Increased interest in Tekniksprånget

Teknikspråget ("The technology leap") is an internship program that gives young people an insight into the engineering profession. Luleå University of Technology is one of the employers that accepts interns annually. This year, the number of applicants for Tekniksprånget was record high with 44 applicants for our 12 internships, a big increase from last year. “The best thing about the Technology Leap is getting to try working with something you really like and have an interest in and want to learn more about,” says intern Freja Wallblom.

“It is gratifying that many people have shown interest in Tekniksprånget this year. We know that it is a much-appreciated project and can see that many of the interns later applying for engineering profession. For us, the project is particularly important because of the great need for skills we have in Norrbotten and Västerbotten,” says Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn, Vice-Chancellor at Luleå University of Technology and chairman of the steering group for Tekniksprånget.

Tekniksprånget is for people up to the age of 21 who are curious about the engineering profession, a much-appreciated project run by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (IVA). IVA has runed the project for a little over ten years. Together with over 220 employers, from private and public sector, a paid internship of four months as an engineer is offered. The interns are led by supervisors at Luleå University of Technology, whose task is to introduce the interns to the workplace and give them insight into what it means to work as an engineer, as well as opportunities for networking. Abdallah Albalawi from Malmö and Freja Wallblom from Stockholm are doing their internship at Tekniksprånget at Luleå University of Technology during the fall.

“The best thing about the Tekniksprånget is getting to work with something you really like and have an interest in and want to learn more about. And to see all the laboratory rooms, where there is equipment that you previously only read about, and that much of the equipment is self-built by researchers, which is not found anywhere else - it's awesome. To also feel that you get to help in leading research and see how you can work as a researcher after education - that is also exciting, says Freja Wallblom, intern at the Department of Technology and Mathematics at Luleå University of Technology. Freja's supervisor is Postdoctoral Researcher Erik Nyberg.

“During the internship, we get to experience adult life and try working as an engineer. We get to be involved in things with experienced colleagues. Tekniksprånget creates a better image of what the engineering profession looks like. It shows that there is an opportunity to work with what you really like. My plans are to study further to become an engineer, working at Luleå University of Technology gives me a broader picture of what the profession looks like, which can also help me choose a direction, says Abdallah Albalawi, intern at the Department of Social Sciences, Technology and Arts at Luleå University of Technology.Freja's supervisor is PhD Student Mohamed Elnourani.

"It is broad with a great variety"

Via Tekniksprånget, with the support of their supervisors the interns get to participate in the day-to-day operations with tasks such as participating in meetings, conferences and getting to try managing projects themselves. All to show the variety that the engineering profession entails.

“The first weeks of the internship have been very interesting, we have been involved in most things. Two of my colleagues within Tekniksprånget are currently working with 5-TEK while I am reviewing how we are going to develop our Instagram account for sustainable production. We will also compare Luleå University of Technology's social media with two other universities. It is broad with a great variety,” says Abdallah Albalawi.

“I chose to do my internship at Luleå University of Technology because for me it was the best place. I like Northern Sweden, as well as skiing and running and we get the opportunity to see how engineers work with research after their education. There is a lot of research at Luleå University of Technology and I think that in the future I would like to work at a university as a researcher or engineer, which is why the internship suited me so well,” says Freja Wallblom.

This week, Freja Wallblom gets to try being a serious researcher when she goes to Brussels to compete in the European Research Championship, EUCYS, with Sweden's Young Research National Team. With their high school work in environmental chemistry, where they checked the sensitivity of aluminum treatment to acidification in various bodies of water, they won this spring's Research SM, the Young Researchers Exhibition. Freja thus became one of twelve representing the Swedish national research team. Together with her project colleague, Freja competes against thirty other countries and will present her work in front of a jury.

Autumn's 12 interns also have sponsors in the form of students and student ambassadors who give an insight into student life and show more parts of the university in addition to the department the intern is at. The student recruitment unit at Luleå University of Technology coordinates this work together with the sponsors.

The importance of Tekniksprånget

In September 2023, the government decided to extend its funding to Tekniksprånget. In order to meet the great need for technical competence, it is necessary for more young people to choose an engineering education, something that Tekniksprånget has a big impact on.

“Tekniksprånget project is needed in order for Sweden, the country of engineering, to continue to compete at the top level in the world. It is not only new knowledge and more engineers that are needed, but also more perspectives and ideas. We have seen that the Technological Leap makes more people become engineers. It shows the throughput increase that we are doing together with Statistics Sweden. After the internship, 92 percent go on to further study, of which 77 percent choose higher technical studies. Half of them are women, which we think is extra fun,” says Thommy Tengborg, communications manager for Tekniksprånget.

This year the Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering (SBN), the Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering (SRT), the Department of Technology and Mathematics (TVM) and the Dep Department of Social Sciences, Technology and Arts (ETKS) at Luleå University of Technology are participating in Tekniksprånget.

• Teknikspånget ("The technology leap") External link, opens in new window.