AI on the agenda at minister´s visit
“It is Swedish engineering that has built Sweden—not least KTH, which is incredibly important for Sweden’s competitiveness.”
This was stated by Lotta Edholm, Minister for Upper Secondary School, Higher Education and Research, during her visit to KTH.
The visit began with a meeting where KTH’s leadership welcomed her. Anders Söderholm, President, presented an opening slide featuring KTH’s vision: “We take the lead for a sustainable society” and explained the ideas behind it.
“It demonstrates our readiness, capability, and willingness to influence the long-term development of society,” Söderholm said.
KTH’s educational programs were then presented, along with ongoing efforts to improve student completion rates and the “Future Education” initiative.
After a brisk walk in the biting wind, the group took an elevator down into the Reactor Hall, more than 25 meters underground. There, a quartet of AI researchers gave brief presentations on their respective fields.
The President Anders Söderholm, Minister Lotta Edholm, and Mikael Lindström, Deputy President at KTH.”
Danica Kragic, Professor of Computer Science, spoke about the crucial interaction between AI, robots, and humans.
“Robots can be used to observe, assist, instruct, and teach, but it is still humans who decide how they are used,” she said.
The President Anders Söderholm, Minister Lotta Edholm, and Mikael Lindström, Deputy President at KTH.”
Martin Törngren, Professor of Embedded Control Systems, discussed dependable physical AI. Karl Henrik Johansson, Professor of Networked Control Systems, then spoke about AI’s role in the digital transformation of society. Finally, Alexandre Proutiere, Professor of Electrical Engineering, described efforts to establish a Swedish AI institute for world-class research and innovation.
All emphasized how rapidly development is progressing and how important it is to invest so that Sweden can keep up-while other systems, such as research funding and regulatory frameworks, tend to move more slowly.
Lotta Edholm agreed that politics also struggles to keep pace.
“It was extremely exciting to listen to KTH’s researchers. Developments are moving so incredibly fast that it is both a challenge and truly urgent for us to identify problems and address them from our side,” Edholm said.
How will Sweden address the future shortage of engineers?
Lotta Edholm, Minister for Upper Secondary School, Higher Education and Research visiting KTH.
“I do not rule out increasing the number of study places, but not at the cost of more students failing to complete their studies, resulting in low completion rates. We need to find the right balance.”
Lotta Edholm also highlighted the importance of improving Swedish children’s mathematics skills, which, like reading and writing proficiency, have declined in schools.
“We will of course continue to invest in excellence in research, but also raise the level of mathematics education in schools,” Edholm said.
Text: Jill Klackenberg ( jillk@kth.se )
Photo: Christer Gummesson ( gummeson@kth.se )