MaRS and Stockholm Science City Deepen Canada-Sweden Innovation Ties
PARTNERSHIP WILL LEAD TO SHARING OF COMMERCIALIZATION BEST PRACTICES
Toronto, ON, November 13, 2006 -- MaRS recently signed a Letter of Intent with the Stockholm Science City, an initiative that links of Europe’s most distinguished research universities - the Karolinska Institutet, the Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University – with the City of Stockholm and its surrounding county. Launched in 1999, the project will leverage the universities and associated research and teaching hospitals within one of the European Union’s most research-intensive region.
“This agreement will connect MaRS to the heart of one of Europe’s most innovative economies, and create multiple opportunities to share best practices and commercialization knowledge,” said Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of MaRS. “As such, we’re excited to build a comprehensive partnership with SSC and its constituents.”
In Canada for a royal visit, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden presided over the official signing ceremony and reception at MaRS, and stressed the importance of closer ties between their country and Canada.
MaRS and SSC are already exploring a number of shared events, from an annual meeting which alternates between Stockholm and Toronto, to joint participation in strategic discussions and forums with the OECD and other key global innovation stakeholders, to bringing together regional groups to engage under a single collaborative umbrella. MaRS and SSC will also work to broker new and expanded partnerships between researchers and entrepreneurs in their respective regions.
ABOUT STOCKHOLM CITY
Stockholm Science City (www.stockholmsciencecity.com) is a new urban development being created on the inner perimeter of Stockholm City and designed to an internationally attractive environment for bio-scientific research, innovation and commercialization. SSC is a joint initiative by three of Sweden’s most prestigious universities, Karolinska Institutet (KI), the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Stockholm University. Its objective is to create a new community that attracts people, catalyses investments and supports the life science sector through the creation of a completely new townscape.ABOUT MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (www.marsdd.com) is a not-for-profit corporation founded by leaders from the business and public sectors, to improve commercial outcomes from Canada’s foundation of science and technology innovation. MaRS connects and fosters collaboration between the communities of science, business and capital through co-location in the MaRS Centre and more broadly through catalytic programs, structured networks and the MaRS web portal.CONTACT INFORMATION
Linda Quattrin416-673-8104
lquattrin@marsdd.com
MaRS FACTS
MaRS is part of many networks and consortia, but it did not emanate from any pre-existing partnership. MaRS is a new and autonomous entity.
MaRS BLOG
- Corn Flakes: A bygone luxury of nationalism?
- Is design thinking the key to successful innovation?
- You probably have a better chance of running into Polkaroo than a female tech startup CEO