Flemingsberg campus with great potential for the future
As a melting pot of knowledge, people and universities, KTH's Flemingsberg campus has great potential as a strategically important part of the university.
This is one of the key findings of the report, 'KTH's current and future activities in Flemingsberg', which was commissioned by the President of KTH.
"This is an area with a bright future in many respects. Flemingsberg is one of Region Stockholm's eight regional city centres, and major investments are planned for the future according to the regional development plan,"says Gustav Amberg, who conducted the study with Erik Fahlbeck at the Managemnet Office.
However, he is quick to point out that he was previously Vice-Chancellor of Södertörn University for almost a decade, so he feels strongly about Flemingsberg.
Pool of opportunities
Today, over 20,000 students attend the five educational institutions located here: the Karolinska Institute, Södertörn University, the Red Cross University College, the Stockholm Music Education Institute and KTH, as well as a university hospital. This creates a pool of expertise and opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration and cross-fertilising education in healthcare, technology, the social sciences and the humanities.
‘In terms of education, this means a focus on technology, life sciences and health for KTH, while also investing in broader recruitment and finding new talent,’ says Gustav Amberg.
With good transport links already in place and further investment in infrastructure, the district will become even more attractive in the long term.
"Although it takes 18 minutes by commuter train from the central station, the physical distance is probably less than the mental one. One way to bridge this gap would be to have more students, researchers and teachers present at both locations," Amberg says.
The report contains a number of proposals on how KTH's research and education can be developed through the Flemingsberg campus. In terms of education, the area provides fertile ground for interdisciplinary programmes in technology linked to precision medicine, bioinformatics, and digital health — just a few examples of the many possibilities. Similar opportunities exist for cross-border research collaboration, which could be further stimulated through start-up funding.
More attractive environment
However, for Flemingsberg to become an even more integrated, future-oriented and vital part of KTH as a whole, the environment is a crucial factor.
"It's not particularly exciting, but when the investments currently being made by various stakeholders begin to take full effect, the area will likely become much more attractive," says Amberg.
President Anders Söderholm comments on the next step:
"We have reviewed Gustav's excellent report and will take several of the proposals forward, including in discussions with the other higher education institutions in Flemingsberg. We will also look at how we organise our own educational offerings."
Rapport om verksamheten i Flemningsberg (pdf 292 kB) (In Swedish)
Text: Jill Klackenberg