Umeå University has the pleasure to invite you to this unofficial event of the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU focused on the rapid green transition and the re-industrialisation in European regions. The event will give a scientific perspective on the socio-economic developments in regions undergoing re-industrialisation in support of the EU green industrial transition.

The event will take place on 29 June at North Sweden European Office, Avenue des Arts 11, from 11:30-13:00, followed by a light lunch.

The European North provides important preconditions for a green transition. Access to green energy and minerals has created an industrial boom with mega investments in battery factories and fossil-free steel production plants. While this is seen as a potential solution to global challenges caused by climate change, the development triggers social and economic change within the European North as well. Partly the energy requested by all industrial development underway exceeds the current capacity, partly the need for further energy production and mineral resources causes land-use competition. It also threatens indigenous reindeer herding. However, most notable today is the lack of labor needed in the new industries and the growing communities.

Another property of the current development is its velocity. During recent decades the European North has faced unemployment, population decline and fading service supply. Now communities need to grow quickly to facilitate the industrialisation underway. This requires the attraction of qualified labor, the provision of housing and an attractive built environment, as well as the upscaling of infrastructure and public and private services. At risk are established practices for community involvement and other values such as an intact environment. Altogether this has brought about a situation with challenges but also plentiful opportunities. 

In this context, the role of universities is pivotal. Universities provide education and research on technological, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions of ongoing change. However, in the north, they are also important nodes for various aspects of regional development. Umeå University cooperates with its neighbors in northern Norway and Finland in the Arctic Five university alliance to strengthen research, education but also engagement in the current societal transformation.

Join us for this event to get an update and the most current scientific knowledge on the socio-economic development in the European regions undergoing a green transition. The seminar will also host a discussion on the role of the universities within the ongoing change and the implicit challenges and opportunities for research and education.

Please register at this link no later than June 26.