Jan-Olof Jacke: A curious, unpretentious approach

The time taken for meetings is usually rewarded many times over and may more or less automatically lead to positive synergies. When we meet Jan-Olof, we realise that this is also appreciated by his staff. The slogan here is that personal meetings move things forward.

The innovation hub as source of inspiration

One successful example of collaboration, which has also inspired several companies, is the Astra Zeneca Bio Venture Hub, where 30 different small companies have been given the opportunity to collaborate and utilise Astra Zeneca’s infrastructure at their premises in Mölndal. The hub came about when Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg received SEK 40 million from the Wallenberg Foundations to purchase a high-tech microscope. The universities lacked the space for housing and managing the instrument, which was extremely sensitive to vibration. The solution came when Astra Zeneca offered its premises and also paid for the installation of the microscope, and the innovation hub was inaugurated in 2015. Although the idea initially faced some concerns about intellectual property (IP) rights and the disclosure of trade secrets, Jan-Olof managed to push the project through.

Today, nobody questions it. And a few years later ABB did something very similar with its SynerLeap. And Volvo has its Innovation Lab. So this has spread to a number of places and today nobody at Astra Zeneca would say, ‘No, you know what, that’s associated with so many risks’. So sometimes what’s needed is someone who dares, but at a more structured level.

Perhaps the hub came into being because it was a genuinely curiosity-driven project. Perhaps it happened because Jan-Olof, in a simple and convincing way, managed to explain that when you “come from different backgrounds the unexpected question is more likely” – and that it is precisely the “stupid questions” that insiders need to hear when they think they already know everything.

The spillover effects are fantastic when practitioners and researchers meet, while it is important to emphasise that at Astra the level of knowledge is of course high, with many people holding PhDs and even professorships.

There must be commitment and curiosity for the encounter to bring something new. Other people’s questions and perspectives often lead to a need for rethinking and new thinking.

Expertise and (lagom) breadth

It is crucial for a small country like Sweden, says Jan-Olof, to not only take a long-term perspective on research but also maintain a good balance between basic and applied research. However, it is also important to remember that strong basic research is a requirement for conducting any applied research. Both excellence and breadth must be allowed, while we maybe also must dare to opt out.

Research should not be about someone else dictating the exact topic. It is impossible to try to pick the winner in advance. At the same time, it is perhaps not sensible to aspire to excellence in everything. Excellence and breadth do not have to contradict each other, says Jan-Olof. Research policy also needs to take a long-term approach, and it’s about the kind of country we want to be, not in five years but perhaps in 50 years’ time.

Jan-Olof further stresses the importance of understanding that different types of knowledge and disciplines are needed. In its input on the forthcoming research bill, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise emphasises the importance of raising the issue of the humanities and social sciences. Admittedly it is not heard in the debate, but Jan-Olof explains why and how it is linked to the issue of knowledge supply in society:

What kind of behaviour is there? Take AI research now – it would be very, very narrow-minded if only the technical research is heard. If you don’t understand the social consequences, if you don’t understand what the effects will be, then there’ll be some rude awakenings. If we are to understand the regulatory issues coming up now, we must understand the behavioural science linked to technological development.

On the issue of collaboration, it is therefore also important to remind people of multidisciplinary research and bringing different groups together. Cross-fertilisation of different perspectives must be ensured to facilitate more informed, holistic views that take different nuances into account.

Unique position in the world

Collaboration can be done in many different ways, Jan-Olof reminds us, but the basic idea is that we are stronger together and that diverse perspectives are needed to think in new, different ways. Ideas and innovations are born through meeting and asking new questions. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise cherishes the Swedish tradition of closeness to academia, politics as well as trade and industry organisations. This explains Sweden’s unique position in the world when it comes to collaboration. Several of Sweden’s export successes are entirely, or at least in part, accounted for by openness and opportunities for collaboration. His former employer, Astra Zeneca, included.

Some of Sweden’s greatest export successes across all sectors have come from very, very close cooperation between academia, healthcare, and Astra Zeneca.

At the same time, it should be remembered that all too close ties may not be so healthy. The pharmaceutical industry experienced this a few years ago when, after several years of relatively unregulated interaction, laws and regulations were introduced that almost led to a fear of contact, which was not healthy either. As we know, the Swedish word lagom (‘just enough’) is also unique in the world – and perhaps we sometimes need to be reminded of it in the context of collaboration.

Learning keeps the wheels of society turning

One issue that worries Jan-Olof in his professional role, but also as a grandfather, is the recent reports of declining reading comprehension and mathematics skills among Swedish pupils. In order to remain a competitive country, two issues in particular need to be taken more seriously, reminding us that a sustainable society needs to be built from the ground up. On the one hand, more resources need to be directed towards the development of children, who after all are the decision-makers of tomorrow. On the other hand, a broader perspective needs to be taken to understanding and addressing the issue, and space should be given to explanations of and respect for different roles and functions in society. 

Our children have the opportunity to be part of future solutions. If they aren’t, they’ll be part of future problems. Our university system will never be better than the primary schools we have.

Junior Achievement Sweden, which Jan-Olof has chaired for many years, is an excellent way to engage young people at an early stage and talk about how all of us together are cogs in the wheel of society:

The money for financing good social welfare has to come from somewhere. Yes, but it can come from companies that are growing and doing well and that can employ another person who pays taxes. It’s important to understand the basic structure of society. And this may not lead to us joining hands, but it certainly means respecting various sectors differently.

Missed opportunities

Another issue that concerns Jan-Olof and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise is how more companies can benefit from collaboration opportunities. Today, smaller companies face too many obstacles to engage in collaboration, and sometimes it is also unnecessarily bureaucratic and longs contracts are required. While large companies can manage these processes more easily, due to their greater experience and resources, doing so is more difficult for smaller companies.

To make it easier for more companies to collaborate with academia, we need to learn from how the younger universities engage in collaboration, says Jan-Olof. At many of these universities, collaboration is facilitated by the regional embeddedness that makes it easier to work with local companies, regardless of their size and needs. This is also a reminder that collaboration should not be top-down, but that initiatives instead need to be allowed and encouraged to emerge from the bottom.

What if smaller companies could access infrastructure they could never invest in themselves? That would be a fantastic development of collaboration.

The issue of smaller companies’ ability to collaborate with academia also concerns their opportunities to participate in existing collaborative projects. Jan-Olof believes, and has also received some support from others he has spoken to, that there is untapped potential in allowing more people to use existing research instruments and meeting places. By opening these up to smaller actors as well, natural meeting places are created for people with different backgrounds. This may apply primarily to science and technology, but the same should apply to all disciplines, Jan-Olof argues. 

We need to become better at creating meeting places for learning, but also for tending to the lessons we’ve learnt.

Less self-flagellation, more self-confidence!

Here in Sweden we are world leaders in one area, says Jan-Olof, and that is self-flagellation. And this is perhaps reflected in the fact that Swedish universities, with few exceptions, do not rank among the best in the world, or even in the EU. Jan-Olof says the desire to be among the best needs to be highlighted by more people, especially if we are to attract the best skills and develop the best entrepreneurs, business people, politicians, researchers, healthcare, or whatever.

To prevent Sweden from dropping further down the rankings and to strengthen its role as a knowledge nation, we must all be able to see and understand our place in the wheel of society and remind each other that much of what we do is good; we have a lot to be proud of. It is important to also take this with us, Jan-Olof believes.

Some people need to let go of their prestige, which is just a matter of low self-esteem, and be more curious about others. We all need to recognise the benefits of not having to know everything, of being able to do more together.

Not least, there is a fundamental desire to contribute to improving Sweden. Jan-Olof claims that Sweden needs to have greater ambitions to take the lead – “Europe’s highest-ranked university should be in Sweden!”. This is the only way we will be able to attract top students in the future and ensure Sweden’s long-term knowledge supply. Jan-Olof will probably continue to pursue the matter in the future. In all likelihood in collaboration with others.

This text is translated from Swedish. Original text: Maria Grafström and Anna Jonsson. Photos: Sebastian Borg.