Where are WASP alumni today? Statistics from a recent WASP follow‑up

WASP alumni are making an impact across both academia and industry—and the latest follow-up by WASP offers a snapshot of where they are today.

Considering 236 PhD graduates with updated information:

➡️ 62% are working in industry

➡️ 35% are in academia

Many alumni are also continuing their careers in Sweden. Nearly 3 of every 4 (72%) of WASP alumni are currently based in the country, contributing their expertise to Sweden’s research and innovation ecosystem.

Among those working in Sweden, the industry connection is even stronger:

➡️ 74% work in industry

➡️ 26% remain in academia

WASP alumni are also increasingly global. Outside Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are the most common destinations.

“To build a strong and competitive Sweden and to contribute to excellence in research we need the next generation of competences, WASP has been focussing on just that  and we will continue to track the program’s output,” says Amy Loutfi, WASP Program Director.

Voices from three WASP alumni

Mårten Lager, Senior AI Research Scientist at Saab Kockums and WASP’s 2025 alum of the year, said his experience as a WASP student gave him a unique long-term perspective. “I believe most WASP students are really good at predicting what the future will look like 10 years ahead,” he said. 

Lars Svensson, CEO of Nordic Forestry Automation and WASP’s 2024 alum of the year, share his view. Together with his co‑founder David Gillsjö, who is also a WASP alum, he leads a company built directly on research conducted within WASP.

“I can easily say that without WASP, there wouldn’t be a company. The company is built on the knowledge and skills me and David gained through our research work. In addition, the opportunities and contacts from the ecosystem around WASP has really helped in getting us off the ground. I realized when joining the program that this was different from other research programs, due to its size and the seniority and skill of the people involved,” says Lars Svensson.

Rebekka Wohlrab, Assistant Professor at Chalmers University of Technology and WASP’s Alum of the Year 2023, reflects on how her experience continues to shape her work today.

“I bring all my experiences from the time as a PhD student and as a postdoc with me when I am now about to build my own research group. The main people that have influenced me are my supervisors. They have had different ways of working, but they left a lot of freedom to me as a student. I try to do that with my students too while being adaptive to different students’ needs. It feels very meaningful to teach and to see the PhD students learn and develop. They often come up with great ideas and it’s so much fun to collaborate with them. I learn a lot and it helps me grow as a leader too.”