Collaboration
We aim to inspire the identification of new areas of research and development to collaborate in through horizon scanning, strategic needs analysis and dialogue meetings with various key stakeholders. The work is carried out within thematic areas
Over the years, ÅMA has been a driving force in finding innovative approaches to collaboration with industry and other external stakeholders. Examples of tools used in ÅMA activities and which are used continuously are Access Days, AIMday, thematic days and funding opportunities such as Verification for Collaboration (Verifiering för Samverkan, VFS) and funding for feasibility studies.
AIMday:
One question. One hour. Endless possibilities.
It was here, under the management of ÅMA that AIMday was created as an effective tool for collaboration between academia and external stakeholders. An AIMday Materials day has been held every year since 2008. AIMday stands for Academic Industry Meeting day. What makes AIMday a very special forum is the format of the meeting itself: the meeting agenda is based on defined challenges (strategic or operational) from external organisations. The challenges are expressed in the form of questions and submitted in advance, whereupon the university matches the challenges with the relevant academic expertise. The result is a day filled with workshops at which each question is discussed for one hour in small groups made up of organisational representatives and researchers. AIMday is now found all over the world and the tool is used in far-flung places, from Oxford, England to Manitoba, Canada. AIMday is a registered trademark owned by Uppsala University.
Theme days:
Identification. Inspiration. Innovation.
Theme days are half-day events that gather representatives of business, academia and government to discuss a topical issue related to materials science. The day may focus on themes such as materials challenges in renewable energy production, skills requirements for future engineers, business models for additive manufacturing or providing access to research infrastructure for industrial innovation. Theme days promote greater collaboration among various sectors, identification of opportunities for knowledge production and technical development, and inspiration to innovation.
Access day:
One theme. One half day. One seed for new ideas to collaborate around
An access day is a useful tool for inspiring collaboration between academia and external stakeholders. Many access days have been held over the years within various themes linked to ÅMA. A typical access day gathers stakeholders within a specific theme for a half-day meeting featuring inspiring presentations, panel discussions and networking. At access days, it is important to cover both the needs and challenges of industry and the latest on the research front. The outcome is an inspiring exchange of knowledge and networking that often result in new ideas to explore together.
Seed financing:
Feasibility studies and verification for collaboration
At present, the UU Innovation Partnership Office manages two categories of seed financing for the university that have been developed historically within the framework of ÅMA: feasibility studies and Verification for Collaboration (VFS). Funding for feasibility studies is available up to SEK 50,000 and for VFS up to SEK 300,000. Both seed funding programmes are aimed at enabling researchers to try collaborating with external stakeholders. Both forms of funding require matching co-funding. If you would like to know more, contact the UU Innovation Partnership Office at info-samverkan@uu.se.
Contact us
Are you active in research and have ideas for thematic areas that you would like to further develop within ÅMA? Or are you active in industry or another external organisation and have questions you would like to discuss with researchers at Uppsala University and other stakeholders? - Contact us!