With a focus on climate footprint and increased costs of premises, concrete measures for more efficient use of campus premises and visions for the attractive learning environments of the future were discussed.
Government: "Effective premises optimisation is an expectation"
State Secretary Maria Nilsson from the Ministry of Education and Research began the seminar by emphasising the central role of campus areas for education, research and innovation. She explained that the government expects higher education institutions, such as government agencies, to manage their premises cost-effectively.
"The government expects authorities to manage tax funds in an efficient way. Naturally. And that includes space optimization," said Maria Nilsson.
Akademiska Hus, which owns about 60 per cent of the higher education institutions' premises, was identified as a key player in enabling greater efficiency improvements in dialogue with the higher education institutions.
Report from SUHF shows the way
A report showed how sensor data from Akademiska Hus is used to analyse how premises are actually used. A basis that is also part of the report that SUHF, through the higher education institutions' climate network, has produced. A guide with clear recommendations for what the degree of utilization per type of premises should look like.
The recommendations state that there is great potential for several types of premises to be used more efficiently.
"I would say that our recommendations are quite challenging. If we look at offices, they are used on average today 1.5 to 3 hours per day. We suggest that this should be rather six hours. In other words, a doubling," says Lisa Redin, the universities' climate network and sustainability strategist at Umeå University.
KTH: We need to act quickly
Anders Söderholm, President of KTH, and Martin Melkersson, University Director at SLU, participated in the panel and confirmed that the issue of premises is important. Anders Söderholm emphasized that the situation has become difficult with inflation and increased rental costs in recent years.
"We have had rent increases of almost 19 percent in two years, and it is not possible to optimize away with any sensors," said Anders Söderholm, President of KTH.
In addition to measures such as central scheduling and activity-based offices and freeing up entire buildings to rent out to other actors, proposals were raised with more room sharing between universities and also sharing with other actors.
Akademiska Hus has invested approximately SEK 100 million in sensors, which help to provide a picture of what the utilization rate actually looks like.
"It's fantastic to see that it is starting to be used more and more. I think it's good that there are facts as a basis for making decisions like this, because otherwise there can be a lot of opinions," says Caroline Arehult, CEO of Akademiska Hus.
Campus Solna – vacancies enabled life science clusters
The seminar also showed examples of how vacancies can be turned into an opportunity and contribute to the development of innovation clusters. Campus Solna, with Karolinska Institutet and around 100 life science companies, including Elypta AB, was highlighted as a successful example.
"For our company, it is an advantage to be in a research-intensive environment with access to expertise. I see cluster formation as something positive and that higher education institutions are a natural focus point for it," said Karl Bergman, CEO of Elypta AB.
Students agree – the meeting between academia and business provides a clearer picture of what the education leads to. When Akademiska Hus asks about 1000 students via Norstat about how they view a development with more business on campus, the majority are positive to very positive.
Umeå University: AI for Spatial Planning
One of the most concrete examples came from Umeå University. There, together with Akademiska Hus, AI has been used to analyse office use and identify three user types: frequent, periodic and sporadic users. Result? Several corridors could be terminated without deteriorating the work environment.
"It started with a curious institution that wanted to see its own figures. Now several parts of the university use the same model," said Johanna Westberg, local planner at Umeå University.
Finland leads the way
Finland presented a national strategy for state-owned co-working offices. In eight years, the real estate company Senaatti has reduced office space by 30 percent through shared work environments and clear change communication.
Conclusion: From cost to attractiveness
The final discussion landed in one conclusion: optimization is not just about saving money. A well-designed, vibrant campus with diverse content creates both sustainability and attractiveness.
"It's not just about the venue itself, but about the content and the people in it. That is what creates the attractiveness," summarized Caroline Arehult, CEO of Akademiska Hus.