Season’s Greetings!

A big thank you to each of you for contributing to making Digital Futures a standout research space in Europe for the sciences of digital transformation. We are now a vibrant community across academic disciplines, industrial sectors, and public organizations, with teams engaging in hundreds of projects and activities.

I want to pause for a moment to contemplate some key achievements in 2023 and offer a glimpse into the forthcoming activities planned for an exciting 2024.

Digital Futures has enhanced its international presence and expanded its collaborative efforts globally. A cooperation with UC Berkeley has been signed. Within this framework, our Summer Research Internships Programme will be expanded starting next year with undergraduate students coming from and going to Berkeley.

Collaboration has also been initiated between Digital Futures and the Institute for Control, Optimization, and Networks (ICON) at Purdue University with strong support from our industrial partner, Saab.

Together with the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Automation in Switzerland and Einstein Center Digital Future in Berlin, two of our sister centres, we are establishing a European network on diversity and inclusion, creating a hub for representation and ethical decision-making in AI.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, visited Sweden and KTH in May and had breakfast at Sager Palace with a Digital Futures PhD student and postdoc, along with the Swedish Prime Minister, to discuss trustworthy AI.

During Open Research Days in April, we welcomed our new partners AstraZeneca, Saab and Xylem to Digital Futures, and they are already fully engaged in several projects and activities.

Our annual flagship conference, Digitalize in Stockholm, hosted on October 18-19 at Aula Medica, explored the timely dimensions of Collaboration and Conflict in the digital transformation of society. Drawing together international keynote speakers, industry leaders, academics, and societal stakeholders, the event provided insight into the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles and the US Presidential initiative on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI, among many other things. All insightful keynote talks and panel discussions are available on the Digital Futures YouTube playlist “Digitalize in Stockholm 2023.”

We’ve got a lot in store for 2024 – a Digital Futures Young Scientist Conference organized by students and postdocs, the arrival of several new international research scholars, matchmaking workshops for researchers and stakeholders, international conferences, focus periods for international research leaders, and a summer internship program for undergraduate students offering insights into digitalization and the life of a researcher – and of course many new research projects.

A heartfelt thank you goes to our operations team: Anna, Claudia, Johanna, Silvia, Ulrika, and Vendela. Your exceptional efforts in steering Digital Futures and cultivating a warm, welcoming atmosphere for everyone are truly commendable.

As we approach the holiday season, I extend wishes for joy and safety, and may the upcoming year, 2024, bring nothing but wonderful experiences for all.

Karl H Johansson, Director Digital Futures