WASP is Sweden’s largest individual research program ever. It was launched in 2015 and will run until 2030. The ambition is to advance Sweden into an internationally recognized and leading position in Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Systems and Software. WASP comprises an ambitious research program, a national graduate school and several initiatives to enhance collaboration with industry and internationally leading universities.
The WASP member universities are:
- Chalmers University of Technology
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology
- Linköping University
- Lund University
- Umeå University
WASP also includes research groups in MATH and MLX at the following universities:
- Uppsala University
- Örebro University
- Luleå University of Technology
The WASP program is dedicated to significantly strengthen the competence in AI, autonomous systems and underlying software methodology and technology in Sweden – for the benefit of Swedish society and industry. One aim is to start at least 60 new research groups in Sweden. This will be achieved by attracting and recruiting established experts, outstanding younger researchers and notably sharp PhD students. Among other, the investment is expected to result in at least 600 PhDs graduating from WASP Graduate School, whose unique courses and activities are offered exclusively for the WASP PhD students.
Funding and educating academic and industrial PhD students is the backbone of WASP and is the main instrument to both increase competence and create new knowledge. Through the funding of research projects, WASP creates new knowledge and increases competence. Most WASP projects are carried out by PhD students in the WASP Graduate School. The research spans a wide range of fields addressing both breadth and depth.
WASP also funds large projects in which several PhD students and postdocs may be included. Read more about these projects at the external website: https://wasp-sweden.org/research/projects/
Research is also conducted in collaboration with universities abroad, see further below.
There are several forums for collaboration in the WASP community, both within academy and between academy and industry.
The “Clusters” gather researchers and PhD students from all participating universities with common interests. The WASP community can also keep contact in the WASP Slack workspace, for more information see https://internal.wasp-sweden.org/networks-and-resources/slack/.
The WASP Research Arenas (WARA) provide platforms for researchers and industry partners to collect real world data and conduct field tests in industrially relevant settings. In addition, networking between participating parties is a central part of the WARAs.
The scientific dialogue between academy and industry is further strengthened by both internal and external events arranged by WASP. Also, study visits for the PhD students are arranged by Swedish industry.
Memorandum of Understanding with three leading international Universities
WASP has a memorandum of understanding with Stanford University and UC Berkeley in the U.S. and with Nanyang Technical University (NTU) in Singapore. The purpose is to advance research cooperation within fields relevant to WASP. Support is given to PhD students in the WASP Graduate School to go as visiting researchers to Stanford and UC Berkeley. The collaboration with NTU includes one-year exchange for young researchers.
Other WASP offers for PhD Students
The PhD students can apply for funding to visit other universities than Stanford and Berkeley. International study trips are arranged by the WASP Graduate School. PhD students may also initiate dedicated trips in smaller groups with common interests.
Postdoc positions
International collaboration is also supported through the funding of visiting postdoc positions in WASP. In addition, WASP PhDs who are interested in an international postdoc experience can apply for funding to go abroad.