The Swedish Olympic Academy

The Swedish Olympic Academy (SOA) is a foundation that was founded in 2017 by the Swedish Olympic Committee, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Karolinska Institute, and the Stockholm School of Economics. The foundation's aim is to contribute to individuals reaching their full potential, the improvement of athletes' basic conditions, and strengthening the competitiveness of Swedish sports.

The initiative to the SOA comes from the Swedish Olympic Committee, which wants to bring together some strong players in academia to strengthen Swedish sport, and in that context not least Olympic sport. The idea is to reach the various forms of competence that SSE, Karolinska Institute and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have.

It is a question of both understanding how people function, which is KI's niche, and how we can, for example, develop the best tools, where KTH plays an important role. SSE then comes in with its expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Karin Dahlman-Wright

Acting Vice-Chancellor, Karolinska Institute

In the year 2019, SOA launched its first major initiative, focusing on sports and innovation. Together with the international organization HYPE Sports Innovation, SOA launched the SPIN Accelerator Sweden, an accelerator program with focus on sports innovation. The program was an initiative where academia, the sport community and the startup tech sector meet at a global scale.

We share our jogging achievements, put sensors in our shoes, and keep track of every heartbeat. Technology is an increasingly important tool for the athlete in reaching their full potential. Today, the Swedish Olympic Academy launches a new initiative to strengthen sports innovation in Sweden.

SOA, February 14th 2019 on the launch of SPIN Accelerator Sweden

Focus on the Individual Athlete

The program was powered by KTH Innovation and the Center for Sports & Business at the Stockholm School of Economics, with the aim of contributing to new solutions that can help both elite athletes and the average gym-goer reach new heights. Focus lied on the athlete.

It does not matter which gender you identify as, if you are an elite athlete or a recreational jogger, the important thing is that each individual should be able to reach their full potential. That is why we chose the athlete as the theme of the program.

Lisa Ericsson

Head, KTH Innovation

Innovation and a Global Network

Stockholm is a global center for innovation, and number three in Europe within sportstech (according to KPMG). Connecting this with the world's largest, global ecosystem for sports and innovation is what will give the participants an edge.

We are convinced that the Swedish sports sector will develop both in terms of knowledge and practical implementation, as innovation and technology become fully integrated into the sports movement.

Martin Carlsson-Wall

Director for the Center for Sports & Business

The Power of Sports and Innovation

Some of the world's leading sportstech universities, including Loughborough University in Great Britain, join the initiative.

I believe we can do great things together here in Stockholm to impact people's lives through sports and innovation.

Nir Bin Lavi

Managing Investor and CEO of HYPE US

A Place in the Global Innovation Ecosystem

Despite its size, Sweden is ranked as the fourth best sporting nation in the world counted per capita (greatestsportingnation.com), and the third best in the world when it comes to innovation (Global Innovation Index 2018).

Stockholm holds unique expertise when it comes to developing new tools for the individual, for better results and for more inspiring workouts for all. The Swedish Olympic Academy was founded to gather this competence. To fully achieve our ambitions, we need to take our place in the global innovation ecosystem.

Stefan Lindeberg

CEO, Swedish Olympic Academy

SOA & Telia Partner to Digitalize Sports

A collaboration between the Swedish Olympic Academy and Telia that was launched in 2019 aims to digitalize sports using IoT solutions and 5G technology.

New technological solutions pave the way for new possibilities for athletes to improve their personal sports technique, such as perecting the rowing stroke or the take-off in a hurdles race. A sensor in a shoe that provides real-time feedback to the athlete requires a fast network that transmits data flows with minimal response time. To achieve this, Telia and the Swedish Olympic Academy have partnered to develop sensor solutions with new IoT platforms and 5G technology.

Previously, sensor technology has been tested with RISE, the Research Institute of Sweden, and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Canoes were equipped with sensors that measure acceleration and slowing down and in sailing, sailors received real-time feedback to speed changes.

The new digital tools can provide individualized, more productive and fun training for more youths too. The Swedish Olympic Academy and Telia aim to go from test environment to everyday training, creating more opportunities for sports and health for more people, whcih will hopefully lead to more Olympic medals.

Previously, we have used video analyses to find improvement potential, but to influence the muscle memory that way is easier said than done. With real-time feedback, individual technique corrections can be tested quickly, and the performance can be optimised.

Stefan Lindeberg

Head, Swedish Olympic Academy

It's great that we have taken this to the finish line. Both for the development of sports but also for breaking new ground within IoT. The lessons we learn in these partnerships where we develop IoT services within 5G-ready technology will give us a platform that can be applied to other sports in the future, as well as to other solutions in society and the industry.

Mats Lundbäck

CTO, Telia

The Swedish Olympic Academy

The foundation the Swedish Olympic Academy was founded in 2017 by the Swedish Olympic Committee, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Karolinska Institute, and the Stockholm School of Economics. The foundation's aim is to contribute to individuals reaching their full potential, the improvement of athletes' basic conditions, and strengthening the competitiveness of Swedish sports.