Södertörn University Invests in Social Innovation for Youth in Flemingsberg
Södertörn University has announced that they have been granted funding from the Swedish ESF Council to establish a competence center for social innovation. Flemingsberg continues its development as an innovation hub as researchers, students, and various stakeholders engage in efforts to combat social and economic vulnerability among young people in Södertörn.
Flemingsberg has long been regarded as a competitive innovation environment, blending higher education, research, knowledge-intensive companies, healthcare, and a major urban development project. The establishment of a competence center for social innovation adds another tool to Flemingsberg’s innovation toolkit by supporting new innovation-focused initiatives.
“The aim of the project is to create a regional platform for cross-sectoral collaboration and innovative co-creation. The project will focus on combating social and economic vulnerability among young people in Södertörn through practical, cross-sectoral collaboration. We hope to develop and implement methods that can be disseminated within the region and even to other parts of the country,” says Johanna Tollbäck, Head of External Relations at Södertörn University.
Innovation Hub Strengthens Urban Development
The project will be led by Södertörn University in partnership with organizations such as SE Forum, Reach for Change, and Changers Hub over a three-year period. It has been awarded approximately SEK 8.7 million in ESF funding, supplemented by public co-financing to a total of SEK 9.2 million. The physical location for the project will be Innovation Station at Södertörn University—a hub for innovation, coworking, and cross-sector collaboration focusing on challenge-driven innovation.
“Flemingsberg is currently the site of one of Sweden’s largest urban development projects, where a competence center for social innovation can contribute to local and urban development with a focus on social and economic vulnerability in the area. Moreover, this initiative will create even better conditions for entrepreneurs and startups in social innovation to take their ideas to the next level,” says Johnny Högberg, CEO of the Flemingsberg Science Foundation.
Partnerships That Make a Difference
The initiative involves several stakeholders and will be run as a partnership between Södertörn University, SE Forum, Reach for Change, Changers Hub, and Fabege, in collaboration with Flemingsberg Science, municipalities in Södertörn, and Huddinge Municipality.
“At the Flemingsberg Science Foundation, we are delighted to be a collaboration partner and to have had the opportunity to participate in the application. This is exactly what Flemingsberg needs to broaden its innovation capacity and make a real difference—for both individuals and society,” concludes Johnny Högberg.
The Swedish ESF Council (The Council for the European Social Fund in Sweden) is the authority responsible for managing the European Social Fund. The European Social Fund+ (ESF+) is a tool used by the EU to create opportunities for developing regions, individuals, organizations, and businesses across Sweden. ESF+ comprises six program areas where local, regional, and national actors can apply for funding to run projects that contribute to an inclusive labor market.
Test your business idea: Flemingsberg Science Award Startup open for applications
STARTUP is a competition for startups with a clear connection to Flemingsberg, either as students, residents or otherwise active in the area. All ideas are welcome to participate in STARTUP as long as you compete with your own idea and the turnover and external equity is below SEK 1,000,000 at the time you submit to the competition. After that, we of course welcome you to continue working with the business idea, sales and any investments.
Science Week: Innovative arenas create collaboration for the city of the future
Stockholm is growing and we want a smart city with knowledge-intensive industry that is sustainable. In a panel discussion during Science Week on February 1, we discuss how innovative neutral arenas are central to the development of the smart and knowledge-intensive city.
Our Sound Space – soundscapes in cities
Don’t miss the opportunity to experience an interactive sound installation at the same time as you contribute to research that improves the future of urban planning.
The Our Sound Space installation has now opened at Neo in Flemingsberg, which offers visitors the opportunity to use their smartphones to experiment with different sound environments and explore with soundscapes.
Our Sound Space is part of the Planning for Youth research project that aims to study methods and tools for meaningful participation of the younger demographic groups in participatory planning and placemaking. Romina Rodela is Docent at Södertörn University and project leader for the initiative. ““Historically, children and young people have not been very central in spatial planning. In our project, we want to explore new methods which are better able to capture their voice in spatial planning and placemaking,” says Rodela.
In this case, you use your smartphone to listen to how a new residential area will sound, for example. Which sounds are perceived as positive and which sound environments are less attractive? The idea is to give the planners of the future better tools to include children, young people and people with impaired vision or other functional variations in the planning stages of such projects. “We’ll use Our Sound Space to gather opinions from different groups to establish how effective a tool like this can be. At the same time, the installation is open to all to try out and comment on,” says Rodela. The software itself is developed by researcher Maurizio Goina at KTH and may in future be shared with planners, construction companies and architects.
Mattias Lindén is responsible for Hemsö’s properties in Flemingsberg and believes that installations such as Our Sound Space have the potential to improve the image of the area. “We’re sitting on an underused resource. In courtyards and along walkways there are areas that could be used for temporary art exhibitions – opportunities for as yet undiscovered artists to gain some exposure. We’ve just decided to support the Our Sound Space project. Imagine if people in the future will associate Flemingsberg with exuberant creativity, a place where you experience new and fresh ideas. Our Sound Space can be a small step in that direction,” says Lindén, Senior Property Manager at Hemsö. Our Sound Space runs until 7th March, while the research project will continue for another two years.
Let Flemingsberg Innovation Community elevate your idea
The Flemingsberg Innovation Community is a meeting place that brings together a range of organisations that provide various types of innovation support and assistance. Among them is Sting, which since its inception in 2002, has guided hundreds of startup companies to success.
