Techsperts of A Society - Anders Dalén, Future Mobility

International projects, collaborations and innovations are crucial for Sweden’s future competitiveness. Not only for Sweden as a leading knowledge nation, but also for sustainable development globally.

 

To look at an example of this issue, we have met one of our tech experts at A Society – Anders Dalén, who has been working with Future Mobility for 11 months. He is currently leading the initiative in the US with the aim of accelerating innovation in mobility. The initiative has already led to the development and improvement of concrete innovation collaborations between Sweden and the US, with Hans Pohl leading the work on the Swedish side. Future Mobility is led by Lindholmen Science Park and funded by Sweden’s innovation authority Vinnova.

 

We took the opportunity to ask Anders a few questions to gain a deeper insight into this important work. Anders – tell us what you are working on in the US?

– I lead the Future Mobility initiative in the USA and you could say that my ultimate task is to act as a “matchmaker” and be a door opener for innovation collaborations between the USA and Sweden as well as being a strategic advisor to the ideas and initiatives that emerge. I connect people who have an idea and make sure that they meet someone in my network or the networks of others to be an enabler for innovation moving forward. I meet and talk to everything from American researchers and potential financiers to various companies or startups that are working to change the mobility industry.

 

– I simply create a “launch pad” so that initiatives can get their wings, a bit like a puzzle where it is important to have a feel for the different roles and that you have good colleagues by your side of course. I work closely with Hans Pohl, who is the program manager in Sweden.

 

Future mobility that Anders is working on has already led to the development and improvement of concrete innovation collaborations between Sweden and the USA.

 

Do you have any examples of anything concrete you have done?

– At the moment, I can mention the projects that received funding last September, where Swedes have already started to collaborate with Americans to achieve success: AW Aware, Transit Summit and Shared standards for future mobility.

 

Why is this important for Sweden?

– We are working strategically and long-term on how Sweden can better collaborate with international players to accommodate innovation that supports development in the right direction.

 

– The greater value is of course sustainability and the need for this type of project comes from the fact that the biggest bottleneck everywhere is resources. We live in a time where we are increasingly automating, but the greatest value in this type of issue is of course human capital and the right skills.

 

What is your hope for Future Mobility?

– My hope is that financiers in Sweden will open their eyes to the opportunity with Future Mobility and get in touch to understand what concrete opportunities they can build into their programs. The value is tailwinds in the sails of Swedish research where we get help with skills/perspectives, evaluation and scaling up.

 

We also asked Filip Rosander, CEO A Society US, what he thought about working with Anders and Future Mobility. Here’s what he said:

– It’s been fantastic to follow the work with Future Mobility and that we at A Society have had the opportunity to support Anders in the process, both in terms of employment and relocation. We are passionate about creating opportunities for all techsperts and hope that initiatives like these will open the eyes of more people who want to take on assignments in the US.