He brings academia and industry together
Building bridges with industry and ensuring that research benefits society has long been a recurring theme in the work of Halmstad University professor Bengt-Göran Rosén. He has now been awarded the Janne Carlsson's stipendium for Academic Leadership by KTH.
“It feels incredibly inspiring and honourable to receive this recognition,” says Bengt-Göran Rosén, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Halmstad University.
The award citation highlights his aptitude for collaboration as “his ability to mobilise researchers, create trusting partnerships and unlock the potential of others”.
He himself emphasises the importance of creating channels of communication between specialists at universities, engineers in industry, the business sector and society at large – something he sees as a safeguard in a turbulent world.
"Then we can ensure that we make the most of what we can achieve together to meet societal challenges linked to sustainability and digitalisation."
What is the key to successful bridge-building?
"Listen, listen, listen, and let everyone have their say so that, with consensus, we can act quickly and decisively – and not forget to keep listening in order to steer the process during the implementation phase."
Bengt-Göran Rosén is also known as the driving force behind the Ingenjör 5.0 training initiative – a training package comprising web-based courses in the future sectors of industry. The initiative is a collaboration between 14 Swedish universities and colleges, as well as several major industrial companies.
"It is a smorgasbord of short, 20-hour online training modules that help ensure every engineer remains relevant and up to date on sustainability and digitalisation."
Industry collaboration has been a constant throughout his 38-year academic career, primarily in Sweden and within the EU. After completing his PhD at Chalmers, he worked for a time at SKF’s innovation hub, and he has held visiting and affiliated professorships in Lund, Jönköping, Beijing and at Chalmers. He is also the education coordinator for the Swedish Academy of Production’s 13 member institutions.
Whether it is a matter of translating cutting-edge technical research into practical solutions or strengthening the skills of practising engineers, he is driven by the same goal: “to do good”.
"This might involve ensuring that industrial products do not consume unnecessary amounts of energy or generate unnecessary emissions, or how a national academy can collaborate on continuing education and doctoral training to foster resilience in an ever-changing world."
And looking ahead – in times of uncertainty and transition – the direction is clear to him: to continue strengthening collaboration between academia, industry and society.
Text: Christer Gummeson ( gummeson@kth.se )