AI races ahead while campus estate management stalls

Anders Söderholm

, 2026-06-24

Surely everyone has noticed that an AI revolution is currently underway. This technological shift will bring about major changes, even if we currently find it difficult to grasp the full extent of what is happening.

This is often the case with major technological shifts. When the steam engine, electricity or the telephone first appeared, it was also hard to predict the societal changes that would follow.

AI, on the other hand, is not new. Research has been ongoing for decades, but it is only in recent years that its applications have had a widespread impact. Today, we recognise that research methods will also undergo fundamental change. With the help of AI, increasingly complex research problems can be formulated and solved more quickly than ever before. Large volumes of data can be processed rapidly, and scientific breakthroughs that would otherwise have taken years can now be achieved much more quickly thanks to access to advanced computing power.

AI is already transforming research methods, as well as the conditions for business and the public sector. Complex problems can be analysed more quickly, large volumes of data can be handled more efficiently, and new products and services are emerging at a rapid pace.

Universities have a special role to play in this development. On the one hand, the new knowledge on which AI is based is generated through successful research. On the other hand, AI is transforming the content of education and research itself. We must remain at the forefront of knowledge development while also finding time to study and address the ethical, environmental, and social consequences of this technological shift.

Universities suddenly find themselves at the centre of a technological arms race in a geopolitically turbulent world where science, diplomacy and international conflicts are intertwined in ways that politics, academia and the business sector are not accustomed to dealing with. This therefore requires rigorous yet agile and adaptable analysis, along with clear priorities, so that Sweden and Europe can take responsibility, foster independence, and reduce vulnerability.

If I had written about this topic a year ago, or were to write about it a year from now, the text would be completely different, simply because developments are moving so rapidly. This is in stark contrast to another topic I often write about: akademiska hus and the provision of university premises. In that area, developments are so slow that every piece of writing on the subject seems just as relevant year after year. Imagine if it were the other way around 🙂

Developments hardly ever take a summer break, but I hope that many of you will have the chance to do so. Summer greetings from Almedalen!

KTH ready for Almedalsveckan

Anders Söderholm

, 2026-06-10

Almedalen Week is almost here. From 22–26 June, almost 3,000 events covering every conceivable policy and political issue will be held. As it is an election year, there will probably be more focus on policy announcements and positioning by the parties ahead of the election campaign.

KTH is, of course, on site. Researchers from KTH are participating in a variety of seminars, panel discussions and roundtable talks linked to the KTH Center for total defense, Cybercampus Sweden and many other initiatives. I am personally involved in several programme items with Chalmers and Lund University, as well as with Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University through the University Alliance Stockholm Trio and the Stockholm Science City Foundation. I am also participating in quite a few other events organised by various other organisations.

As usual, it’s a week filled with public debates, discussions and meetings involving thousands of people and organisations. As mentioned, we can expect the political parties to try to gain an advantage ahead of the election this year. Hopefully, issues such as the supply of talent in STEM, Sweden’s role in cutting-edge technologies, the AI revolution, and Sweden’s competitiveness, capacity for innovation, and resilience in a changing world and within the framework of European Union policy will be raised — all of which are of great interest to KTH.

Find out more about KTH’s participation in Almedalen and view all the events in the official programme (in Swedish).

Stockholm universities squeezed by high rents

Anders Söderholm

, 2026-05-27

Fortunately, the government has decided to propose an additional allocation of three million kronor to the Royal Institute of Art in the Spring Amending Budget.

This is being done to mitigate the impact of high rental costs. That’s good. But it’s not enough.

Between 2021 and 2024, KTH has seen rent increases of nearly 20 per cent for leased premises, and our average rent is now around 1,300 SEK per square metre higher than the national average. This equates to premises costs that are approximately 280 million SEK higher than the national average. And that’s every year!

The higher operating costs of running a university in the capital compared to other parts of the country are impossible to ignore. Furthermore, KTH is in many ways an elite university with high applicant numbers and a large proportion of internationally leading research. It is time to draw a line around Stockholm and protect the capital’s higher education institutions from the depletion caused by the current model for providing facilities.

There are many ways to achieve this. However, providing direct financial support, as was done for the Royal Institute of Art, would be a targeted and effective approach.

The exam pass rate is not the whole story

Anders Söderholm

, 2026-04-02

The graduation rate for Master of Science engineering programmes is the subject of periodic debate, with critics claiming that too few students who enrol on a programme go on to graduate.

For taxpayers, it is a loss if many people start a programme and do not complete it. Of those who begin an engineering degree, 55 per cent graduate within the standard duration of the programme plus three years. However, if we include those who have completed 90 per cent of the course requirements, the figure rises to 73 per cent.

Almost 60 per cent of our students secure a job before completing their final term, which explains why a large group of students enter the labour market while still having exams to sit or dissertations to finish – in other words, before completing their degree programme. If we add those who start a Master of Science in Engineering programme but ultimately graduate with a different degree, this adds a further 10 per cent.

To address the group of students who have completed almost the entire programme and found employment, but still have some outstanding modules, a focused evaluation is currently underway at KTH to gather further data. As we see that some of those who do not graduate have outstanding modules in mathematics, we are strengthening capacity in maths courses through so-called “collaborative learning”, where older students provide support to younger ones. We are also working on targeted initiatives within certain programmes and on pedagogical development to support students in their studies.

While some companies require a degree when hiring, most do not. Greater and clearer recognition of the value of a degree by the business sector prior to recruitment would, of course, be of great value in increasing graduation rates.

In other words, a significantly higher proportion than 55 per cent of the students enter the labour market. At the same time, we are working hard to create the conditions that will enable engineering students who are almost there to take the final steps required for graduation.

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AI races ahead while campus estate management stalls

KTH ready for Almedalsveckan

Stockholm universities squeezed by high rents

The exam pass rate is not the whole story