Chalmers University of Technology was founded in 1829 and named after William Chalmers, a director of the Swedish East India Company, who set aside funds in his will to establish an “industry school for poor children”, who were taught to read and write. Today his private home forms part of the university and is used as a meeting place for conferences, workshops and seminars.
Chalmers University of Technology now has more than 8,600 students and just under 1,900 teaching and research staff at its two Gothenburg campuses. The port of Gothenburg, on the west coast of Sweden, is one of the country’s major cultural hubs, making it an attractive place to study. The city’s Art Museum has one of the most comprehensive collections of Nordic art, with works by artists such as Carl Larsson.
Aside from the two main campuses, the university conducts research at the Lundberg Laboratory in Gothenburg – a renowned centre for cellular and molecular research – and at its Onsala Space Observatory, about 30 miles south of the city, which is equipped with tide gauges, radiometers, navigation satellite receivers and a superconducting gravimeter, enabling scientists to study the Earth and the wider universe.
Other research fields that the university focuses on include nanoscience and nanotechnology, the built environment, life science, information and communication technology, and materials science, with Chalmers recently receiving a €10 billion (£8.3 billion) grant from the European Union to carry out research on graphene.
Notable Chalmers alumni include physics Nobel prizewinner Gustaf Dalén and jazz musician Jan Johansson.
Chalmers University of Technology is a research-intensive university, continuously rated as the best known as well as the best reputed university in Sweden, in annual public surveys. Chalmers also gets top scores on learning by students in the International Students Barometer.
With more than 70 nationalities represented and 40 English taught two-year master’s programmes Chalmers is a highly progressive international university. Out of 10 000 students, 1 000 are international master’s students. Campus life is welcoming, generous and diverse. The location in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second biggest city, on the beautiful west coast makes for great times, studies aside, whether you prefer outdoor life or urban pleasures.
The learning atmosphere is open-minded and informal, encouraging independent thinking and creativity in the tackling of intricate real-life problems with theoretical knowledge – a fertile environment for innovation. With this comes a genuine entrepreneurial spirit, embodied in the subsidiary Chalmers Ventures. Its highly ranked business incubators, are making sure new ideas finds their way to commercial use.
Founded as an industry school for poor children in 1829 Chalmers University of Technology has been deeply rooted in the needs of the industry and committed to societal development ever since.
The spirit of the Chalmers legacy is expressed in the vision – for a sustainable future. A vision, not to be cherished by a chosen few specialising in sustainability matters. Instead, the vision is permeating all activities at the university: research, education, utilisation and daily life on two campuses. Courses addressing environmental issues and sustainability has been integrated in all programmes for more than three decades.
Chalmers University of Technology conducts research in a number of cutting edge infrastructures, such as its clean room, Onsala Space Observatory and AstaZero – the world’s first full-scale test environment for road safety. Europe’s biggest ever research initiative, the Graphene Flagship with a budget of € 1 billion, is coordinated by Chalmers.
As part of a profound commitment to utilisation, Chalmers has strategic partnerships with internationally renowned high-tech companies such as Volvo, Ericsson, SKF and AstraZeneca. The close links to industry and society characterises the education as well as the research conducted at the university, and it provides excellent career opportunities for students.
