Chalmers University of Technology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers tekniska högskola
Formal Seal of Chalmers tekniska högskola, Göteborg, Västra Götalands län, Sverige.svg
Motto Avancez (French)
Motto in English
Advance
Type Private
Technical
Established 1829
President Stefan Bengtsson
Administrative staff
2,500
Students 11,000 (FTE, 2010)[1]
1,000
Location Gothenburg, Sweden
Campus Urban
Affiliations IDEA, EUA, CESAER, UNITECH
Website www.chalmers.se
Chalmers Logo Sverige.png

Chalmers University of Technology (Swedish: Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science, architecture, maritime and other management areas.[2]

History[edit]

The University was founded in 1829 following a donation by William Chalmers, a director of the Swedish East India Company. He donated part of his fortune for the establishment of an "industrial school". Chalmers was run as a private institution until 1937, when the institute became a state-owned university. In 1994, the school was incorporated as an aktiebolag under the control of the Swedish Government, the faculty and the Student Union. Chalmers is one of only three universities in Sweden which are named after a person, the other two being Karolinska Institutet and Linnaeus University.

Departments[edit]

On 1 January 2005, the old schools were replaced by new departments:

  1. Applied Information Technology
  2. Applied Mechanics
  3. Applied Physics
  4. Architecture
  5. Chemical and Biological Engineering
  6. Civil and Environmental Engineering
  7. Computer Science and Engineering
  8. Energy and Environment
  9. Fundamental Physics
  10. Materials and Manufacturing Technology
  11. Mathematical Sciences
  12. Microtechnology and Nanoscience
  13. Product and Production Development
  14. Radio and Space Science
  15. Shipping and Marine Technology
  16. Signals and Systems
  17. Technology Management and Economics

As of 1 January 2016, the former departments of Applied Physics and Fundamental Physics have been joined to form the Department of Physics.

In addition to these, Chalmers is home to six national competence centres in key fields like Mathematical Modelling, Environmental Science and Vehicle Safety (SAFER).

Students[edit]

Approximately 40% of Sweden's graduate engineers and architects are educated at Chalmers. Each year, around 250 post graduate degrees are awarded as well as 850 graduate degrees. About 1,000 post-graduate students attend programmes at the university and many students are taking Master of Science engineering programmes and the Master of Architecture programme. From 2007, all Master's programmes are taught in English for both national and international students. This was a result of the adaptation to the Bologna process that started in 2004 at Chalmers (as the first technical university in Sweden). Currently, about 10% of all students at Chalmers come from countries outside Sweden to enroll in a Master's or PhD program.

Around 2,700 students also attend Bachelor of Science engineering programmes, merchant marine and other undergraduate courses at Campus Lindholmen. Chalmers also shares some students with Gothenburg University in the joint IT University project. The IT University focuses exclusively on information technology and offers Bachelor and Master programmes with degrees issued from either Chalmers or Gothenburg University, depending on the programme.

Chalmers confers honorary doctoral degrees to people outside the university who have shown great merit in their research or in society.

Organization[edit]

Chalmers is an aktiebolag with 100 shares à 1,000 SEK,[3] all of which are owned by the Chalmers University of Technology Foundation, a private foundation, which appoints the university board and the president. The foundation has its members appointed by the Swedish government (4 to 8 seats), the departments appoints one member, the student union appoints one member and the president automatically gains one chair.[4] Each department is led by a department head, usually a member of the faculty of that department. The faculty senate represents members of the faculty when decisions are taken.

Campuses[edit]

the gate of Chalmers(Gibraltar Campus)

In 1937, the school moved from the city center to the new Gibraltar Campus, named after the mansion which owned the grounds, where it is now located. The Lindholmen College Campus was created in the early 1990s and is located on the island of Hisingen. Campus Johanneberg and Campus Lindholmen, as they are now called, are connected by bus lines, but there have been numerous complaints that the campuses are too isolated from each other.

Societies and traditions[edit]

Traditions include the graduation ceremony and the Cortège procession, an annual public event.

  • Chalmers Students' Union
  • Chalmers Aerospace Club – founded in 1981. In Swedish frequently also referred to as Chalmers rymdgrupp (roughly Chalmers Space Group). Members of CAC led the ESA funded CACTEX (Chalmers Aerospace Club Thermal EXperiment) project where the thermal conductivity of alcohol at zero gravity was investigated using a sounding rocket.
  • Chalmers Alternative Sports - a student association organizing trips and other activities working to promote alternative sports. Each year arranges the Chalmers Wake a Pond wakeboard contest in the fountain outside the architecture building at Chalmers.
  • Chalmers Ballong Corps
  • Chalmers Baroque Ensemble
  • CETAC
  • Chalmers Choir
  • Chalmersspexet – Amateur theater group which has produced new plays since 1948
  • Chalmers International Reception Committee (CIRC)
  • XP
  • Chalmers Program Committee – PU
  • Chalmers Students for Sustainability – [CSS] promoting sustainable development among the students and runs projects, campaigns and lectures.
  • Föreningen Chalmers Skeppsbyggare, Chalmers Naval Architecture Students' Society (FCS)
  • Chalmers Sailing Society

Ties and partnerships[edit]

Chalmers has partnerships with major industries mostly in the Gothenburg region such as Ericsson, Volvo, and SKF. The University has general exchange agreements with many European and U.S. universities and maintains a special exchange program agreement with National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Taiwan where the exchange students from the two universities maintains offices for, among other things, helping local students with applying and preparing for an exchange year as well as acting as representatives. It contributes also to the Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME) network.

A close collaboration between the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers and ICVR at ETH Zurich is being established. As of 2014, Chalmers University of Technology is a member of the IDEA League network.[5]

Rankings[edit]

As of September 2016
University rankings
Global
ARWU[6] 201-300
Times[7] 251-300
QS[8] 139
Europe
Times[9] =126

In the 2011 International Professional Ranking of Higher Education Institutions, which is established on the basis of the number of alumni holding a post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or equivalent in one of the Fortune Global 500 companies, Chalmers University of Technology ranked 38th in the world, ranking 1st in Sweden and 15th in Europe.[10]

In the latest QS World University Rankings (2016), the university was ranked 139th in the world (overall).[11] In the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016/2017, Chalmers ranked 251-300 of all global universities.[12] In the latest Academic Ranking of World Universities (2016), the university was ranked between places 201-300 of all universities in the world.[13]

Notable alumni[edit]

Presidents[edit]

Although the official Swedish title for the head is "rektor", the university now uses "President" as the English translation.

1829–1852 Carl Palmstedt
1852–1881 Eduard von Schoultz
1881–1913 August Wijkander
1913–1933 Hugo Grauers
1934–1943 Sven Hultin
1943–1958 Gustav Hössjer
1958–1966 Lennart Rönnmark
1966–1974 Nils Gralén
1974–1989 Sven Olving
1989–1998 Anders Sjöberg
1998–2006 Jan-Eric Sundgren
2006–2015 Karin Markides
2015– Stefan Bengtsson

Notes and references[edit]

  1. ^ Facts and figures (English) Archived 23 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine.. Chalmers.se. Retrieved on 9 August 2011.
  2. ^ Maritime & Logistics Education at Chalmers
  3. ^ Statutes of Chalmers University of Technology Foundation, paragraph 3 (this is a translation of the swedish text Archived 6 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine..) Chalmers University of Technology
  4. ^ Statues of Chalmers University of Technology Foundation, paragraph 5 Archived 14 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine.. Chalmers University of Technology. Retrieved on 9 August 2011.
  5. ^ http://www.idealeague.org/
  6. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities: Global". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016. 
  7. ^ "World University Rankings 2016-2017". Times Higher Education. 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2016. 
  8. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2016/17". Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016. 
  9. ^ "Best universities in Europe 2017". The Times Higher Education. 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. 
  10. ^ "International Professional Ranking of Higher Education Institutions". Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. 
  11. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2016 (overall)". 
  12. ^ "Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016/2017". 
  13. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities – 2016". 
  14. ^ FAQ & Biography, Retrieved Oct. 16, 2014
  15. ^ Corey Charlton (10 September 2014). "Landscapes that are out of this world: Artist creates fantastically surreal vistas". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 16 October 2014. ...A photographer ... incredibly surreal images using a combination of raw materials, original photography and Adobe Photoshop alterations. Erik Johansson, originally from Sweden, .... 

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 57°41′18″N 11°58′36″E / 57.68833°N 11.97667°E / 57.68833; 11.97667