30 April 2025

A photo of a happy young woman in intimate conversation with the Queen. Who is this woman and what are they talking about? I keep searching, find more photos. It turns out they are from 1987, when the student union building Kårallen was inaugurated by the King. According to her name tag she is Helen Köpman, and is in charge of Kårallen.

Helen Köpman och drottningen
Helen Köpman and the Queen

I finally find her, the alumna who loves working with innovation and learning new technology, solving problems with the help of technical solutions and understanding how solutions can bring benefits to society. She is no longer in Sweden, but is on LinkedIn. When I finally realise that Köpman is written Koepman and not Kopman, I find her contact information. She is deputy head of the AI for Societal Good unit at the newly established AI Office in the European Commission’s Digital Directorate-General in Brussels.

Helen Köpman in front of the EU-flag
Helen KöpmanPhotographer: razmus
–The most memorable time for me in Linköping was no doubt working to get Kårallen built,” says Helen Köpman.

She studied for a Master of Science in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering from 1984 to 1989, with a sabbatical year when in charge of Kårallen. In addition to this, she helped organise the programme’s reception of new students in 1985 and was a member of its jubilee committee in 1988.

That was one of the best times of my life! Campus Valla had a nice atmosphere, mainly due to the fact that the university was relatively small. It was a good mix, with students from different faculties in one place. Also, student life was very active with different ways to socialise, not only with fun theme parties but also corridor life, Ryd’s Manor, access to different sports and a library when you needed to study.

A solid base for her career

Helen’s Master of Science in Engineering in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering became a solid base for her career. However, not with a focus on medical technology as she had planned from the beginning.

But being able to see how engineering skills can be applied in such an important field as medicine was incredibly motivating. I think LiU was special in that it was possible to combine different academic studies and clearly see the benefits of collaborating across different disciplines. Also, being a student is in itself an educational journey, living and socialising with different kinds of people and understanding what you are good at and what you can get better at.

Helen’s time at LiU led to her being involved in the launch of 3G mobile telephony in Sweden through the development of a network monitoring system and seeing the internet revolution take off with the help of light-weight web browsers. She has developed private virtual networks for global mobile workplaces, experienced the freedom of remote working when WiFi was launched, helped research on automated driving, developed EU policy for the information society, helped innovative companies find funding and develop in the EU market, shaped European collaboration on Blockchain, and has seen the rise of the crypto industry.

The main theme of my career has been working with innovation around digital solutions. Lately, I’ve become more interested in the interaction between politics and technology.

– Most recently, I’ve become fascinated by what can be achieved with digital twins to simulate sustainable solutions for urban traffic flows and water and energy resources, not least through international cooperation. We have just established a new European collaboration called Citiverse – how to use digital twins (virtual copies of physical objects or systems updated in real time) and Extended Reality to find common solutions to urban problems. The art of engineering in what I’m doing now lies in understanding how best to connect different data with AI and other data technologies to optimise sustainable solutions for smart cities.

Her time in charge of Kårallen

What did this post involve?

It was very stimulating to work with sponsorship and the statutes of the Union Building Fund. Then there was the planning of the student organisations’ different rooms, some interior design and artistic decoration together with the architect and not least of the grand opening party with the King and Queen as guests!

How do you remember the opening of the building?

We were really nervous because of the royal visit. But the whole thing was planned in detail with the help of the opening team with ribbon cutting, nice speeches, a tour of Kårallen (including the sauna) for the royal couple, a gala lunch and a super show. The day just flew by!

What did you talk to the King and Queen about?

They told me about what it was like when they were students and about nice memories from that time.

How did you envision your future back in 1987?

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to work internationally with technology.

And today?

I want to continue to find solutions to the climate crisis. This is the most important thing and also the smartest choice if we want communities where people can thrive and have fun jobs in the future. My dream is that we will be climate neutral long before 2050.

Linköping University 50 years

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