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30th Anniversary of the Sten A Olsson Foundation

30th Anniversary of the Sten A Olsson Foundation

Since 1997, the foundation has invested nearly SEK 700 million in support of research and culture in Gothenburg and West Sweden. Several major initiatives are being undertaken during the 30th anniversary year, including support for the Gothenburg Dance and Theatre Festival, enabling it to offer a highly exciting international programme; a call for research projects on the mental health of children and young people; and SEK 40 million to Chalmers for the establishment of an international top professorship in Health Engineering.

Read more about the 25th anniversary celebrated by the Stena Foundation in 2021

For 30 years, the Sten A Olsson Foundation has enabled pioneering projects in research and culture, from innovation and technological development to supporting artists and cultural practitioners in developing and reaching new forms of expression. Behind every project are dedicated individuals who, together, have made a difference. With pride in what has been created, the Foundation continues to open doors to new breakthroughs and perspectives.

Madeleine Olsson Eriksson, Chair of Sten A Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture
Ongoing projects

William Chalmers Professorship

A donation of SEK 40 million from the Stena Foundation enables Chalmers University of Technology to recruit at the very highest international level for the first William Chalmers Professorship. The professorship is focused on Health Engineering and will concentrate on research at the interface between medicine and technology, in close collaboration with Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the cluster of pharmaceutical and medical technology companies in Gothenburg. The Stena Foundation is the largest external funder, and the donation complements Chalmers’ own investment of SEK 50 million.

Donation: SEK 40 million

Year: 2026

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Scholarships

Culture scholarships 2025

Every year, the Sten A Olsson Foundation awards culture scholarships in several artistic disciplines such as performing arts – music, dance, theatre, circus – visual arts, literature and film.

Phax Ahamada

Trinidad Carrillo

Yukimi Nagano

Olle Norås

Malte Persson

Julia Sporsén

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DANCER AND PERFORMING ARTIST
Phax Ahamada
ARTIST
Trinidad Carrillo
MUSICIAN
Yukimi Nagano
ARTIST
Olle Norås
AUTHOR
Malte Persson
OPERA SINGER
Julia Sporsén

Founded in 1996

The Sten A Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture was established in 1996 in connection with Sten A Olsson’s 80th birthday. By then, Sten A Olsson had been active in Gothenburg and West Sweden for more than half a century, laying the foundations for what is now the Stena Sphere, one of Sweden’s largest family-owned corporate groups.

The Sten A Olsson family has always had a strong interest in and commitment to supporting ambitious, creative people in their efforts to achieve their goals. The foundation’s purpose is to promote scientific research and development, as well as the arts and culture.

Up to and including 2021, the Stena Foundation had awarded a total of just over SEK 540 million in support for various projects, scholarships to 155 cultural scholarship recipients, and travel grants to 320 master’s scholarship recipients.