Articles in lifelong learning

In an era that demands constant development and updating of knowledge, the Advanced Digitalisation research and innovation programme aims to help Swedish industry retain, attract and develop experts. Part of the programme is Expert Learning Labs - an initiative that aims to be a national centre for lifelong learning for experts in industry and academia. Together with Ericsson, Volvo Group, SAAB and ABB, RISE is responsible for the Energy Optimisation track.

It is easy to talk about the big structural changes in society. It is harder to act. A company's experts need to be up to date with the latest knowledge, to develop the innovations that will make their products leaders in new markets - and at the same time to disseminate that knowledge throughout the organisation. Structured work on expert learning creates opportunities to bring research and learning closer together.

The possibilities of AI seem endless, but there are also risks. Especially for the public sector. That's why Knivsta Municipality, together with around 10 other municipalities, is now entering into a partnership with RISE to safely explore different areas of application.

The lack of software developers in Sweden and the rest of the world is a challenge that many companies are facing. In 2023, RISE has tried to contribute to the solution with a bootcamp – an intensive training concept in which employees from RISE got to participate in order to strengthen their skills in developing code. The bootcamp is a way to deal with the skills shortage internally and at the same time build a learning organization, says Annette Anjou, Chief Human Resources Officer at RISE. 

Society is changing at an increasingly rapid pace. Any organisation that wants to keep up must change - again and again. But implementing new ways of working in a large organisation is easier said than done. The key may lie in what happens quietly. 

Digitalisation, electrification, globalisation, green transition. Megatrends are no longer just words in a PowerPoint presentation about the challenges of the future. They are here - and they are putting pressure on communities, governments and businesses to change. The solution lies in a radical strategic skills shift that changes the way we think about learning. And a whole new approach to skills development programmes. 

How do we actually show what we know? In a few years' time, we will be able to talk about our competences as pieces of Lego that are constantly being added to, rather than pointing to the courses we have taken. A lot of work is now being done to systematise so-called micro-credentials. 

Skellefteå Municipality is in the midst of a social transformation few Swedish municipalities have experienced. Thanks to the municipal leaders’ participation in RISE’s Academy for Lifelong Learning (AfLL), they have changed their way of thinking, take on challenges and learn together.