Mikael Lindström – Professor, Dean of the School of Engineering in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health;
Olena Sevastyanova – Associate Professor of Fibre and Polymer Technology Department.

Cooperation between KNUTE and KTH received the new possibilities for development in the framework of the joint international project: «Innovative composite materials based on the biopolymers and mineral fillers» (hereinafter – the Project), the coordinator of which from KTH is O. Sevastyanova. The Project is financed by the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education – STINT.

Project participants from KNUTE (Rector Prof. A. Mazaraki, First Vice-Rector Prof. N. Prytulska, Prof. T. Karavayev, Senior Lecturer N. Chykun, students of the scientific club «Start in Science») and KTH (Dean Prof. M. Lindström, Ass. Prof. O. Sevastyanova, PhD E. Pylypchuk, graduate students M. Karlsson and H. Lee) since 2019 have held a number of meetings, joint events and made many developments that became the basis for signing the agreement.

The main purpose of the visit was the signing of the agreement on cooperation and scientific exchange between the Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. After signing the agreement, the leaders of both HEE, Professor Anatolii Mazaraki and Professor Mikael Lindström, expressed an interest to develop cooperation between KNUTE and KTH in the fields of sustainable materials and food products, deepening on contacts between Ukraine and Sweden in science and education spheres. It should be noted that this agreement is the first for KNUTE with a Scandinavian country university.

During the visit to KNUTE, colleagues from Sweden got acquainted with the material and technical base of the university, visited the laboratories of the departments of Commodity Science, Safety and Quality Management, Commodity Science and Customs Affairs, Technology and Organization of Restaurants Business and others, library, KNUTE HUB, assembly hall, had a separate tour on the university campus. The guests were accompanied by the First Vice-Rector Nataliia Prytulska and Professor of the of Commodity Science and Customs Affairs Department Taras Karavayev (Project Coordinator from KNUTE). Representatives of the KTH were pleasantly impressed by the material and technical base of KNUTE.

A separate part of the visit was devoted to negotiations on areas of further cooperation in the field of sustainable foods, which took place in the Malachite Hall of building L. KNUTE scientists presented to Swedish colleagues the main achievements in this area in recent years. The head of our Swedish partner, Prof. Mikael Lindström, suggested to held joint webinars, where KNUTE and KTH scientists can present their work and discuss it in more details and specify the areas of joint research in the most interesting for both universities areas.

We hope that this visit was also interesting and fruitful for our new university-partner from Sweden, which will be an impetus for the development of fruitful multi-vector cooperation with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, which is in the top 100 of the best universities in the world.