Peter Wallenberg Jr wants to create teaching that motivates learning

Jenny Widén

During his time with the foundation, Peter has emphasised the importance of excellence and the researcher’s freedom to choose their own direction. Among many contributions, he has helped establish two prestigious programmes: Wallenberg Scholars, aimed at established senior researchers at Swedish universities, and Wallenberg Academy Fellows, which targets promising early-career researchers in the natural sciences, engineering and technology, medicine, the humanities and the social sciences.

Visiting professorship in visual science communication

Jenny Widén

Increasing young people’s interest in science is something close to Peter Wallenberg’s heart, as are various teaching methods that encourage children’s learning. With this in mind, Peter describes it as both deeply appreciated and an honour that one of his 60th-birthday gifts included KAW funding a ten-year visiting professorship in his name: the Peter Wallenberg Visiting Professorship in Visual Science Communication. It is very likely the world’s first professorship in visual science communication.

Established in 2019, the visiting professorship has already had a positive impact on the development of the internationally renowned research in visualisation and computer graphics conducted at Linköping University, Campus Norrköping. Among its holders so far are the American director, producer and screenwriter Ben Shedd, who has made many award-winning science films. Another is Carter Emmart, who previously worked at the Hayden Planetarium in New York.

Felt school was too rigid

The importance of teaching and learning methods is something Peter knows from personal experience. He speaks candidly about how challenging his early school years were. He grew tired of school almost immediately and felt the teaching was boring and too rigid – it offered neither motivation nor drive. Looking back, he mainly remembers a figure standing at the blackboard lecturing. He believes the problem was not with individuals, but with the system itself. And although this was a long time ago, he is convinced that many pupils in today’s schools feel exactly the same.

Peter was given a lifeline in his final school years, when his parents let him attend an international school with a completely different teaching system. He went from barely getting through school to becoming a student with strong final grades. It was a crucial turning point, giving his confidence a significant boost.

A “wow” moment at the Visualization Center

Jenny Widén

Since then, he has carried with him the realisation that teaching must be adapted to the individual. That realisation was reignited the first time he visited Visualization Center C in Norrköping. He recalls how once the initial overwhelming “wow” feeling subsided, the thoughts came: How can you create teaching that motivates learning? What can be developed – and how?

Over the years, Peter has visited the centre many times, both with adult guests and with the family’s children. He wants each visit to both spark curiosity and provide knowledge – to let them experience the joy of being involved, of trying, creating and developing for themselves.

Important for young people

Peter Wallenberg believes that at KAW there is a strong conviction that this work is important for young people. The goal is to inspire them to discover how exciting science can be – in a way that is based on play and creativity, supported by the latest technology.

He also emphasises the central role of visualisation. It enables researchers to present complex ideas in an accessible way that transcends boundaries of language, culture and age, spreading knowledge broadly and inclusively. Peter is convinced that the more young people who get the chance to encounter science in this way, the more can be motivated to pursue higher education and perhaps even choose a research career themselves.

When it comes to the visiting professorship, he is certain of the mutual benefits. International experience brought to LiU broadens the university’s perspectives and strengthens its expertise, while the visiting professors have the opportunity to contribute to the development of ongoing work. They, in turn, take away the impression of Sweden as a country of creative people engaged in forward-looking research and development. Through their stay at LiU, they can also appreciate the advantages of a young, responsive and focused university, built on dialogue and short decision paths – in short, a workplace without walls.

Jenny Widén