The Volvo Group's Academic Partner Program was launched as a global program for research cooperation with selected universities and colleges. Three colleges in western Sweden were the first to join the collaborative program. The Chalmers University of Technology, University West and the University of Skvde have signed the first partnership agreements with the Volvo Group concerning research and post-graduate education within the framework of the Academic Partner Program.
The cooperation encompasses research in such areas as production technology, engine development and automotive safety. Several of the joint research projects will be conducted within the framework of Fordonsstrategisk Forskning och Innovation (FFI), a Swedish program for cooperation between the government of Sweden and the automotive industry that was established on January 1.
The Volvo Group is also pursuing discussions with universities in France and the U.S. concerning cooperation within the Academic Partner Program.
"We are offering an opportunity for long-term cooperation in research areas that are key to our ability to build the trucks, buses, construction equipment, engines and aerospace components of the future," says Jan-Eric Sundgren, member of the Volvo Group Executive Committee and Senior Vice President Environmental and Public Affairs.
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