The story of InspireLab
Sometimes, things fall into place in a perfect pattern, gaining meaning and significance. InspireLab emerged at just the right moment, when the right people came together to create something none of them could have achieved on their own – with the potential for significant societal impact.
At one end stands an entrepreneurial family – a mother with two daughters – who manage companies, including in the real estate sector. Both as business owners and individuals, they are driven by the desire to contribute to sustainable societal development and have a particular interest in cultural initiatives and gender equality.
At the other end is a leading technical university – KTH – which combines innovation with a strong set of values and takes pride in striving for world-leading research in technology, while ensuring equal opportunities for everyone to be part of this research. KTH’s systematic work on gender equality and diversity began under its previous President, Sigbritt Karlsson, with Professor Anna Wahl – a pioneer in gender studies – serving as the Vice President for Gender Equality. Since then, for more than ten years, KTH Equality Office has been tasked with integrating these issues among students and staff, in education and research, as well as in the working environment. With the current President, who has clearly marked the importance of standing up for sustainability, diversity, and gender equality, KTH continues this tradition.
Add to this a centre director driven by a passion for gender equality and diversity, both as a researcher and a practitioner, who now returns to academia with experience from global organisations where she has driven and developed international gender equality work.
The vision
After some initial deliberation, things quickly fell into place, and together with KTH, the family determined the best way to use their support – resulting in InspireLab: a hub for technology, innovation, and research that strengthens gender equality in society.
Everyone involved in the process agrees that InspireLab feels unusually well thought-out: a meeting of philanthropy and science, of human rights and technological development. With this legacy and these visions in mind, InspireLab now takes on the task of being a catalyst for change – in a time when much seems to be heading in the wrong direction. It is a moment that demands action.