The aim of the Group’s Academic Partner Program (APP) is long-term strategic collaboration with selected universities focused on research and meeting future skills demands.
The program has two parts: Preferred Research Partners, which relates to co-operation on research and development, and Preferred Talent Partners, which relates to bolstering links with students and projecting the image of being a potential employer.
Kerstin Renard, the Group’s Executive Vice President Corporate Human Resources, believes the APP is an outstanding tool for establishing a long-term strategic partnership with universities.
“It is a mutual partnership that gives students the opportunity to make contacts and gain professional skills, while at the same time helping us to improve our ability to recruit the best talent.”
At present, the Volvo Group has a partnership with 12 universities in 6 countries. Some of these universities are solely research partners, others solely talent partners and a few are both.
The agreements with the universities last for three years, at the end of which the intention is for them to be renewed. The reason the agreements only run for three years is to maintain an element of regular auditing and evaluation of the collaboration.
It was recently time for the two universities in the United States, Penn State and N C State Universities, to renew their contracts with the Volvo Group.
According to the Penn State University President, Eric Barron, Volvo is one of the world’s iconic companies and one of Penn State’s most esteemed corporate partners.
“Our continued relationship will benefit the Volvo Group, the students and faculty at Penn State, the trucking and heavy equipment industries, and countless others in the years to come”, he says
Torbjörn Holmström, Volvo Group Chief Technology Officer, believes that the Group has much to gain from successful collaboration with the academic world.
“Volvo Group Academic Partner Program empowers collaboration with universities, which is key for keeping the Volvo Group driving innovation in the area of transport solutions.
Earlier this year the two Lyon universities INSA, and EMLYON, renewed their contracts and later in the year it is expected that Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology, University of Skövde, Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law and Mälardalen University (MDH) will be renewing their contracts.