Saab and KTH collaborate to ensure the competence of the future
Saab
Since May 2022, Ingemar Söderquist from Saab has been an adjunct professor in avionics at KTH. By working both in industry and academia, he gets the opportunity to review KTH's education programs and ensure that they remain relevant to industry, something that brings great benefits both to the students and the industry sector.
Ingemar Söderquist was only five years old when his great interest in technology was sparked. Full of fascination, he watched his father's friend fix the family's television in the living room at home. When the same friend retired a few years later, Ingemar inherited his equipment, and for the rest of his upbringing he spent large parts of his time experimenting with new models and technical solutions.
Entering adulthood, Ingemar was able to make his biggest hobby also his profession. For more than 40 years, he has been working with electronics design in aeronautics at Saab, where he holds the title Technical Fellow. In May this year, he decided to take the step to become an adjunct professor at KTH, where he acts as a bridge between industry and academia.
However, Ingemar has worked in close collaboration with KTH ever since the 90s when he ran a joint research project together with Ingo Sander, who is professor of Electronic System Design.
- Collaboration between industry and academia has always been a winning concept when it comes to finding future solutions. But all collaborations benefit from a long-term perspective. When Saab and KTH entered into a strategic partnership in 2013, this was made possible. You have explicit goals and you understand each other in a more thorough way. This gave the motivation that was needed in this collaboration, Ingemar says.
Finding the solutions of the future is something that Ingemar works actively with in his professional role. When it comes to keeping up with the development of new aviation technology, he is always up-to-date and leaves nothing to chance. But it is specifically the collaboration with KTH that he highlights as particularly important in the work to ensure the future development of the aviation industry.
- In the collaboration with KTH, and especially in my role as an adjunct professor, I have the opportunity to have a say about and influence the courses and make sure that they continue to meet the industry's requirements, despite the fact that development sometimes moves forward quickly. This is of course a big win for the students who study at KTH. At the same time, Saab ensures that we have the right recruitment base and that the research produced is relevant to the industry, now and in the future, Ingemar says.