Sylvia Schwaag Serger new president of IVA
Today, the Assembly of the Academy decided to appoint Sylvia Schwaag Serger as the new president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA). Sylvia Schwaag Serger is a professor at the School of Economics, University of Lund, and since 2019 an elected fellow of IVA's Division Education and Research Policy.
Sylvia Schwaag Serger and Marcus Wallenberg, Chair of IVA. Photo: Erik Cronberg.
Sylvia Schwaag Serger holds a PhD in Economic History from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a master's degree in international economics and international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
"With her unique expertise in research and innovation issues, Sylvia Schwaag Serger will be a great asset to IVA. Her solid international experience and knowledge of new technologies such as AI will be very valuable for the challenges and opportunities that IVA and Sweden are facing. I have great confidence that her visionary leadership will create great internal and external commitment," says Marcus Wallenberg, Chair of IVA.
"I am pleased and honoured to have been elected as the new president of IVA. I have great admiration for the collective competence and experience that IVA's fellows possess. I look forward to leading IVA's operations in a challenging time – for Sweden, Europe and the world. Engineering plays a crucial role in tackling the greatest societal challenges of our time and securing our future freedom and prosperity, and IVA has an important role to play in this," says Syliva Schwaag Serger.
About Sylvia Schwaag Serger
Sylvia Schwaag Serger is chair of Formas' research council, a member of the Swedish AI Commission and a member of the expert group for the mid-term evaluation of Horizon Europe, the EU's framework programme for research and innovation.
Sylvia Schwaag Serger was Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Lund University from 2018 to 2021 and was previously Head of International Collaboration at Vinnova. She has been engaged as a China and innovation expert by the European Commission, the OECD and the World Bank, and has been a member of Prime Minister Stefan Löfven's National Innovation Council, as well as in the research committee. She has broad international work experience and has, among other things, been a technical and scientific adviser at the embassy in Beijing.
Sylvia Schwaag Serger succeeds Tuula Teeri, who has been president since 2017. Sylvia Schwaag Serger will take up her position on 1 October 2024, becoming the tenth president since IVA was founded in 1919.
