Åbo Akademi and Meyer Turku Deepen Green Transition Cooperation
The long-standing cooperation between Åbo Akademi and Meyer Turku has been further strengthened with the signing of a partnership agreement.
The agreement period is five years and the focus lies initially on Åbo Akademi's Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology and Meyer Turku's Business Finland funded green transition program NEcOLEAP. An important form of practical cooperation will be the "green transition lab", a shared workspace to be established on the Åbo Akademi campus, which supports the interaction between researchers and industry. The presence of researchers at the shipyard in Perno will also be increased within the framework of joint projects.
A long-term goal is also to create interdisciplinary strategic cooperation between several different faculties of Åbo Akademi and Meyer Turku. The partnership agreement also includes a sponsored professorship, doctoral student positions and a range of courses adapted for lifelong learning in the shipbuilding industry.
“To support the ambitious goals in the agreement, we will initially focus on appointing the professorship in sustainability that Meyer finances with a particular focus on process technology, energy technology and industrial engineering and management. This is a very significant and highly valued collaboration for us,” says Kim Wikström, professor of industrial engineering and management at Åbo Akademi.
“We are very satisfied with this agreement, which will bring our company’s and Åbo Akademi’s scientific expertise even closer together. Technical fields naturally play a key role in shipbuilding, but our common goal, a more sustainable maritime industry, requires top experts also from many other disciplines. Turku as a thriving study and working region offers a strong framework for this. The now signed agreement also ensures that we will expand the interaction between the Academy and the business world,” says Tim Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.
"Partnerships between industry and universities is valuable. The cooperation with Meyer towards an important goal like the green transition is very meaningful. Increasing interdisciplinarity will bring us ever closer to our common goal," says Åbo Akademi Rector Mikael Lindfelt.