A prime ministerial visit is a rather rare event at a university. When it happens, everything is usually on show, and there are many lecturers and so much on the programme that you can almost feel sorry for the visitors. When Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate party spent the afternoon at LiU, the visit was certainly conducted at a high pace, but there was also time for stimulating demonstrations and many opportunities to ask questions. And this the Prime Minister did. They were about who is driving the development of AI, the place of the humanities and social sciences in technological development and how Sweden can keep up with other countries when it comes to, for example, building up competences in the country.
“WASP produces a doctor a week, which is fantastic. But how do we take care of them and get them to find sufficiently advanced jobs in Sweden?” asked Professor Anders Ynnerman, programme director of WASP, in a direct rejoinder to the Prime Minister.
When Professor Fredrik Heintz noted that LiU covers all current research areas in AI, the Prime Minister commented that it must also be an advantage to be a university characterised by interdisciplinarity. Not just well-read on the university, the Prime Minister also turned out to be quite handy in navigating a robot dog in a laboratory environment. Researchers Patrick Doherty and Mariusz Wzorek demonstrated how a mock rescue operation involving multiple robots could be carried out. The Prime Minister, who also had to act “injured”, was, despite various obstacles, able to order and have delivered an emergency food package with the help of the robots. That may also have been welcome after an intensive programme at LiU.
“WASP produces a doctor a week, which is fantastic. But how do we take care of them and get them to find sufficiently advanced jobs in Sweden?” asked Professor Anders Ynnerman, programme director of WASP, in a direct rejoinder to the Prime Minister.
When Professor Fredrik Heintz noted that LiU covers all current research areas in AI, the Prime Minister commented that it must also be an advantage to be a university characterised by interdisciplinarity. Not just well-read on the university, the Prime Minister also turned out to be quite handy in navigating a robot dog in a laboratory environment. Researchers Patrick Doherty and Mariusz Wzorek demonstrated how a mock rescue operation involving multiple robots could be carried out. The Prime Minister, who also had to act “injured”, was, despite various obstacles, able to order and have delivered an emergency food package with the help of the robots. That may also have been welcome after an intensive programme at LiU.