Business delegation accompanying the Swedish royal couple were shown the UT's influential teaching and research areas and health technology

On 4 May, a Swedish business delegation visited the Estonian Biobank and the Delta Centre of the University of Tartu. The meeting aimed to foster new business contacts in the field of health technology and to introduce the university's influential teaching and research areas. 

The business delegation included representatives from Swedish health technology companies such as AstraZeneca, Asker Healthcare Group and others. 

According to Mart Maasik, Head of Entrepreneurship of the University of Tartu, we can be proud of the university's great research potential. "Sweden's leaders in health technology have shown that global success is ensured by cross-disciplinary collaboration as well as collaboration between researchers and businesses. This visit is a good opportunity for our research-intensive companies to forge international business connections and create joint growth opportunities with the Swedes, with whom we share a similar business culture," said Maasik before the visit. 

The visit started with a one-hour tour of the biobank, which, with its rich dataset, offers new opportunities for companies to create healthcare services and products in the future. The business delegation then moved to the Delta Centre, where Estonian research-intensive companies were showcased, and the future of health technology was discussed. 

After a joint lunch, the business delegation joined King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and the official delegation for a tour of the Delta Centre. 

The King and the accompanying delegations were shown 

• the activities of the Institute of Computer Science and the Estonian Biobank in developing personalised medicine; 
• the Intelligent Materials and Systems Lab of the Institute of Technology, developing robots that interact with humans (e.g. hospital robots and robots used in industrial production facilities); 
• the Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality Lab of the Institute of Computer Science, where teaching and research are carried out to provide students with education in computer graphics, video game design and augmented reality; 
• activities of Tartu Science Park in supporting start-up businesses; 
• the SEB Innovation Centre that creates cooperation opportunities between the university and entrepreneurs; 
• the opportunities to support businesses developing products and services related to digital governance, health data and cybersecurity offered by the Creative Destruction Lab, the international mentoring programme for research and technology-based start-ups. 

The business delegation's visit ended with a concluding discussion between representatives of Enterprise Estonia and Business Sweden. 

The visit of the business delegation was part of the state visit of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden hosted by President Alar Karis. 

Find more to read:

• King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden visited the university
• Rector: the world of values grounded on university education is the strongest and the most durable shield
• Rector Toomas Asser and Professor Raul Eamets received the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star