This is my third blog post in a series of blog posts from Innovative Sweden at Stanford University; a week-long event sponsored by the Swedish Institute.
Innovative Sweden is the first stop on a worldwide tour including Toronto, Washington DC, Rio de Janeiro and more.
Previous blog posts: Introduction, Day 1.
Silicon Valley is the innovative hotspot number 1, and today’s topic at Innovative Sweden was What key factors are necessary to create other hotspots? Sponsors were Vinnova – Sweden’s Innovation Agency, and Innovationbron, which focuses on turning research and innovation into business – who could be better suited?
Magnus Lundin from Swedish Incubators and Science Parks (SISP) told us about Kista Science City, which is home to almost 1,100 companies, 5,000 university students and 1,100 researchers within the IT and telecommunication sector (ICT). How cool!
Well… back to the question. A panel consisting of e.g. Carrie Walsh, Silicon Valley Bank and Tamara Carleton, Innovation Leadership Board LLC, concluded that some key factors needed to create hotspots elsewhere than in Silicon Valley are: a talented work force, service providers, and a sense of adventure.
I’ll end this blog post with a few well-said words by Professor Ingvar Sjoberg from Stockholm University discussing art and innovation:
“If you don’t do it, it doesn’t exist.”
-Anna
I’m tweeting from Innovative Sweden @herringbonefm. #InnovativeSweden
See my photos on Facebook.
Watch Innovative Sweden livestreamed via the Swedish Institute’s Bambuser channel.
