Almost 50 years to the day since he inaugurated Linköping University, His Majesty The King returns to attend the festivities on Campus Valla. It will be a day filled with lectures, meetings, speeches and music.
Pictures from the inauguration 50 years ago were shown at the stage. Photographer: Thor Balkhed
What a festive day it was when Linköping University celebrated its 50th birthday! Royal presence, a programme that spanned from conversations about our major societal challenges and the importance of education and research to many warm tributes from LiU’s friends.
Turning 50 is a major event and appreciation for the jubilant took many forms, not least from the main stage where all the speeches were to be held in the afternoon. The first speaker was, of course, His Majesty The King who referenced back to the inauguration 50 years ago.
Photographer: Thor Balkhed
“Back then I said, among other things, that ‘here, 6,000 people will work in a modern environment for the science and research of the future’. Today, you are more than 50,000 students and staff. LiU stands as living proof of what courage, curiosity and free thinking can achieve.”
The King especially mentioned LiU’s students, which was appreciated by the many thousands of people in the audience, comprising former as well as current students.
“It’s widely known that your students are highly valued. Both for developing the programmes and for contributing to a rich student life on campus. Your students are in demand and quickly enter the labour market,” said The King before leading the audience in four cheers for Linköping University.
Pioneering spirit – then as well as now
Vice-Chancellor Jan-Ingvar Jönsson also took up the pioneering spirit that existed at LiU 50 years ago and is still strong today.
Photographer: Thor Balkhed
“We weren’t going to do what everyone else was doing. We weren’t going to follow the trend – we would lead it. We would have the courage to think freely and innovate. And now, 50 years later, when we have grown both in depth and breadth, we still think the same.”
Photographer: Thor BalkhedAs a representative of LiU’s more than 140,000 alumni, Helen Köpman was on stage. She currently works for the European Commission in Brussels, in its newly established AI office. During her time as a student (Master of Science in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering), she was also in charge of the Student Union building Kårallen that was being built on Campus Valla.
It was at the opening of Kårallen in 1987 that she met the Royal couple. This included ribbon cutting, fine speeches, a showing of the Kårallen (including students singing in the sauna), a gala lunch and a super show. A bit like today, 38 years later.
“I didn’t learn everything in the lecture hall. Student life taught me a lot, especially leadership,” says Helen Köpman.
Vice-Chancellor Jan-Ingvar Jönsson recieves a gift from Kristina Edlund from the City of Linköping. Photographer: Thor Balkhed
A present from Östergötland
The celebration was attended by representatives from all municipal executive boards in Östergötland plus Region Östergötland, congratulating Linköping University on its birthday. From the stage, Kristina Edlund, Chair of the Linköping Municipal Executive Board, gave a speech to LiU and handed over a joint gift from the 13 municipalities and Region Östergötland.“The students are of valuable importance for Linköping, not least considering all the companies, innovations and development that the university has given us. This, in turn, spills over to the rest of the county,” said Kristina Edlund.The birthday present consisted of a contribution to the Birthday present for the future – a gift to Linköping University’s Jubilee Foundation where each municipality has donated one krona per inhabitant in its municipality and Region Östergötland has donated one krona per inhabitant in the region. In total, it adds up to SEK 944,892.
Many important topics
The programme started with a review of what the combination of supercomputers and artificial intelligence can mean for Swedish research and societal development. Professor Erik Lindahl, director of the National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputers in Sweden (NAISS), together with professors Anders Ynnerman and Fredrik Heintz, discussed the need for ever faster computers for research, for example in WASP, which is the largest research programme in Sweden in modern times, and the courses in AI that LiU offers.“We wanted to offer a day with many interesting topics that showcase the excellent research and innovative education being conducted at LiU. The programme has of course also been designed according to HM The King's interests and wishes," said Vice-Chancellor Jan-Ingvar Jönsson.One request from The King was to have the opportunity to talk to students, and he got that during a walk in the University Park with the Student Union chairs; Filippa Alesand Lundin from Consensus, Eira Movin from LinTek and Ellen Ivarius Andersson from StuFF. This was followed by a short ride in the autonomous ‘Ride the Future’ bus, which transported The King to Studenthuset, where he listened to presentations on research in areas such as climate change, the consequences of increased need for electricity, and mental illness, areas where LiU has gained a prominent position after 50 years as a university. Professor Björn-Ola Linnér was one of the speakers.“I have spoken in front of The King, and The Crown Princess, on several occasions before, and they are both incredibly committed and knowledgeable about environmental issues. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are passionate about these issues. Also, they often travel around the world and see examples of what is happening outside our borders.”Photographer: Magnus Johansson
A successful day with many events and an audience of several thousand people, and even the sun came out. And the feeling when The King led the audience in four cheers for Linköping University will likely linger in the memory of many of those who attended.
