KTH Royal Institute of Technology facts for kids
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Kungliga Tekniska högskolan
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| Motto | Vetenskap och konst |
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Motto in English
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Science and Art |
| Type | Public Research University |
| Established | 1827 |
| Budget | SEK 5.366 billion |
| Chairman | Ulf Ewaldsson |
| President | Anders Söderholm |
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Academic staff
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950 |
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Administrative staff
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3,600 |
| Students | 13,500 (FTE, 2019) |
| 1,700 | |
| Location | , |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Blue |
| Affiliations | CLUSTER, CESAER, EUA, T.I.M.E. association, PEGASUS, NORDTEK, Nordic Five Tech, UNITE! |
The KTH Royal Institute of Technology (in Swedish: Kungliga Tekniska högskolan), often called KTH, is a big public university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH is famous for its studies and research in engineering and technology. It is Sweden's largest university for technical subjects.
Today, KTH has five main schools and four campuses in and around Stockholm. KTH was started in 1827 as the Teknologiska institutet (Institute of Technology). But its roots go back even further to the Mekaniska skolan (School of Mechanics) in 1798. The very first idea for KTH came from the Laboratorium mechanicum, set up in 1697 by Swedish scientist Christopher Polhem. This early lab taught technology and showed off new inventions. In 1877, the university got its current name, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, is the official patron of KTH.
KTH is a highly-ranked university. In 2024, it was ranked 73rd among all universities in the world by the QS World University Rankings. This makes it the highest-ranked university in the nordic countries.
Contents
History of KTH
KTH's story began with the Laboratorium Mechanicum in 1697. This was a collection of mechanical models used for teaching. It was created by Christopher Polhem, who is known as the father of mechanics in Sweden. He started this lab as a place to learn and research engineering.
The models were used for teaching practical mechanics until the School of Mechanics (Mekaniska skolan) was founded in 1798. In 1827, this school became the Technological Institute (Teknologiska institutet). This happened after many similar technical schools opened in Europe.
At first, the teaching was very basic, focusing more on crafts than on engineering. In 1845, Joachim Åkerman became the new head. He made big changes, and by 1848, the institute offered proper engineering training. Students had to be at least 16 years old and pass an entrance test. The engineering program grew from two years to three years in 1851.
In the 1860s, the institute expanded. In 1863, it got its own special buildings in Stockholm. In 1867, new rules made it clear that the institute should provide scientific training. The School of Mining from Falun joined the institute in 1869. In 1871, KTH also took over the civil engineering course.
In 1877, the name changed to KTH Royal Institute of Technology. This made it a "College" (högskola). Some courses were extended to four years. Architecture was also added to the subjects taught.
By 1915, the engineering degrees from KTH became officially recognized. Many KTH graduates were called civilingenjör (civil engineer). In 1917, the first buildings of KTH's main campus on Valhallavägen were finished. This is still its main campus today.
For a long time, research was not the main focus of technical institutes. Engineers who wanted to do academic research had to get their doctorates from regular universities. But in 1927, KTH was finally allowed to give its own doctorates, called Teknologie doktor (Doctor of Technology). The first five doctors graduated in 1929.
In 1984, engineering programs in Sweden became 4.5 years long. Later, shorter technology programs from other schools were added to the university system. This meant KTH gained more campuses around Stockholm.
Today, KTH provides one-third of Sweden's research and engineering education. In 2019, KTH had 13,500 undergraduate students, 1,700 doctoral students, and 3,600 staff members.
The R1 Nuclear Reactor
After World War II, Sweden wanted to understand nuclear technology. Scientists at KTH were given the task to "make something with neutrons." They began researching and decided to build a nuclear reactor for testing.
They built a reactor called Reaktor 1 (R1) 25 meters underground, right below KTH. This might seem risky today, as many people lived nearby. However, it was seen as important for research at the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.
On July 13, 1954, the reactor started working and created Sweden's first nuclear reaction. R1 was the main place for Swedish nuclear research until 1970. It was then closed down because people became more aware of the safety concerns of having a reactor in a busy city area.
KTH's Motto
KTH's motto is "Vetenskap och konst." This means "Science and Art." But the word konst (art) here doesn't mean creative art like painting. Instead, it means the "art" of putting scientific knowledge into practice. This is what ingenjörskonst (engineering) means. So, another way to say the motto is "Science and the Art of its Application."
Schools at KTH
KTH is divided into five main schools. Each school is in charge of its own education and research. These schools also have different departments, research centers, and study programs. The five schools are:
- School of Architecture and the Built Environment
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- School of Engineering Sciences
- School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health
- School of Industrial Engineering and Management
KTH's Rankings
| University rankings | |
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| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World | 201–300 (2023) |
| QS World | =73 (2024) |
| THE World | =97 (2024) |
| USNWR Global | 240 (2023) |
Overall University Rankings
KTH is highly ranked among universities worldwide.
- In 2024, it was ranked 73rd globally by QS World University Rankings.
- In 2024, it was ranked 97th globally by Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
- In 2023, it was ranked between 201st and 300th globally by ARWU.
Subject Rankings
KTH also ranks very well in specific subjects. Here are some of its top rankings in the QS rankings by subject for 2023:
- Engineering - Mechanical: 23rd in the world
- Material Sciences: 23rd in the world
- Engineering - Electrical and Electronic: 23rd in the world
- Architecture and Built Environment: 26th in the world
- Engineering - Civil and Structural: 44th in the world
- Mathematics: 48th in the world
- Computer Science and Information Systems: 62nd in the world
- Physics and Astronomy: 64th in the world
KTH Campuses
KTH Campus (Main Campus)
KTH Campus is the main campus. It is located in the Östermalm area of Stockholm. The first main buildings were finished in 1917. Famous Swedish artists decorated the buildings and the surrounding areas. The older buildings were updated in 1994. Even though the original campus was large, KTH quickly grew bigger. New buildings have been added over time. KTH Campus is still where most of the university's activities happen.
KTH Kista Campus
In the 1980s, KTH opened a campus in Kista, Stockholm. Kista is north of central Stockholm. It is Sweden's biggest business center and a very important area for information and communication technology (ICT) companies. Over a thousand ICT companies are located there, including Ericsson, IBM, and Microsoft.
KTH Flemingsberg Campus
Since 2002, part of KTH's School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health has been in Flemingsberg, Stockholm. Flemingsberg is a major area for biotechnology research in northern Europe. Other universities like Södertörn University and the Karolinska Institute also have activities there. They often work together with KTH.
KTH Södertälje Campus
KTH Södertälje is the smallest KTH campus. It is located in the city of Södertälje. The education here works closely with local businesses, especially big companies like Scania and AstraZeneca. KTH Södertälje offers courses mainly in mechanical engineering, logistics, and product development.
KTH Library
The library at KTH (called "Kungliga Tekniska högskolans bibliotek," or KTHB) is Sweden's largest library for technology and basic sciences. It was started in 1827 when KTH was founded. The main library is on KTH's main campus in central Stockholm. It is a key place for learning and working together at KTH. The library also has two smaller branches in Kista and Södertälje.
The KTH Library helps students and researchers with their academic and digital skills. It supports sharing research openly and helps the university make smart decisions. A main goal is to improve the quality of education and research at KTH.
History of the Library
The library began in 1827. The first director, Gustav Magnus Schwartz, traveled to other countries to buy books for the library. The first collection had about 800 books, mostly about crafts. In 1845, Professor Joachim Åkerman became the new director. He made the library focus on scientific books. In 1869, 2,000 books on metallurgy and chemistry were added when another school joined KTH.
In 2013, the KTH library was visited by the US president, Barack Obama.
Library Collections
Today, the library mainly focuses on electronic books and journals. It also manages KTH's part of DiVA, which is a collection of all research papers published by KTH.
The library also has a large collection of printed books. Its special collection of rare books has 60,000 volumes from 1827 to 1960. These are kept in the main library.
The Library Building
The main library building was designed in 1917 by Erik Lallerstedt. He also designed the rest of the university's new campus at that time.
The building has been changed several times. In the 1950s, a former open courtyard was built over. From 2000 to 2002, the building was rebuilt again. The part added in the 1950s was removed. A new entrance and office building with glass walls were built.
The courtyard is now the main central room of the library. The rest of the library is built around it. The old parts of the building have been restored to look more like their original design.
The renovation of the library has won awards for its architecture. In 2004, the architect Per Ahrbom won the “Helgopriset” for his work on the library.
Notable People from KTH
Many famous people have studied or worked at KTH.
Notable Alumni (Former Students)
- Immanuel Nobel: An inventor and industrialist.
- Gustaf Larson: He helped start the car company Volvo.
- Niklas Zennström: He co-founded Skype, a popular video call service.
- Daniel Ek: He started Spotify, a music streaming service (he did not graduate).
- Christer Fuglesang: An astronaut and the first Swedish citizen in space.
- Dolph Lundgren: A famous actor.
- Greta Woxén: Sweden's first female civil engineer, who graduated in 1928.
Notable Faculty (Teachers and Researchers)
- Hannes Alfvén: A Nobel Prize winner in Physics.
- Kai Siegbahn: Another Nobel Prize winner in Physics.
- Lennart Carleson: A winner of the Abel Prize, a top award in mathematics.
- Stanislav Smirnov: A winner of the Fields Medal, another top award in mathematics.
KTH Great Prize
The KTH Great Prize is an award given out every year by KTH. In 2019, the prize money was SEK 1,200,000.
The prize is given to:
- Someone who has invented important new ways to use scientific knowledge.
- Someone who has found valuable scientific ideas or methods that are useful in real life.
- Someone who has used art to strongly influence people's feelings and lives.
The person who wins the award must also be a Swedish citizen. Usually, one person wins, but sometimes two or three people share the prize.
International Connections
KTH has been named a "European University" by the European Commission. KTH has joined with six other technical universities in Europe to form an alliance called UNITE! (University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering).
The goal of UNITE! is to create a "trans-European campus." This means they want to offer courses that cross borders, encourage scientific teamwork, and share knowledge between countries. The alliance includes universities from Germany, Finland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
See also
- Blandaren
- List of universities in Sweden
- List of forestry universities and colleges
- ESDP-Network
- Top Industrial Managers for Europe
