UBC signs MOU with Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

April 30, 2014

The President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia, Stephen J. Toope and the Vice-Chancellor of the Karolinska Institutet, Anders Hamsten today signed a Memorandum of Understanding cementing a long standing desire on the part of both institutions to enhance collaboration between them.

[10] MoU signing between UBC & KI (30th April 2014)

Back, L-R: Agneta Staalhandske, Head of Research Support Office KI; Lotta Lundqvist, International Coordinator KI; Carl Pilon, Commercial Counsellor, Canadian Embassy; Ola Hermanson, Prof. CNS and Academic Coordinator for Canada KI; Kenneth Macarthey, Canada’s Ambassador to Sweden; Soren Harbel, UBC; Jan-Olov Hoog, Dean of Higer Education KI; Christian Ekstroem, Trade Commissioner, Canadian Embassy; Ulrika Widegren, Scientific Secretary, Researcher KI In front: Stephen Toope, President and Vice-Chancellor, UBC and Anders Hamsten, Vice-Chancellor KI

The signing, held at the Canadian Embassy in Stockholm, was witnessed by Ambassador Kenneth Macartney.

Prof. Toope was delighted with today’s signing: “It is always exciting when two very strong research communities come together to tackle some of the great challenges of our time.  The Karolinska Institutet is one of the great medical universities in the world and we look forward to many years of strong collaboration and significant research breakthroughs”.

The formal collaboration agreement comes as a result of a remarkable complementarity in areas of research strength and formalizes a desire on the part of Karolinska Institutet and UBC to have a limited number of strategic partners around the world that can help advance research initiatives and education in medicine and pharmaceutical science.

Prof. Hamsten, who himself represents many years of critical research, sees the agreement as a step towards a deep partnership: “Today marks the formal first step towards bringing together some of the leading researchers and educators on two continents in a new way.  At KI we want to collaborate with leading peers around the world and UBC will be a great partner”.