Students from Rochester Institute of Technology participate in University West’s research project

Jadeline Miao, Calvin Nau and 16 other students from Rochester Institute of Technology are participating in University West’s industry-focused research project, PROWIL.

Five of total 18 doctoral and master’s students have nearly completed their eight-week study period in Trollhättan. During their stay, they have visited five industrial companies and worked on tasks related to their studies in artificial intelligence and computer science.

The project aims to develop new methods for using AI in industry, with a focus on human needs and conditions. The main goal is to find new ways to manage products efficiently using AI and automation. The core idea is that technology should adapt to humans, rather than humans adapting to technology.

“We’re excited that our research collaboration with Rochester Institute of Technology is now underway. RIT is one of the most renowned multidisciplinary universities in the U.S. Our AI research is still developing, so it’s valuable to gain insights from the students’ knowledge and perspectives on how AI can be applied in these contexts.”

Assignments over eight weeks

Groups of students and doctoral candidates from RIT will come to University West in three rounds. Over eight weeks, they carry out assignments that relate to various industrial challenges. Doctoral student Calvin Nau and master’s student Jadeline Miao are working on completely different topics.

“My focus is on exploring how exact optimization can be used in additive manufacturing. I’m looking into how settings in the manufacturing process can be optimized more quickly using a combination of exact optimization and AI,” explains Calvin.

Jadeline’s work centers on the skills challenges faced by industry during technological transitions.
“Digitalization in industry demands new knowledge across many professions. I’m investigating how to identify the knowledge needs of different employees and how to match and retain skills when people change roles,” says Jadeline.

Different work environment and organization

Visiting industrial companies and experiencing their production and work methods has given Jadeline and Calvin many new impressions and experiences:

“We see clear differences in work environments and industrial organization between Sweden and the U.S. Swedish companies are less top-down and there don’t seem to be such strict boundaries between different professional roles as in the U.S. People work more in teams. It’s been fun to see so many different products and production environments,” says Calvin and Jadeline.

Hope for more collaboration

“Sweden has surprised us in many ways and left us wanting more. Hopefully, this can be the start of a more long-term collaboration,” they add.

Thomas Pederson shares their hope:
“I’m convinced this will be a valuable exchange between the universities’ teachers and researchers – and in the long run, I hope it can lead to other joint research projects,” says Thomas.

“The researchers from RIT mostly work with fundamental research in computer science, AI, and human-computer interaction, while our research is more applied. This creates both tension and opportunity. Meeting across different environments and research cultures around shared questions will require us all to rethink and learn new things,” says Thomas.

FACTS

• The research collaboration has been made possible through funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. equivalent of Sweden’s Research Council. Read more about the collaboration!
• Companies participating in the PROWIL project include ANVA KSG, GKN Aerospace, Inwoco, MiMsafe, Saab Group Surveillance, Saab Group Aeronautics and Ultramare.
• PROWIL runs over four years and is funded by the KK Foundation. More about the project. 

At University West, we conduct research in close collaboration with the world around us – to create a better future.