Brightening the future through increased innovation

Karolinska Institutet has a proud history of ground breaking discoveries that have improved the lives for people all over the world, with the pacemaker, the gamma knife and the Seldinger technique as inspirational examples. Now we have the opportunity to re-establish Sweden as a strong global actor in life sciences. Region Stockholm has a stated ambition of securing the region a place among the world’s five leading life sciences hubs by 2023. This is where we have a key role to play. As Sweden’s top medical university, Karolinska Institutet has a responsibility to contribute to the development of society as a whole, particularly in the health care sector. The journey to that goal involves, among other things, greater innovation and continued concerted knowledge development.

In this booklet, we present some of the ideas that have emanated from Karolinska Institutet over the past 20 years; ideas selected to reveal the breadth of our work. We hope they will inspire and encourage yet more innovation.

At the same time as needing to be better at noticing and encouraging new ideas, we must also be better at developing them so that more of them become innovations that can be implemented in the healthcare system. We do not achieve substantive change until new breakthroughs reach everyday healthcare in the form of new products and methods and improved organisation and working practice.

This is something for us to work on in the future. We need to know more about the extent to which our research and development leads to societal benefit and improves daily life for patients and staff: the obstacles we need to remove and the success factors we should embrace. My ambition is to strengthen this knowledge, also on the national level, by working for more research related to how we best implement new products and findings to create world-class healthcare.

As we call for increased innovation and commercialisation, we must maintain transparency and academic freedom. This requires robust ethical and critical thinking.

View some portraits of innovators

Inspiring others to develop their ideas

KI Innovations’ mission is to inform and inspire Karolinska Institutet students and staff to take another look at their ideas and research results, a look from the perspective of patients and society. With the right support and advice these ideas can grow into fruitful innovations that can help solve challenges in today’s healthcare.

Our task is to provide each idea with the best possible support and network needed to harness its benefit for society. We strive to provide the support needed to transform ideas into innovations that can be implemented and make a genuine difference. This has so far resulted in many ideas ultimately having a significant influence on the development of today’s healthcare.

This booklet highlights a few of the many examples of how research at Karolinska Institutet creates value. It also highlights how innovation, by creating bridges to other fields of expertise, can enrich the research of the inventors. And it illustrates the impressive power of commitment that drives the inventors. Also, the creativity and drive from our idea-rich students is resulting in a raft of innovations. They provide fresh eyes and new solutions in situations we take for granted. This freedom of thought can offer unexpected ways to improve things.

We are here for all Karolinska Institutet staff. Our support is most useful when we are in a position to coach a project throughout its lifetime: from academic research results to commercial deal or product.

Our aim is to inspire others to make the step towards taking their ideas to the next level. There is so much to be gained - for individuals and for the development of society as a whole.

The wellbeing of tomorrow is built with the raw material of knowledge, and research is the engine that drives its development.

Our support is provided without any demand other than your commitment to succeed.

KI Innovations