Leading the ICT revolution
Professor Gunnar Landgren was instrumental in creating one of the world’s most dynamic ICT hotspots. ACCESS Centre’s Chair of the Board is the node director of Europe’s biggest initiatives in ICT. His vision is that information and communications technology will have the same impact on society as the mobile phone, which has revolutionized life in developing countries over the last 20 years. He’s in the driver’s seat of a project that demands excellence in research as well as cooperation between the university and companies.
Gunnar Landgren is a very busy man. And no wonder. The Chair of ACCESS Board coordinated KTH’s application for the prestigious European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) ICT Labs, and was recently appointed node director for Sweden. When KTH was selected to lead two of its first three knowledge and innovation communities (KICs) from a highly competitive pool of applicants, a lot was at stake. The KICs will have an annual budget of EUR 20 million from the EIT and EUR 60 million in co-funding from their partners. With operations expected to continue for 7–15 years, the KICs will entail substantially augmented resources for education, research and innovation.
“EIT ICT Labs is an extremely strong consortium – it includes all the most important research institutes and engineering companies as well as the largest technical universities in Europe,” says Professor Landgren. “It is a fantastic opportunity to be able to work together with the leading universities, institutes and industries in Europe.”
Exactly what drives you?
“No other technology has changed society so quickly, and we are only seeing the early stages of this process. It is enormously exciting to see the evolution on a wider scale rather than focusing on developing and running individual protocols. And to be involved in the development of seamlessly integrated applications that benefit people, companies and social infrastructures.”
Gunanr Landgren is inspired by the impact of mobile phone technology on developing countries. This became particularly evident to him earlier this year during a visit to Gambia where he noticed beach vendors keeping in mobile phone contact with their bosses and suppliers who were hundreds of miles away.
“The mobile phone has meant a world of change for developing countries. Even if you can’t trust the infrastructure or its politicians, the mobile always works. All this has been achieved in only twenty years. So just imagine how much more can we achieve in the future with a little concentrated effort. I am driven by the potential for change.”
How are research centres such as ACCESS important for the development of new technology?
“These provide a centre of gravity and critical mass. It is all about fuelling a positive spiral where excellence generates resources, which attracts more excellence. In turn, this enlarges the scope of the effort, which generates even more resources, etc. The challenge is to never let the standards of excellence slip.”
What is your role as chair of ACCESS Board?
“My role as a chair of the ACCESS Board is to ensure that KTH makes a long-term commitment to develop the scientific area of ACCESS. Of course the technical expertise lies with the researchers but there are also many other important aspects essential for continued success, such as building and communicating a competitive project portfolio, attracting international guests and faculty as well as promoting mobility across disciplines and organizational boundaries.”
Are there any issues you consider especially important for ACCESS?
“It will be important to keep focused on long-term research even when transition times to business applications are short. One of our main goals is to generate spin-off technologies, but resources must also be made available to fund new research and, in particular, support new and perhaps seemingly crazy ideas.”
In which direction do you intend to lead ACCESS in the next few years?
“I would like to see a picture emerging of Access developing a number of well-established and formalized collaborations with other initiatives within KTH as well as outside. It should build on the ability of Access to make scientific discoveries and new applications. Of course, I particularly welcome the engagement with EIT ICT Labs, but there are a number of other initiatives in the ICT area that could provide outlets for Access research technology as well as important sources for new research topics.”
What is most important in today’s research world?
“Research is international and international connections and exchanges are at the heart of competitive research. Building long-term international relationships with other centres of excellence in the world is a key priority for Access. Here ACCESS has a strong record.”
I know you are excited about encouraging cooperation between the university and companies. Why is this so important?
“Just look at what cooperation has meant for the growth of Kista Science City. It started with just a ‘policy’ for those who worked out there in 1993. Today there are twice as many employees. This is a result of cooperation and interaction between knowledge centres and industry coupled with the expansion of the city limits.”
What is EIT ICT labs’ long-term goal?
“We are already seeing a huge amount of innovation and entrepreneurship in our education. This is also going to mean that our students will have better opportunities to work on projects and theses in an innovative, industrial environment.”
EIT ICT Labs will also mean better resource management through coordination and co-planning of the project in Europe. There will of course be cooperative planning that may even affect the priority of national funding projects. Professor Landgren is also expecting that EIT ICT Labs will result in more start up companies.
“Our Swedish innovation network is connected to the other nodes within EIT ICT Labs. In addition, the commercialization process won’t be restricted to the local environment and will be much more effective. An important challenge for us is to make sure that research is converted into business ideas, business enterprises and growth.”
How do you envisage the future?
“I would like to continue to develop new technology that fulfils the needs of society and make sure that this exciting research and advanced technology is put to good use. I want to be involved in developing technology for the next generation.”
For more information, contact Gunnar Landgren, 08-790 42 22, gl@kht.se.
Marie Androv
