Strategic Development Areas
The Swedish Research Council – a government agency that provides funding for basic research of the highest scientific quality in all disciplinary domains – has initiated the single largest investment in research areas that have a strategic significance for society and industry.
Umeå University has been granted SEK 226 million in funding over 2010–2014 to develop world-leading research in eight strategic research projects.
Umeå University has main responsibility for two research projects witin the following fields:
Energy research
Nearly all of our energy today is derived of chemicals and automotive fuels from fossil sources. Scientists and entrepreneurs in northern Sweden hope to change this by replacing oil with environmentally friendly trees. They collaborateon the Bio4Energy research platform.
Bio4energy website
Marine environment research
The Baltic Sea is threated by eutrophication, pollution and overfishing. Climate change is likely to furhter aggravate the situation.. The research project EcoChange aims to discover and predict what ecological consequences climate changes - e.g. increased temperature and precipitation – will have on the Baltic Sea, and how the Baltic Sea will respond to these consequences.
Echochange website
Researchers from Umeå University are also involved in six additional projects in the areas of:
- Cancer research, Uppsala-Umeå Comprehensive Cancer Consortium, U-CAN
- Diabetes research
- E-science
- Sustainable use of natural resourses
- Neurosciences
- Care sciences
