Sveriges barn och unga mår inte bra. Psykisk ohälsa, ökade neuropsykiatriska sjukdomar och sociokulturell förvirring, delvis orsakad av sociala medier, ökar. Som resultat av det sjunker kunskapsnivån bland unga, med läsförståelse och matematik som särskilt problematiska områden. Det här vill Irma Alert, vinnaren av Flemingsberg Science Award ändra på.

Efter sina fyra år som dekan har Maria framgångsrikt satt KI Syd och Flemingsberg på kartan. Maria är en eldsjäl som med ett stort engagemang drivit fram KI Syd under de senaste åren. Nu när hon lämnar rollen som dekan på Karolinska Institutet reflekterar vi på stiftelsen Flemingsberg Science över alla framsteg och prestationer hon har uppnått.

Stockholm växer och vi vill ha en smart stad med kunskapsintensiv industri som är hållbar. I ett panelsamtal under Science Week den 1 februari diskuterar vi hur innovativa neutrala arenor är centrala för utvecklingen av den smarta och kunskapsintensiva staden.

Vinnare av Flemingsberg Science Award IDEA blev i år Hejfin. Innovationen är en app för kvinnor och icke-binära för att hjälpa dem att hantera sin privatekonomi.

Passa på att uppleva en interaktiv ljudinstallation samtidigt som du bidrar till forskningen för att förbättra framtidens stadsplanering. The Our Sound Space installation has now opened at Neo in Flemingsberg, which offers visitors the opportunity to use their smartphones to experiment with different sound environments and explore with soundscapes.

Our Sound Space is part of the Planning for Youth research project that aims to study methods and tools for meaningful participation of the younger demographic groups in participatory planning and placemaking. Romina Rodela is Docent at Södertörn University and project leader for the initiative. ““Historically, children and young people have not been very central in spatial planning. In our project, we want to explore new methods which are better able to capture their voice in spatial planning and placemaking,” says Rodela.

In this case, you use your smartphone to listen to how a new residential area will sound, for example. Which sounds are perceived as positive and which sound environments are less attractive? The idea is to give the planners of the future better tools to include children, young people and people with impaired vision or other functional variations in the planning stages of such projects. “We’ll use Our Sound Space to gather opinions from different groups to establish how effective a tool like this can be. At the same time, the installation is open to all to try out and comment on,” says Rodela. The software itself is developed by researcher Maurizio Goina at KTH and may in future be shared with planners, construction companies and architects.

Mattias Lindén is responsible for Hemsö’s properties in Flemingsberg and believes that installations such as Our Sound Space have the potential to improve the image of the area. “We’re sitting on an underused resource. In courtyards and along walkways there are areas that could be used for temporary art exhibitions – opportunities for as yet undiscovered artists to gain some exposure. We’ve just decided to support the Our Sound Space project. Imagine if people in the future will associate Flemingsberg with exuberant creativity, a place where you experience new and fresh ideas. Our Sound Space can be a small step in that direction,” says Lindén, Senior Property Manager at Hemsö. Our Sound Space runs until 7th March, while the research project will continue for another two years.