Analysis of an academic engagement project in the maritime sector

Linus Brunnström is a researcher at the Unit for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Center on Knowledge-Intensive Innovation Ecosystems and Center for Sea and Society, at the University of Gothenburg, and has analyzed and evaluated the outcomes of the main activity in the project.

Linus summarizes the project as very successful in supporting local businesses despite the ongoing pandemic. The founders that participated were overwhelmingly positive to the experience, most stated that the coaching had a positive effect on their business and up to 14 people were employed as a direct consequence of the coaching.

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Effects of the pandemic

Some other interesting results from Linus’s study came in the form of the effect the Corona-pandemic caused on the participating firms. This was essentially equally distributed between neutral, negative and positive. Where those seeing positive effects already had most of the business on the internet. A lasting consequence of the project is that the local municipalities have developed business arenas where firms and people interested in developing their businesses can come.

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The report on the maritime sector and the following dialogue with politicians and public servants from Fyrbodal are important forms of academic engagement for researchers in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.