Collaboration project – together, we strengthen tech in the Borås region

Tech Borås is run as a project

Tech Borås is run as a project and is located at the University of Borås. The project runs from 2023 to 2026 and is funded by the University of Borås, the business community, the Borås region, the Sjuhärad municipal association, and with the support of the European Union.

The project aims to develop a joint research and innovation model (Innovation Sprints), to strengthen collaboration between students and business and industry, and to improve courses and educational programmes that support the development of the region’s tech skills.

The project is led by Gustaf Juell-Skielse at the University of Borås and a steering group consisting of representatives of the Borås region’s tech companies, the University of Borås and the E-Commerce City of Borås.

It all started with an idea for more collaboration – here’s our story

Today, all businesses face needs and challenges where the solutions can be found in tech. Services and products are being digitised and AI opens new opportunities for business development. That’s why it’s crucial to have strong digital technology skills – and to have them here locally in the region. As early as 2021, dialogues were initiated between the Borås region’s tech companies and the University of Borås to jointly solve the need for skills. The result was the development and resurrection of the Systems Architecture programme with a focus on software development.

But it also planted the seed for a new idea. Can businesses and higher education institutions collaborate even more in the field of tech?  Absolutely, there are great opportunities here. The ideas led to a shared vision for Tech Borås (then called Techarena Borås). In 2022, twelve tech companies from the E-commerce City of Borås formed what we call the Tech Group. The purpose of the group was to support the City of Borås and to ensure tech skills in the long term.

The Tech Group wanted to focus on engaging its members and getting them to share their ideas, as well as understand and expand their skills in tech, without locking themselves into a specific area. An important contribution from the University of Borås was to participate in the group and to provide ideas and input for discussions. This was the start of what is today Tech Borås.