So, summer is upon us and holidays are rapidly approaching. We at SIP STRIM would like to wish you a wonderful summer. But before we dig our toes into the grass, we will be attending Almedalen for a couple of days, and we hope to see you there. Amongst other things, SIP STRIM will take part in two panels focusing on the role of mining in a green transition, and how the industry is can increase knowledge and understanding of the significance of minerals and metals in the development of society. These are two important issues that we all need to help highlight.
The first half of 2019 passed incredibly quickly. This can be partly due to the fact that the programme office has been short staffed, but also because we have managed to fulfil quite a number of tasks important to the industry. As we have previously stated, we are undergoing a six-year evaluation. We have worked a great deal on internationalisation, completed the 15th Bergforsk- och STRIMdagarna, and we have concluded the extensive work of updating the strategic research and innovation roadmap for the industry. Presented in mid-May, the roadmap is an effort that the entire industry has gathered around.
A lot has also been happening on the project front. At the beginning of the year, we approved the funding of thirteen new projects and we held our annual innovation idea competition, both with gratifying results, since the idea competition attracted a record number of applications, and the new projects brought us in the right heading for a gender-equal project portfolio. In May, we opened our annual broad call for launching more projects that can strengthen the competitiveness of the industry, and, at the same time, we granted three new strategic projects that fill the gaps we identified.
Soon, though, we till take a holiday. But we look forward to the autumn when we will be able to welcome two new colleagues to the programme office. But we’ll tell you more about that later…
Have a great summer!
– from Jenny, Matz and Terese
