THE Summit postponed
KTH will not host the THE Innovation and Impact Summit as planned in April due to the new coronavirus. The summit, that is being organised in partnership with ranking institute Times Higher Education, is being postponed until a later date.
The THE Summit, planned for around 300 participants, was to have been held from 22-24 April at the KTH Campus.
“It would be irresponsible to hold the summit at the moment. Under the prevailing circumstances, due to the risk of transmitting the infection, we cannot justify bringing together hundreds of delegates from some 30 countries for this event,” says Stefan Östlund, Vice President for Global Relations.
University managements, companies, financiers and experts within innovation and global development have been invited to the summit. The aim was to exchange ideas and experiences concerning opportunities for universities to contribute to meeting the global social challenges defined by the 17 UN Global Sustainable Development Goals.
“Initially, we felt disappointed not to be able to host an international summit that we had high hopes for. However, we must naturally be able to guarantee the safety and security of the delegates and as such, this was the only possible decision to take.
“We hope to be able to organise a conference with the same structure and content in the not too distant future. We are discussing different options with THE.
“We regret having to postpone the summit this spring. My hope now is that we can revert as soon as possible with a decision on a future arrangement of more or less the same kind,” says Östlund.
Text: Christer Gummeson