New Research Programme about industry, innovation and resilience
Halmstad University has established a new research programme within the focus area Smart Cities and Communities. FIRP, Future Industry Research Programme will address contemporary societal challenges such as global competitiveness, resilience and economic growth via co-creation, collaboration and innovation with industry.
“The programme aligns with Industry 4.0 and 5.0 with increasing digitisation of industry while also being socially responsible, sustainable and of net benefit to society.“
Ross Friel, Research Programme Manager for FIRP

Future Industry. Photo: AI generated and processed by Ross Friel.
The programme brings together researchers in three collaborative clusters, Innovative, Resilient, and Predictive Industry to solve complex industrial challenges. These clusters are initially spread over the School of Business, Innovation and Sustainability,and the School of Information Technology.
“The programme aligns with Industry 4.0 and 5.0 with increasing digitisation of industry while also being socially responsible, sustainable and of net benefit to society. We do that by focusing on responsible innovation for technological progress for the benefit of Sweden and Europe “, says Ross Friel, Professor and Research Programme Leader for FIRP.
Sustainable Development Goals
FIRP will work on helping achieve six of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The program aims to position Halmstad University as a leader in interdisciplinary technology research and help address contemporary societal and industrial needs “, says Ross Friel and continues:
“Ensuring continuous, responsible innovation whilst being sustainable and competitive is the great industrial challenge of the 21st century that can only be met by multidisciplinary collaboration between many different stakeholders. The FIRP aims to help meet this great challenge.“
Collaboration is central to the research programme, with a focus on fostering partnerships between Halmstad University, Industry, and society. In particular, the programme will utilise and cross-collaborate, both internally and externally, among three of Halmstad University’s outstanding collaboration facilities: Fab Lab, Electronics Centre in Halmstad (ECH) and Rydberg Laboratory.
“With FIRP we emphasise long-term collaborations with industrial partners, supported by joint research projects, sharing facilities, and educational initiatives. It also encourages cross-disciplinary teamwork among the three clusters.“
Research and education
The programme research will be further integrated into several educational programs.
“It will enhance engineering and technical education by incorporating real-world applications and cutting-edge research into courses. That will provide students with hands-on experience and exposure to the latest industry challenges and innovations. This will be a net benefit to our students.“
The research programme is part of the University’s investment in multidisciplinary research programmes to strengthen the University's profile.
“Future Industry Research Programme takes a multidisciplinary approach to important issues related to industrial development. I think it is very positive that the University now has a long-term research programme where researchers from different scientific disciplines gather to take on one of the greatest challenges of our time“, says Susanna Öhman, Vice-Chancellor at Halmstad University.
Text: Kristina Rörström