Sweden’s Lund University formalizes a five-year strategic partnership with Tetra Pak

Lund University, Sweden, has signed its first ever five-year strategic partnership with Tetra Pak which, while operating at an all-university level, will have significant implications for packaging and packaging research, with the engineering faculty currently dominating collaboration. 
Not least because Tetra Pak’s head office is located in the same city, there has always been a fair amount of co-operation on an informal, ad hoc basis, says professor of packaging logistics Annika Olsson. “But now, we are working together strategically to better identify focus areas for our future collaboration, both in education and research.”
 
Olsson explains to IAPRI that the educational element refers mainly to work on master’s theses. “But it’s also about different talent programs and involvement in programs and courses from Tetra Pak.”
 
Focus areas for research will include bio-based materials and the circular economy. “There is a strong focus on new packaging materials, since both Tetra Pak and Lund University are in the same city as some large new science infrastructure: Max IV and ESS,” she says, explaining that these are materials science facilities where structures can be studied “in different ways, on a small scale”.
 
In a statement, vice-chancellor of Lund University Torbjörn von Schantz said: “Academia and industry need to work closely in the long-term to solve complex societal challenges such as sustainability, which is very much in focus for this collaboration.”
 
Executive VP development, engineering and R&D at Tetra Pak Laurence Mott responded: “The partnership with Lund University provides Tetra Pak access to cutting-edge academic competencies, and will create opportunities for staff, students and our employees alike.”