During his state visit to Sweden, Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited Chalmers together with his host, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Among other things, they were given a tour of Chalmers NextLabs' quantum testbed and met students.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam arrive on campus.
One day of Tharman Shanmugaratnam's three-day state visit was spent in Gothenburg. One of the highlights was a visit to the MC2 building at Chalmers, where the President and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden were welcomed by the Chalmers choir.
Chalmers President Martin Nilsson Jacobi gave an opening speech explaining Chalmers' work in quantum technology and highlighting the strong ties with Singapore. Despite the complexity of the subject, the speech subsequently earned praise from the President:
'That was a speech that both the King and I could understand,' said Tharman Shanmugaratnam, prompting laughter.
State visits open doors
Martin Nilsson Jacobi particularly emphasised that the Swedish King's state visit to Singapore in 2024 had helped open the door to closer cooperation between the two countries and their universities.
'The collaboration has been extremely valuable to our development. Sweden and Singapore are small countries, but we have chosen to compete with larger nations through knowledge, openness and long-term investment in people.'
Monica Ringvik, CEO of Chalmers NextLabs, compared the relationship between Sweden and Singapore to quantum particles becoming 'entangled'.
'Even when they are far apart, they remain connected, just like our countries.'
She also highlighted the importance of the twin testbeds now established at Chalmers and in Singapore. The testbeds are identical, allowing reliable comparisons regardless of which country the tests are conducted in.
Meeting students
After learning more about quantum technology from Professor Göran Johansson and seeing the quantum computer itself, the President and the King concluded their visit by meeting Singaporean students at Chalmers, as well as Professor Jia Wei Chew.
'It was special to meet the Swedish King during our short time here. He wanted to know why we had chosen to come to Sweden and how we were enjoying our time here,' says Sai Kalepu, who studies computer science.
'Our President wanted to know how we were experiencing Swedish culture. It was nice to have the opportunity to speak personally with both of them,' says Abhijith Ravikumar, who studies on the same programme.
Cooperation with Singapore to be strengthened
Martin Nilsson Jacobi was pleased following the hour-long visit.
'Everything went really well, and it was great to be able to show them our quantum lab. Above all, it was good that the King and the President had the opportunity to meet the students – it makes what an exchange means so tangible.'
He also praised the visitors' curiosity.
'The President was incredibly knowledgeable and asked relevant questions, which was impressive in itself. It also means a great deal that they made visiting us a priority.'
Chalmers has been collaborating with universities in Singapore for several years.
'Singapore is a leading nation in these fields. We have a well-established collaboration that is now expanding into areas beyond quantum technology. I am planning to visit.