West Swedish students on a global mission

Three teams on a mission. Six students from three West Swedish universities have been chosen to travel the world this summer, on a special assignment from the West Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The mission is to come back with the best ideas in the world, and in this way contribute to growth and belief in the future in West Sweden.

100 university students competed to take part in the Chamber's Mission Possible project. Three teams consisting of two students each were elected to travel the world.

Jenny Hultén and Ivar Huntington from the University of Gothenburg will visit Detroit and Sao Bernardo in Brazil to look at how dependent West Sweden really is on its heavy industry. What happens when these industries are threatened by close-down?

- We are searching for alternative areas of employment. How can culture and other creative sectors find their place in these abandoned areas? says Ivar Huntington in a statement from the Chamber.

Magnus Lüttkens and Axel Darvik study at Chalmers and will visit Istanbul and Austin in Texas. Their focus is on what West Sweden can learn from two of the world's fastest growing industry and trade regions. Culture in cooperation with the business sector has proved a well-functioning recipe in Austin, a city of similar size to Gothenburg. "Keep Austin weird" is a slogan the city uses to promote small local businesses, sub-cultures and odd personalities.

- We want to look closer at this and see if it is something that Gothenburg could take on, says Magnus Lüttkens.

Anders Nordkvist and Jessica Johansson from the University of Borås will take a closer look at the ready-made clothing and fashion industry in Italy and South Asia. Their main question is; quality or quantity? - the road to growth for West Swedish textile industry.

- We want to learn what they have done right and bring that knowledge back home to Borås. With the right knowledge, everything is possible. Proof of this is Loro Piana in the city of Trivero. Loro Piana is the world's largest wool producer. And there are many other producers in the region that are proof of that quality has not died out, and they have not moved their production to low-income countries, says Jessica.

The first team will leave Sweden in June. All teams can be followed through social media and on the West Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Industry's website.