Ingrid Skogsmo’s journey through transport

Ingrid Skogsmo is senior research leader at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI). Her professional journey very much reflects events in the automative industry on the road to tomorrow’s mobility and transportation.

She has been at VTI since 2019 and considers it a fine place to work with a community of highly motivated people who, in one way or another, are all conducting transport research that has real benefits for society. She is leading a number of research projects, predominantly European collaborations, and is a member of the management group of two major EU projects and involved in two more.

Skogsmo recently completed a research project on robot taxis, which are operating commercially in a number of cities, including San Francisco in the United States, looking at the lessons Sweden can learn.

“Hopes for what self-driving vehicles can achieve and contribute have been sky-high. While there have been advances in terms of improving the vehicles, expectations have been significantly tempered, largely thanks to research projects such as Ride the Future, which is operating self-driving buses in the Vallastaden district of Linköping.

Even if there is continuous development, she believes that there is still much to do in terms of automation technology, so that the buses do not stop when they encounter snow, gravel or grass. The actual benefits of automated vehicles also need to be visible and obvious.

“While a high level of road safety is obviously a must, we also need to demonstrate the economic benefits of investing in automated driving. We are yet to see any real savings or profits.”

A great deal has been written about various systems for private motoring, Tesla’s solutions for example. It may be more important to invest in public transport that allows passengers to travel where they want to go when they want to go there.

One such target group could be school children in rural areas, who could become somewhat more independent if they were able to get to and from sports training or other leisure activities themselves, rather than being entirely dependent on lifts from parents or catching one of the few timetabled buses.

Skogsmo is the president of the European Conference of Transport Research Institutes (ECTRI), whose members include 30 major transport research institutes and universities from 21 European countries.

“How did I end up where I am today? There was so much that seemed exciting, so at every juncture I chose whatever I thought would offer most opportunities, rather than choosing a specific path,” she notes with hindsight.

Initially, her choice was influenced by her grades and she enrolled in the Master’s Programme in Engineering Physics at Chalmers University of Technology, a broad programme that offered many opportunities. On graduation, a friend suggested she apply for a trainee position at Volvo Cars, where she was able to try working in various parts of the organisation.

This is how she found herself at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre, where she was able to take responsibility alongside many fine colleagues and managers. She thrived and after a three-month traineeship she was employed on a permanent basis.

It was there that she discovered an interest in biomechanics. She developed a number of innovative methods for measuring safety systems and ensuring they provided the intended benefits before they were launched on the market, as well as writing requirement specifications for vehicle safety.

“Safety was an important brand attribute and Volvo invested heavily in developing new systems. We were the first company in the world to try to address whiplash injuries and to introduce side-impact airbags in the early 1990s. There were generally many enjoyable projects, although there was often debate about what could be accommodated in vehicles both physically and economically.”

When Ford acquired Volvo Cars, she moved to Detroit where she worked for three years in two different managerial roles. She then returned home to what at that time was her dream job: Director of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre.

Skogsmo then moved to the Volvo Group’s head office as Vice President for Corporate Strategy, where she was involved in all group companies, including Volvo Bus and Volvo Truck. Moving to such a large concern was both beneficial and challenging; obtaining a broader perspective on Volvo’s products and business was highly educational and fascinating.

Skogsmo then spent two and a half years as Deputy Director of the SAFER Vehicle & Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers, a collaborative platform for research and knowledge exchange with some 50 partners from academia, industry and the public sector. Her role involved her in many EU projects, as well as recruiting partners to various collaborations.

She also spent three years working for the European Commission as a policy officer at the Directorate General for Research and Innovation, working mainly on autonomous vehicles and road safety, before returning home to Sweden and VTI.

Volvo, SAFER, EU, ECTRI, VTI: Ingrid Skogsmo has made her mark in many contexts.

“VTI does good work that has real benefits. I have lovely colleagues, there is a good climate; I intend to give it my all here.”

She has a great many leisure interests, including family, French, exercise, food, friends and wine. She also loves to travel, on business but especially in her free time.

Robottaxis on the way - but many questions remain

Text: Gunilla Rech

Translation: CBG