Vinnova previously launched a call for new competence centers where KTH with industry partners where one of the aplicants. After a long wait the TECoSA competence center application was approved by Vinnova with the following motivation:
“The evaluators found an application that addresses vital sectors of the Swedish economy, including smart industry, defense, healthcare and cyber security. The approach with the open centre plan was deemed very good by the evaluators, providing a platform on which the centre could be managed successfully. The clear description of the international landscape was deemed convincing and added to the feasibility of the proposed centre. In the interview the concerns of the value-added for the participating partners were thoroughly addressed and the end-user clear expressions of their needs in terms of research and education strengthened the application. In addition, the research team’s convincing ability to create future impact, by explaining previous successes, further added to the position of the proposed centre. Overall the evaluators were impressed and recommend the proposed centre for funding.“