The University of Sheffield recently hosted 40 of Sweden’s leading doctoral researchers, marking a major milestone in international research ties. On Wednesday 22 April, a delegation from the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Programme (WASP) visited the School of Computer Science, the Centre for Machine Intelligence (CMI), and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).
WASP is Sweden’s largest individual research initiative - a £450M+ programme involving the nation's top universities and industrial partners like Volvo. Having recently visited institutions such as Stanford, MIT, and Imperial College London, the delegation’s stop in Sheffield underscores the city's position as a global leader in AI and autonomous systems.
Bridging Research and Industry: The AMRC Tour
The day began at the AMRC, led by Dr James Law. The visitors were given a front-row seat to industrial AI applications at Factory 2050 and the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research Centre (ICAIR).
During the tour, students explored several flagship projects:
- Small Modular Reactors (SMR): Working with Rolls-Royce, students saw the development of manufacturing processes for SMR modules.
- The COMPASS Facility: A look at the largest robots in Europe, dedicated to automating large-scale composite fabrication at speed and scale.
- Underground Robotics: Researchers from MAC and EEE demonstrated robots designed for the autonomous inspection of buried pipe networks.
Fostering Global Connections
The afternoon moved to The Diamond, where the delegation was welcomed by Prof Tony Prescott (Sheffield Robotics), Prof Heidi Christensen (School of Computer Science), and Prof James Marshall (CMI).
The visit was coordinated by Dr Paul Townend, an Associate Professor at Umeå University, who focused the visit on showcasing the high-calibre research currently being conducted in Sheffield to an international audience.
The visit has opened clear pathways for funded collaborations and student exchanges. With WASP offering significant opportunities for joint research, the School of Computer Science and the CMI are now looking toward future ventures with Swedish academic and industry partners.
Knowledge Exchange and Innovation
At the heart of the visit was a collaborative poster session, where WASP PhD students joined their Sheffield counterparts from Computer Science and the CMI to share research. This was followed by a series of talks highlighting the breadth of Sheffield’s expertise, featuring:
- Prof Amir Ghalamzan Esfahani from Sheffield Robotics and the Centre for Machine Intelligence
- Dr Max Champneys, and Dr Midhun Parakkal Unni from the Centre for Machine Intelligence.
- Dr Shuo Zhou representing AI Research Engineering (AIRE).
- Prof Vita Lanfranchi from the Pervasive Computing Research Group.
- Dr Carolina Scarton from the Natural Language Processing Research Group.
The day concluded with specialised tours of the MicroRobotics and Biomedical Robotics labs at the Kroto Research Institute, providing visitors with a detailed look at high-precision engineering and healthcare-focused robotics.
This visit highlights Sheffield’s role at the heart of the global AI landscape. By hosting Europe’s most ambitious research programmes, we continue to build the international partnerships necessary to drive the next generation of machine intelligence.