2026-03-16: Last week I visited Poland as part of a large Swedish trade delegation accompanying the Swedish royal couple, several government ministers and a wide range of business leaders.
As part of the former Eastern Bloc, Poland—perhaps more than any other country—has succeeded in creating impressive economic growth and, within just a few decades, has become an important driving force for European development.
However, this is not only about trade. Polish actors are also stepping forward within academia. Through the Enhance collaboration, Chalmers has maintained important exchanges with the technical universities in Warsaw and Gdańsk for several years.
As part of a panel discussion with, among others, Marcus Wallenberg, I took part in the conference “Scaling Innovation for Europe: Sweden and Poland in Partnership” at the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw. The discussions were deeply meaningful, including how trust between institutions, academia and business can serve as a European success factor, and how young people’s entrepreneurship can strengthen competitiveness in turbulent times.
The entire purpose of the delegation, organised by Business Sweden on behalf of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, is important and highly relevant in today’s geopolitical and economic context. Europe must strengthen its competitiveness. This naturally involves scientific research at the highest level, but equally the sharpening of our ability to rapidly carry breakthroughs forward through a chain of innovation, implementation and scaling within industry and society.
Of course, none of this is new. The former central bank governor Mario Draghi highlighted these issues in sharp relief in his well-known report as early as 2024. However, the urgency has increased even further. The current security situation also requires European countries to collaborate more effectively. Many of the delegation’s participants were active in the security and defence industry, and part of the programme addressed how Sweden and Poland—nations with strong ties—can work together in areas such as total defence, critical infrastructure and resilient societies.
The business delegation of more than 100 people is said to have been one of the largest ever to accompany the Swedish king on an official state visit. It is also clear that the willingness to cooperate between the two countries is strong.
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.