This week, together with KTH’s President Anders Söderholm, I visited the Swedish Parliament to discuss with several MPs the conditions that would allow us, as universities of technology, to make an even greater impact. The government has already announced increased resources for the sector – ensuring maximum value for these investments is, in many ways, a matter of courage.
The courage required is about granting researchers greater autonomy in selecting research questions and giving university leadership a greater responsibility for quality while also providing them with the mandate to actively prioritise in order to systematically build scientific excellence.
But what exactly is bold about that?
It is about allowing a higher degree of scientific risk-taking at the systemic level. More projects must be allowed to take longer and explore fundamentally unknown fields. With this comes the risk of reaching dead ends, but at the same time, the possibility of making truly groundbreaking discoveries.
This logic is amplified by international competition for scientific talent – if we lack the conditions necessary to achieve pioneering results, many of the best researchers will choose other environments, which in turn further diminishes our capacity for such results, and so on.
But, some might ask, aren’t universities just one of many societal actors asking politicians for more money and less restraints? Is this really reasonable, especially given that the government, in its research and innovation bill, has announced an additional SEK 6.5 billion annually for the sector from 2028?
Strengthened funding
These are entirely reasonable objections. Let me therefore be extra clear: we are genuinely positive about these additions. Sweden is one of the few Western countries currently strengthening its university funding, and this is both encouraging and wise.
Together with KTH, we are taking the bill as a starting point and trying to demonstrate how, within its framework, we can maximise the impact of the resources allocated. Most bang for the buck – or perhaps more precisely, the highest possible excellence for the money.
Fortunately, there is considerable consensus on this matter – the bill contains a clearly stated ambition to drive excellence. What we bring to the table are ideas on how to translate these ambitions into practice:
- Minimising co-funding requirements – so that universities’ own resources are not tied up due to success in attracting external funding.
- Ensuring long-term calls for funding that allow universities the freedom to determine which types of activities should be financed, rather than short-term project grants with specified uses.
- Establishing strategic technology areas, similar to the well-known strategic research areas, and giving universities a decisive role in defining them.
These are measures that can be implemented immediately. And we justify these proposals by highlighting the central role that universities of technology play in driving innovation, economic growth, and ultimately, Sweden’s prosperity.
Greater impact can be achieved
In the longer term, there is a need to redistribute more research funding to academic environments that can genuinely build excellence at an international level. This requires long-term models that would mean a somewhat greater shift in Sweden’s funding landscape. On the other hand, the potential gains are enormous; the transaction costs in terms of writing applications, review processes, and similar activities are currently massive. This creates uncertain and risk-averse researchers. With the same amount of funding, significantly greater impact could be achieved by creating models that, to some extent, differentiate the missions of various universities.
However, this would entail a more substantial transformation, requiring bold leadership at all levels – from university academic councils and university management to the highest governing bodies of the state.
The fact that we are addressing these issues together with KTH is important. As research-intensive universities of technology, we operate within the same funding system – a system designed to ensure acceptable quality through competition but which makes it more difficult to build world-class research environments.
Chalmers and KTH together educate nearly half of all civil engineers in Sweden and account for a significant portion of the country’s technical and scientific research. With the right conditions, our contribution to Sweden’s competitiveness, green transition, and a stronger Europe could be even greater.
Martin Nilsson Jacobi, President and CEO of Chalmers University of Technology
Under the headline "President’s perspective" the President and CEO for Chalmers University of Technology, shares his reflections on current topics that concern education, research and utilisation.