Skills shortage threatens Sweden’s competitiveness

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2021
Sweden is a country with many global and world-leading companies. Staying at the forefront of an accelerating green and digital transformation requires a strong commitment to research and development. With the R&D Barometer IVA is for the third consecutive year investigating what the Swedish research and development climate is like. The barometer is based on a questionnaire answered by 100 R&D managers in Swedish industry, ten of whom were interviewed in depth. Together, the companies in the survey have around 56,000 R&D employees, which corresponds to 74% of all R&D employees in Swedish industry.In summary, IVA's R&D Barometer 2021 shows that the Swedish R&D climate is good, but that it has gradually deteriorated since previous years' surveys. The business community continues to find that shortages of skill are the biggest threats to Swedish companies' R&D, while having employees with the right skill set is considered the most important factor for success. To strengthen the Swedish R&D climate, many executives see that the ability to recruit from abroad needs to be improved, and that tax policies should be adapted to attract foreign experts to come and stay in Sweden. In addition, cooperation between companies and universities needs to be strengthened. The report is available in Swedish.
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01 Jan How Sweden reaches its climate goals

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2020
In accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement the Swedish ambition is to become climate neutral by 2045. However, the investments that are made today are not enough - Sweden will not achieve its climate goals at the current rate of development. With the project Choices for the climate, IVA wants to contribute with a holistic perspective on the climate issue to help decision-makers weigh up different alternatives, while at the same time strengthening Swedish competitiveness. IVA focuses on the following questions: What technical measures are required on a system level, to meet the climate targets? How much more electricity and biomass are needed to replace fossil energy and fossil resources? And how should politics work to achieve the climate goals? The project's summary report, “How Sweden will reach its climate goals”, is based on other reports, studies and public statistics already published. Seven main strategies that IVA has identified for Sweden to achieve its climate goals are outlined, including the need for more international cooperation, the need to share and mitigate economic risks so that the necessary technology shifts can be made, and the need to ensure access to electricity and a secure electricity system. The report is available in Swedish.
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21 Oct Strategies for research prioritization – a comparison of six small to medium sized economies

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2009
The report is the result of a preliminary study conducted under the project “Prioritisation of Research and Innovation”, which was conducted during 2009 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA.
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21 Oct Innovation plan Sweden

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2011
– A basis for a Swedish innovation strategy INNOVATION FOR GROWTH – from talk to action The key to Sweden’s future prosperity is renewal – innovation. The objective of Innovation for Growth is to use concrete proposals and a broad-based dialogue to increase Sweden’s innovative power, enabling Sweden to become the world’s most attractive nation in which to live and thrive. Many nations today are rallying to address the issue of innovation. Innovation is an important part of the solution to the major societal challenges the world faces today; not least in a situation plagued by economic crisis and a lack of confidence in the political direction in Europe and the US. By developing innovation strategies, nations want to strengthen their comparative advantages to meet these challenges, while at the same time creating the right general conditions for growth in industry and the rest of society.
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21 Oct Strategic performance assessment for ESA’s MELiSSA Project

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA)
2011
The Micro Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) was first initiated by Claude Chipaux at Matra’s Space Branch in 1986 as a potential life support system project for the French Space Agency, CNES. An initial MELiSSA experiment was on board a Chinese Long March rocket in 1987. This two compartment flight experiment, utilising two bacterial strains producing and consuming CO2 and O2 respectively, led to MELiSSA’s first publication in 1988. MELiSSA is today tasked with creating a regenerative life support system with the following functions: black water and grey water treatment, urine treatment, other waste treatment (= overall waste recycling from astronauts), food production, oxygen production and water recycling (= overall consumption needs of astronauts). These functions are divided into engineering units, tested separately and then integrated and tested together on the ground. Individual units or parts thereof are being tested in spaceflight and there are plans to test the overall system in spaceflight in the 2030s.
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