The members of Boreal Alliance do, despite their geographical distance, face similar conditions when it comes to translating forest-based materials science into new sustainable innovations. Promoting collaboration of research on materials from the forest and its application on an international level is thus the Alliance’s joint mission since its start in 2020.
Treesearch became the Swedish representative in the network in 2022, and already the year before that, in 2021, the first joint online conference was held.
During 2023 Treesearch will be the host organisation for Boreal Alliance, taking over from BioProducts Institute (BPI), Canada. The host is responsible for the coordination of events and member meetings and for providing administrative support for the alliance.
Kristin Witzel, newly appointed acting manager of the Boreal Alliance, and coordinator for collaboration at Treesearch, explains what the alliance will work with during the upcoming year.
“Since the Boreal Alliance is a relatively new network, we might not yet be fully aware of what kind of expertise each of our members have. We are therefore planning on organising a Boreal Alliance webinar series to highlight competencies and available infrastructure of all member organisations”, says Kristin Witzel.
Other plans include seeing into the possibilities of researcher mobility and student exchange, as well as exploring the possibilities of joint funding for international research collaborations.
Activities within the alliance will be announced on the Treesearch website as well as on the Boreal Alliance website. Daniel Söderberg, the director of Treesearch, encourages everyone involved in Treesearch to keep their eyes open for future events.
“Boreal Alliance is a chance for Treesearch researchers, both in academia and industry, to expand their international network”, says Daniel Söderberg, and continues:
“We need to continue to identify opportunities that translate bio-based materials into sustainable solutions, and international knowledge exchange and collaboration are crucial for this.”
About the Boreal Alliance:
Boreal Alliance is a transnational research collaboration network for bio-based materials innovations utilizing the boreal forest resources.
The alliance will foster international research exchanges, support science-based policy-making, and encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration between material scientists, engineers, physicists, molecular biologists and industry professionals in the sector to develop bio-based solutions and innovations for a sustainable future.
Read more at: www.boreal-alliance.org
