2026-01-12: Chalmers and KTH are able and willing to educate more engineers than they do today, but since we do not appear to be able to secure funding for additional students, we will unfortunately instead be forced to reduce their number. I wrote this together with my fellow President Anders Söderholm in an article in DN Debatt last week.
Many of us agree that Sweden’s future prosperity depends on competence in engineering and the natural sciences. The level of innovation is high, and our success as an export nation is built on this foundation. Politicians and industry alike are strikingly united on this point: we need to encourage as many young people as possible to take an interest in these fields of knowledge. In doing so, many of them can also become innovative engineers – a prerequisite for our continued competitiveness.
Chalmers and KTH are, of course, important actors in this development. I myself also serve, at the government’s request, as a member of the so-called STEM Delegation, which was appointed in connection with the presentation of the national STEM strategy just under a year ago. For that reason, I consider it particularly important to point out that education policy and the STEM strategy are currently not fully aligned.
I fully recognise that politics involves constant trade-offs between legitimate interests, and that many will always wish to see more resources allocated to their own area. For that reason, it may be worth discussing this from a resource perspective: all the efforts done to stimulate young people’s interest in STEM subjects constitutes a collective investment – from committed schools and teachers, industrial initiatives, voluntary homework tutors and other inspiring enthusiasts.
Everyone has contributed to the fact that we are now seeing strong interest from well-qualified applicants to Sweden’s engineering programmes. Many of these activities have been funded with public money. In this situation, it is responsible from a socio-economic perspective to educate more engineers – the alternative is to squander parts of an investment that has already been made.
Viewed from a human and individual perspective, the issue becomes even clearer: we have young people whose interest has been sparked and who possess the required ability, but who today cannot fulfil their dream of studying at our leading higher education institutions – despite the fact that their skills are needed by society.
It is wasteful on every level, and it is something we truly cannot afford.
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.