Dr Sven-Thore Holm, Swedish Expert on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was on Wednesday 10 August 2011 Key Note Speaker on “How to Successfully Combine Innovation Creativity and Entrepreneurship” at the celebration of Indonesia’s 2011 National Awakening of Technology Day – HAKTEKNAS – at the Research and Technology Ministry’s Center for Research and Technology (Puspiptek) in Serpong, Banten.
Dr Sven Thore Holm gave his presentation in front of the Minister, H E Suharna Surapranata, sharing with him and the audience Sweden’s successful experience in becoming one of the world’s leading research nations and one of the world’s top innovative countries.
Following the successful lecture, Dr Sven-Thore Holm accepted to give one more lecture at the Universitas Indonesia, Balairung UI, Depok, on Friday 12 August 2011 where he told 4000 new students and some faculty members Sweden’s success story about how important it is to build close links between young university students and private sector in order to cultivate the spirit of innovation and create sustainable economic growth.
The lecture was introduced by Ambassador of Sweden to Indonesia, H.E. Ewa Polano, who has been instrumental in Indonesia’s choice of Sweden as a partner country in Indonesia’s Technology Day HAKTEKNAS. the Technology Day has been celebrated in Indonesia since 1995 on the initiative of His Excellency the former Indonesian President Habibie in his capacity then as Minister of Research and Technology.
In the Ambassador’s introduction to the lecture of Dr Sven-Thore Holm, Mrs. Polano asked what the Cell Phone, the Celsius Thermometer, SKYPE, the ATM Cash Withdrawal, the Pacemaker and the Computer Mouse have in common? The answeer is, that they are all Swedish innovations used daily worldwide!
Sweden is also among the top three countries with the most patents in the world with global leading companies like Volvo, Ericsson, Tetra Pak, Electrolux, SKF, Tetra Pak, Scania, Swedish Match, Atlas Copco, IKEA. And in the areas of green technology, life sciences, and urban development, Sweden is also in the forefrunt.
Explaining, how this is possible for a nation of only little over 9 million people, the Ambassador mentioned how in Sweden, creative thinking exercises are applied to all levels of education and that students are challenged to participate in competitions in order to transfer innovations into business ideas.
