SVERIGES LANTBRUKSUNIVERSITET

Their core work

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is Sweden's leading research university for biological resources, agriculture, and environmental sciences. They develop sustainable farming systems, forest management models, and ecosystem monitoring tools used across Europe. Their applied research bridges genetics and breeding (livestock and crops), agroecology, and nature-based solutions — translating field science into practical tools for land managers, food producers, and environmental policymakers. With deep expertise in Nordic and boreal ecosystems, they are a go-to partner for any project requiring long-term ecological data, agricultural field trials, or forestry modeling.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), SLU focused heavily on traditional agricultural sciences — genomic selection, breeding, sustainable forest management, and forest inventory harmonization. Projects like DIABOLO, PROTEIN2FOOD, and GenTORE reflect a core competence in production-oriented land use science. From 2019 onward, a clear pivot emerges toward biodiversity, nature-based solutions, citizen science, and climate change adaptation — the recent keyword profile is dominated by 'biodiversity', 'ecosystem services', 'nature-based solutions', and 'multi-actor' approaches, signaling a shift from production efficiency toward ecological resilience and participatory research.

SLU is moving from production-focused agricultural research toward integrated landscape approaches combining biodiversity, climate adaptation, and citizen engagement — expect future projects at the food-environment nexus.

How they like to work

SLU operates primarily as a strong consortium partner (82 of 102 projects), contributing specialized scientific capacity rather than leading large-scale coordination. When they do coordinate (18 projects), it tends to be in focused areas like forest management (ALTERFOR) or biobanking (B3Africa). With 1,241 unique partners across 77 countries, they are a highly connected hub — not locked into a small circle but open to diverse consortia, making them easy to integrate into new project teams.

SLU has collaborated with 1,241 distinct organizations across 77 countries, placing them among the most connected agricultural research universities in Europe. Their network spans well beyond the EU into Africa (B3Africa, PROIntensAfrica) and the Arctic (INTERACT), giving them unusual geographic breadth for a food and environment actor.

What sets them apart

SLU is one of very few European universities that combines deep agricultural production science (breeding, genomics, precision livestock) with equally strong environmental and forestry research under one roof. This dual competence makes them uniquely valuable for projects at the intersection of food production and environmental sustainability — a space that is growing fast in Horizon Europe. Their Nordic and boreal ecosystem expertise is hard to find elsewhere, and their 102-project track record means low administrative risk for any coordinator building a consortium.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ALTERFOR
  Coordinated by SLU with EUR 1.18M budget — their flagship forest management project developing decision tools across multiple European landscapes using multi-actor approaches.
• B3Africa
  Coordinator role bridging biobanking research between Europe and Africa — shows SLU's capacity to lead cross-continental infrastructure projects beyond their agricultural core.
• MOBILE FLIP
  Largest single EC contribution to SLU at EUR 1.09M, focused on mobile biomass processing — demonstrates their industrial-scale bioeconomy capability.