Sweden Canada Innovation Initiative 2021

Purpose and goal:

The purpose of the project is to give Swedish companies and organizations the opportunity to use SCII´s platform to market, develop and support collaborative projects between Canada and Sweden. This is executed by holding regular Executive Innovation Team meetings between participants, as well as organizing a physical conference in 2022; Sweden Canada Innovations Days which took place between September 21-23 in Toronto.

Expected results and effects:

There were 6 EIT meetings per year giving the companies the opportunity to present their activities and presentations about projects and activities such as Sweden Innovation Days, Cyber Security round-table discussion, Sweden Canada Innovation meeting.

In 2022, the Sweden Canada Innovation Days took place on September 21-23 in Toronto. Over 130 people participated, of which 50 came from Sweden and 11 Swedish start-ups. Over 24 speakers were on the program and both ambassadors participated with opening speeches. There was great interest among both Swedish and Canadian actors.

Approach and implementation:

Business Sweden in Canada acts as project manager for the Sweden Canada Innovation Initiative. As an additional resource, Mark Henderson is used as an external consultant, he chairs all EIT meetings and is an advisor to the program.

Before Sweden Canada Innovation Days, "working groups" were created for both the mining sector and smart industry, where experts from both countries helped to recruit speakers, determine topics and focus. A large network of key players in these two industries was created both from industry, academia and government.