Axel and Sofia from LEAD’s trainee program awarded national innovation grant
Axel and Sofia from LEAD’s trainee program awarded national innovation grant
Axel and Sofia from LEAD’s trainee program awarded national innovation grant
Axel and Sofia from LEAD’s trainee program awarded national innovation grant
Axel and Sofia from LEAD’s trainee program awarded national innovation grant
Axel Larsson and Sofia Hallman, LiU alumni and former trainees in LEAD’s Entrepreneurs in Residence program, have been awarded the newly established national SEB Innovation Scholarship. The scholarship is part of a broader effort to strengthen the growth of research-based startups in Sweden.
In collaboration with the Swedish Association of University Holding Companies (FUHS), SEB awards the Innovation Scholarship to entrepreneurial students and PhD students from Swedish universities. The aim is to give recent graduates the opportunity to work as entrepreneurs and further develop research-based ideas with high growth potential.
It is now clear that LEAD’s former trainees, Axel Larsson and Sofia Hallman, are two of the ten fellows for 2025. They are awarded SEK 200,000 each to fully engage in their respective startup projects.
– It feels fantastic! The scholarship gives me the opportunity to work full-time on an innovation that I believe can make a big difference, both nationally and globally,” says Axel Larsson, who studied engineering at Linköping University. He will continue to work with a startup that focuses on digital assistants using AI and cognitive science.
Sofia Hallman, who studied economics at Linköping University, is also delighted with the scholarship:
– I am incredibly happy and honored. This gives me the opportunity to further develop an idea I really believe in – a research project that has developed a material for improved UV protection and skin cancer prevention.
About half of the companies admitted to LEAD are research-based start-ups from Linköping University. Catharina Sandberg, CEO of LEAD, sees the scholarship as an important complement to the work already being done within the incubator:
– “Through our trainee program, Entrepreneurs in Residence, we have long focused on bringing in young talents who can work with research-based ideas. This scholarship is a fantastic piece of the puzzle to be able to strengthen that ability and work a little more long-term,” she says.
Johan Lilliecreutz, CEO of LiU Holding, comments:
– “The entrepreneurial pipeline is a critical success factor for developing ideas into commercial success. Especially crucial are the earliest phases of a startup’s journey and we are therefore very excited about this collaboration with SEB,” he says.
A total of ten scholarships are awarded annually, funded by SEB’s Development Foundation, with a sum of SEK 200,000 per scholarship holder.
Here is the full list of recipients.
