The project's goal is to develop a cross-border space innovation ecosystem in the Aurora region, fostering collaboration, boosting space-related businesses, and supporting sustainable growth to address current and future societal challenges.
Our project consortium of university and research institute members focuses on the developing space innovation ecosystem in the Aurora Interreg region for boosting space business. By supporting and guiding this ecosystem’s form and function, it will respond to more efficiently advance commercial and sustainability processes needed to address societal issues in the region today and in the future. Together with relevant actors and stakeholders from across the Interreg Aurora region (Aurora and Sápmi), the project will facilitate current and future development and functionality of a cross-border innovation ecosystem for enhanced collaboration and new business generation.
Earlier projects within the Botnia-Atlantica and Nord Interreg regions identified the clear need for supporting space education and career mobility both at the higher-education level for SME/start-up development but also at the societal level so a broader understanding and general public support can be accomplished. Education-wise the project works with high school up through university levels. Sharing of important space fabrication/testing, research infrastructures and environmental test sites will be coordinated to benefit the space innovation ecosystem and economic growth as well as implementation of a variety of mobility and exchange activities between universities, research institutes, large industries and SMEs.
By mapping/modelling the region’s space innovation ecosystem and then supporting components within it, the project will produce stronger and focused communications and networking paths to build a more cohesive space economy ecosystem across the Aurora region. We will actively manage the innovation ecosystem to organize it and broadly share its existence globally benefiting the area’s space business growth. The project will highlight crossborder structural impediments and/or existing commonalities to the space innovation ecosystem. This new transparency in the cross-border space ecosystem will clarify where space-activity green-lights and red-lights exist and provide a source for recommendations.
The project will improve the commercial space ecosystem in the region and implement a space-supportive academia-industry education, mobility and exchange component to spur innovation and research network actions. The Interreg Aurora area’s networked space sector together will present a new largess to international actors with the aspiration to be the “Silicon Valley” of space in the Nordics. We will have a better defined, better functioning space economy ecosystem for the businesses across the FIN/SWE/NOR northern extent with activities improving the competitiveness of SMEs in the region’s space upstream and downstream sectors.
SLU is a significant user of space-based data in the Aurora region, conducting research and applications focused on the forest and life sciences sectors. With strong ties to authorities like the Forest Agency and close collaboration with forest stakeholders, SLU complements its expertise in forest analysis with satellite-derived insights tailored for industry partners and NGOs. Additionally, SLU educates students in the development and use of space-based products, fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration on space-related advancements across the Nordic region.
Webpage AuroraSpace
