A man with short brown hair and glasses, wearing a checked shirt, is smiling slightly against a plain white background.

Research can take very different paths and directions, says Bengt Ahlgren at RISE

Meet Bengt Ahlgren, Senior Researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and Associate Director for Testbeds and Data at Digital Futures. Bengt is also a Co-PI of the research project Decision-making in Critical Societal Infrastructures (DEMOCRITUS) at Digital Futures.

Hi Bengt Ahlgren, describe your role at Digital Futures?

– The centre has ambitious goals for demonstrating and evaluating digital solutions together with partners and in societal-scale test-beds.  My role is to pave the way for digital futures researchers and partners to realise these demonstrations and evaluations in collaboration with existing test-bed facilities.

Tell us a bit about your long-time experience in research and what motivates you as a researcher?

– One thing that intrigues me as a researcher is the very different paths and directions research can take.  Sometimes it is straightforward to apply a result in industry or society, but at other times it is a very long and winding road, perhaps via multiple research groups.  The insight is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to plan for societal impact and that it is important to build research bottom-up, on the ideas of the individual researchers.

Finally, tell us a little bit about yourself! Any research dreams?

– My research since I started as a PhD student has always been experimental and systems-oriented in the field of computer networking and networked applications.  Using this experience, I hope that I can be part of realising at least one societal-scale demonstrator in the context of Digital Futures.

Link to the profile of Bengt Ahlgren

 

More news

A bald man wearing glasses and a dark shirt speaks on stage, holding a mobile phone and gesturing with his hand. Behind him is a vibrant, futuristic cityscape backdrop with blue tones and digital graphics. A glass of water is on the table beside him.

Physical AI can make Swedish companies global winners– when will Sweden get its first physical AI unicorn?

24/11/2025

“Our really big societal challenges require AI to be integrated with the physical world,” said...

A person with short light brown hair and round glasses, wearing a loose black top, speaks on stage holding a device, with a screen displaying text and buildings in the background.

Google’s XR boss: “We need to stop talking to AI”– when technology is faster than humans, new interaction is needed to take advantage of the opportunities

24/11/2025

At Digitalize in Stockholm, keynote speaker Mar Gonzalez-Franco said she believes that we have a...

A man in a suit, wearing glasses and a headset microphone, gestures while speaking on stage. He holds a mobile in one hand, with a presentation slide about mental health and AI visible in the background.

From VR operations to smart hospitals with 5G– Singapore and Ericsson are leading the way in the global healthcare revolution

21/11/2025

Autonomous AI was the focus of this year's Digitalize in Stockholm, with talks and discussions...

A large group of people pose and smile for a group photo indoors, in front of a screen with a blue display. Most wear name badges and casual clothing. The room has wood-panelled walls and digital futures signage.

Future Digileaders ’25 brings global early-career researchers to Stockholm

17/11/2025

Stockholm, Sweden — Twenty-three early-career researchers from 11 countries gathered in Stockholm this week for Future Digileaders...