Ingvar Carlsson, the former Social Democratic Prime Minister of Sweden, was recently appointed by Region Västra Götaland to coordinate the West Swedish system for research and development within life science.
Astra Zeneca is currently making major investments in West Sweden. The company recently closed down its operations in Lund and Charnwood in England and is concentrating parts of its operations in its Mölndal facility. Many researchers from Lund and the UK will relocate to Gothenburg.
- It is underestimated what a chance this is. It is clearly an area where Sweden should compete in the future, where the new jobs should be, says Ingvar Carlsson to GP.
And next time, it could be Mölndal and Gothenburg that lose to competition from India or China. That's why it is important for West Sweden to make sure that the region lives up to the needs of Astra Zeneca.
After meeting with the principals at Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg, as well as around 20 business leaders, Ingvar Carlsson is pleasantly surprised by the overall impression of West Sweden.
But he believes that the advantages of West Sweden must become better known by people outside the region. According to Ingvar Carlsson, Gothenburg is seen as a little boring and uninteresting. However, once here, the impression is different.
- I met a foreign business leader who loves it here. He had never dreamt it would be this good. It's everything from cultural offerings, to the schools and that his children don't have to be driven by car everywhere.
Astra Zeneca has made it clear that a functional everyday life is an important aspect when it comes to attracting foreign researchers.
- When people are moving here it is important that it works with English language schools and housing. And an incredibly important issue these days is that there are qualified jobs for the accompanying partner, says Ingvar Carlsson.
West Sweden also has to improve in showcasing its competency.
- You can't get closer to the forefront of research and development than these companies. But we are not good at talking about it.
It is also important that the different regions in Sweden dare to collaborate more, instead of viewing each other as competition.
- We have talent, but we are too small to be fighting among
ourselves, says Ingvar Carlsson to GP.
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