Icelandic state visit to KTH
Iceland's President Halla Tómasdóttir, the Swedish Royal couple and Sweden's Minister of Civil Defence Carl-Oscar Bohlin visited Cybercampus Sweden at KTH on 7 May.
"Hjartanlega velkomin í Konunglega Tæknihaskólans," said Anders Söderholm, President of KTH, when he welcomed them in Icelandic.
Speaking to a packed audience at Cybercampus Sweden, Anders Söderholm began by talking about KTH's vision to take the lead for a sustainable society and its cooperation with Iceland's universities. Among other things, there have been 155 scientific co-publications over the past five years, mainly in computer science and electrical engineering.
"So we make each other better," Söderholm said.
Minister Bohlin echoed this sentiment, stressing the importance of collaboration in the cybersecurity ecosystem.
Building digital resilience
David Olgart, Director of Cybercampus Sweden, talked about how Cybercampus Sweden started and developed, emphasising the importance of staying ahead of the curve and building resilience to the threats and attacks that are occurring.
"We are advancing cybersecurity through research, innovation, education and collaboration,"Olgart said.
This was followed by a panel discussion on how to protect critical systems and strengthen preparedness against cyber attacks and disruptions by building digital resilience in an increasingly interconnected and digitised society.
President Halla Tómasdóttir and her husband Björn Skúlason from Iceland and the Swedish royal couple visiting Cybercampus Sweden at KTH.
The guests of honour then moved on to an exhibition, where they got a taste of different types of KTH research at different levels, as well as several start-up companies that have emerged from KTH research.
Among other things, some students showed how easy it is to hack into a smart children's watch, which is intended to create security in communication between parents and children. There was also an explanation of how to access password-protected hardware in a car.
The flag-bearing procession from THS Student Union at KTH greeted and said goodbye to the visitors with banners from all the chapters. For Matilda Westerlund and Rebecca Martinsson, it was the first time being in the flag-procession during a state visit:
"It is very exciting and a great honour to represent KTH."
Text: Jill Klackenberg
Photo: Johan Marklund