The University of Skövde has once again been selected as a Preferred Research Partner within the Volvo Group's Academic Partner Program. On 12 November 2024, Volvo Group and the University of Skövde signed a new agreement at ASSAR Industrial Innovation Arena. The agreement means that the collaboration between the University and Volvo Group is further strengthened in three selected research areas.
Tehseen Aslam and Anna Runnemalm, University of Skövde, with Rebecka Granqvist and Johan Ottosson, Volvo Group, at the ceremony.
The Volvo Academic Partner Program is a global collaboration initiative that Volvo has with selected universities worldwide. The program is divided into several categories, such as research, technology and talent acquisition, and aims to strengthen Volvo's innovative power through academic partnerships. The University of Skövde has been an important research and technology partner to Volvo for many years, and during the most recent agreement period the University has also become a talent partner, with responsibility for identifying and developing future competencies.
Fifteen Years of Successful Collaboration
In November 2024, Volvo Group and the University of Skövde will celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the university's affiliation with APP by signing a new agreement. In connection with the signing, the Volvo Group and the University showed several examples of the benefit the long-term collaboration has created. Benefit that can be seen in the form of education, research results, innovations and business development.
“Today we have seen how important collaboration between business and academia is to create social benefit. A good example is the joint project that studies and develops laser welding in electric motors. With the new agreement signed, Volvo Group and the University of Skövde will continue their excellent collaboration and together push forward with the green social transformation," says Anna Runnemalm, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Skövde.
Anna Runnemalm, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Skövde and Rebecka Granqvist, technology and quality manager within Volvo Group Trucks Operations signed the agreement.
The exchange of knowledge that is created within the selected research and innovation environments is important for the Volvo Group:
“The partnership between Volvo Group and the University of Skövde through the Volvo Academic Partner Program is a strategic collaboration that unites our unique strengths to promote innovation and secure the competence of the future. Through openness and close collaboration, we have been able to develop new technical solutions and joint training that strengthens both industry and academia - not only in Sweden, but on a global level," says Rebecka Granqvist, technology and quality manager within Volvo Group Trucks Operations.
ASSAR – where Industry Meets Academia
For many years, the University of Skövde has been a crucial partner for Volvo, especially in areas such as simulation, data management and ergonomics, including ergonomic simulation. The university has not only contributed with research efforts, but has also been an important recruitment base. The collaboration has, among other things, led to the creation of the ASSAR Industrial Innovation Arena – a platform where Volvo's research needs meet the University's academic competence. The University of Skövde is mainly responsible for ASSAR's research agenda and has played an active role in the management of the arena since it was founded.
Tehseen Aslam, Deputy Vice-Chancellor who is responsible for collaboration with trade and industry at the University of Skövde.
Research Quickly Put into Practice
The now signed agreement runs until 2029 and concerns the research areas Virtual manufacturing, Process Point Analysis and Humans in Manufacturing. An important purpose of the agreement is to create and maintain good contact routes between Volvo Group and the relevant research groups at the University of Skövde. Developed contact routes, for example, increase the possibility of starting joint research projects. It also means that results from the University's research can more quickly be put into practice in Volvo Group's operations.
Johan Ottosson, Volvo Group and Kent Salomonsson, The University of Skövde, spoke about how Skövde has become a strong competence center for battery development.
Simon Lidberg, an industrial PhD student at the University of Skövde, spoke about his research.
Former students Linnea Dahlborg och Johanna Jansson spoke about their Bachelor’s thesis “To Collaborate and Coexist with Robots in an Industrial setting: UX-based design guidelines for cobots in Industry 4.0 and 5.0”
Ann-Sophie Frej and Andrea Ekström, Volvo Group, spoke about life long learning at Volvo.
