Building a better future for Karlshamn

prospective

The NetPort project is fundamental to the development of our work in higher education and research at the Karlshamn campus of the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH). The work has so far resulted in several hundreds of bachelor degrees in Media Technology, 16 research degrees and companies started by students.Lena Trojer, Professor, Blekinge Institute of TechnologyNetPort's ambitions are high but are on their way to being realised. Karlshamn is being renewed and developed into a place that is attractive to work, study and live in, with bigger and better opportunities for its residents.Finding new sources of growthLocal industries in the Karlshamn region on the south coast of Sweden lost as many as 3 000 jobs in the past 30 years. In a bid to reverse this trend, key players from the Karlshamn municipality, the Blekinge Institute of Technology and trade and industry assocations drew up a new vision of local development and worked towards implementing a series of projects to promote long-term socio-economic prosperity.As it seemed unlikely that the manufacturing industry would return, other options to make the region flourish were needed. The key to moving on from industrial production to innovation and business development was found in the development of digital communications. This was taken on board by the NetPort project which focused on becoming a leader in the field of new media, creative industry and intelligent logistics.Through cooperation between industry, university and the public sector, NetPort has been driving development and contributing to strong and long-term growth.The benefits of a shared visionThe quality and level of negotiation, mutual trust and interchange between the municipality (Kommun), the associated local businesses (Näringsliv) and the Institute of Technology (Högskola) were vital factors to the success of the project. In the project’s intial stages 12 new companies were set up, 37 new jobs created and ten safeguarded.This represents just a drop in the ocean for the project. NetPort aims to create 1 100 new jobs and 125 new companies within its three focus areas by the year 2020. The ambition is also to have added 2 200 inhabitants to the region and to host 2 000 students in higher education by the same date. The new media programme includes several bachelor and master's degrees on new media, digital games, and digital media training.The ERDF seed capital provided the impetus to the creation of a sustainable local development initiative in a region seeking to find new sources of growth.