SSE joins NAVET research center for art and technology

The Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) has joined NAVET, the Centre for Research in Art, Technology and Design hosted by KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The agreement was signed in June 2026 and runs through the center's current phase, which ends in December 2027. 

NAVET brings together eight Stockholm institutions 

NAVET was established in January 2019 by KTH together with Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design, the Royal College of Music, and Stockholm University of the Arts. The Swedish Museum of Performing Arts and the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology (Tekniska museet) joined during the center's first phase, and the Royal Institute of Art during its second. SSE is the eighth partner and the first business school in the group. 

The center describes itself as "a hub to navigate unexplored regions between art, technology and design." In practice, it provides a shared arena for interdisciplinary research and projects, bringing artists, designers, engineers, and researchers from the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences into the same projects. Partners also share access to each other's labs, equipment, and networks. 

SSE connects through the Center for Art and Innovation 

For SSE, the point of connection is the Center for Art and Innovation at the House of Innovation, directed by Roberto Verganti, The Josefsson Family Professor of Art and Innovation. 

“SSE’s perspective is rooted in understanding how artistic practice can influence the way organizations think about and approach innovation. Through NAVET, we can bring that perspective into a broader conversation with artists, designers, engineers, and researchers working across disciplines. I’m especially intrigued by how music and sound can bring people in organizations closer together or surface those feelings that makes waves and help teams to move in new directions,” said Verganti. 

The Center studies how the arts – music, visual, and literature – help leaders to make sense of a changing world, supports meaning-making dialogues, and helps organizations evolve. This closely aligns the initiative with NAVET's interdisciplinary approach and gives SSE researchers a route into projects with the city's art, design, music, and museum institutions.  

“Bringing a business school into NAVET broadens the range of perspectives around the table. SSE can help us explore how ideas developed across art, technology, and design can connect with organizations and with the ways innovation takes place in practice,” said Roberto Bresin, Director of NAVET at KTH. 

The partnership will develop through joint projects with NAVET and its partners over the coming year. 

The partnership with NAVET connects SSE with a broader network of institutions working across art, technology, and design. The Center for Art and Innovation is part of the House of Innovation's research on art and innovation. 

Contact:  

Roberto Verganti, The Josefsson Family Professor of Art and Innovation and Director of the Center for Art and Innovation at the House of Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics. 
Email: Roberto.Verganti@sse.se. 

Roberto Bresin, Professor of Media Technology and Director of the KTH NAVET Centre for Research in Art, Technology and Design at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. 
Email: roberto@kth.se