Without people and their curiosity, there would be no knowledge – Testimonials from our experts
on a 20-year journey

---

Petra Vladykova

Member of the Swegon Air Academy Team

---

Why does knowledge transfer matter in the HVAC world?

Swegon Air Academy's goal as a global knowledge platform has always been to connect research and practice, powered by people with extensive expertise, to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world HVAC knowledge.

Internationally recognised researchers and experts share their knowledge with HVAC professionals worldwide. With its global reach and evidence-based knowledge, Swegon Air Academy can create an environment that fosters learning, engages the audience, builds collaborations, fosters partnerships, and builds community.

All of this would not have been possible without the passionate people behind it, and without the long-term vision and non-commercial integrity of Swegon Air Academy.

"Without people and their curiosity, there would be no knowledge." — Swegon Air Academy’s principle is the importance of people and their expertise

David P. Wyon

"Swegon Group develops, manufactures and markets products and solutions for the ventilation, heating and cooling of buildings – but so do innumerable other companies, so in 2005 they decided to create the Swegon Air Academy (SAA) as a 'brand enhancement' initiative whose purpose would be to associate their brand name (Swegon) with evidence-based advances in the field. Researchers - who would lose their academic credibility if they endorsed any products - have nothing against being given a platform to communicate their findings to those who apply them professionally, and in 2005, Conny Nielsen started SAA to do just that. […]

Those of us who have travelled the world with SAA did sometimes feel as if we were on the front deck of a racing canoe propelled by an enthusiastic crew managed and exhorted by Conny Nielsen, John Woollett and Petra Vladykova, whose efforts enabled us to repetitively display our effortless charisma as researchers to thousands of people who might otherwise not have heard about our research findings.

My lectures are still available on the SAA website as video webinars in English and Swedish, reaching HVAC engineers who have never and would never attend scientific conferences.t is impossible to know whether they were convinced by the evidence I presented, because very few of them are likely to write articles citing my publications in scientific journals, but they may remember them and have acted on them in their professional activities. If so, they will remember that the source of their knowledge was the Swegon Air Academy and be grateful, as I am, for those 20 years of effort and expense. Long may it continue."

• David P. Wyon is an independent researcher and Professor (Emeritus) at the Technical University of Denmark, still actively participating in research and living in Sweden.
• DPW was engaged in 25 SAA events in 7 years (2009-2015), 14 journeys to 9 countries from his home in France to various locations.
• His contribution lies with three deep-knowledge videos sharing research on indoor air quality impacting children's performance in schools, thermal and IAQ effects on people's performance at work, and performance research on sleep, hunger and driver vigilance.

Pawel Wargocki

"It was 2007 or 2008 when I was contacted by Swegon Academy. I knew Swegon but not Swegon Academy. I was invited to give a talk on my productivity research in Riga. It sounded exciting. I could travel to Riga to visit and promote my research. I agreed. I think it was my first lecture. It then developed into a longer connection when we visited three towns in Poland, giving lectures to Polish practitioners and academicians, and in the Netherlands. […] Travels allowed discussions and commenting on the indoor air research field. […]

Swegon Academy helped me raise interest in the effects of the indoor environment on work performance and learning. Back then, I was a young researcher. So, Swegon Academy must be credited for disseminating my work and making me known widely. I will always keep it in my heart together with all the fun that we had during these trips."

• Pawel Wargocki is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark.
• PW has been a lecturer since 2008 and has more than 20 years of experience researching human requirements in various indoor environments and in ventilation.
• Pawel is also a member of the Swegon Air Academy Think Tank.

Vince Ugarow

"My experience as a lecturer for the Swegon Air Academy is something I look back on with enormous pride and affection. Between 2010 and 2017, I had the privilege of presenting at seminars across Europe, speaking on climate-responsive tall building design and natural ventilation strategies to audiences ranging from around 50 to well over 250 people. What always stood out was just how enthusiastic, welcoming and genuinely hungry for knowledge the delegates were. Every event felt like an open, energetic exchange rather than a one-way lecture, and that atmosphere made the experience incredibly rewarding.

Many of the presentations were delivered alongside my colleague Chris Pal, a Canadian-based consultant, and together with Conny, John and Petra from the Swegon Air Academy, we shared some unforgettable journeys. One that remains particularly vivid was our 2011 trip to Kiev, Minsk and St Petersburg, with Chris and Conny. After being refused permission to fly to our 2nd leg of the tour, from Kiev to Minsk via Moscow due to visa issues, we were forced to change our plans at the last minute. Thanks to the amazing and resourceful local Swegon representative (I can’t recall his name), we found ourselves hastily booked onto a 10-hour overnight train in the depths of winter. His wife kindly made sandwiches for each of us ready for our journey. He even managed to get us tickets for a grand performance at the Kiev Opera House, as an apologetic gesture, before our train departed on its long slow journey to Belarus.

That journey is etched in my memory: dark, desolate countryside, snow outside, coal-fired heating in the train carriages, being woken in the middle of the night by Belarusian border guards and realising we were the only Western foreigners on the entire train — a slightly scary but strangely exciting experience. We were met at Minsk Central Station and whisked straight to the conference venue, arriving just in time to present to a waiting audience packed into a large lecture hall.

Those moments captured what the Swegon Air Academy experience meant to me: professional, open and knowledge sharing, great comradeship, and always driven by a shared passion for creating sustainable building performance and healthy internal environments."

• Vince Ugarow is a Chartered Engineer and Design Director at Hilson Moran, the United Kingdom, and he has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry in the UK, Central & Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
• Vince gave many talks at the SAA seminars from 2010 to 2017.
• He promotes new design thinking, focusing on the health & wellbeing of building occupants and the protection of the wider environment, encouraging disruption and the harnessing of digital technology.

Lars Ekberg

"When Swegon Air Academy was established in 2005, it created something that was unusual in our field: a neutral platform where researchers, consultants and practitioners could meet around evidence, experience and professional dialogue rather than products. Over the years, I have had the privilege of contributing to that mission in several different ways.

One of my most extensive involvements was as technical editor of the book AIR, published by Swegon Air Academy in 2008. The ambition was not to produce another technical handbook, but to gather leading international expertise and present the complex relationships between indoor climate, ventilation, health, comfort and energy use in a form that connected scientific knowledge with practical application. The fact that the book is still referenced today is, in my view, a testament to the value of combining scientific knowledge with practical relevance.

I also had the opportunity to participate in seminars and knowledge-sharing activities organised by Swegon Air Academy in several countries. These events brought together researchers, engineers, building owners and other professionals who shared a common interest in creating healthy, comfortable and energy-efficient buildings. What impressed me most was always the willingness to discuss both opportunities and challenges openly, and to let scientific evidence guide the conversation.

For researchers, publication in scientific journals is an important measure of success. Yet the ultimate purpose of our work is to make a difference in society. Through Swegon Air Academy, research results reached audiences that would rarely attend academic conferences but who influence the design, operation and maintenance of buildings every day. This helped bridge the gap between research and practice in a way that few organisations have managed to achieve.

Today, as indoor environmental quality, health, resilience and energy performance become increasingly important societal issues, the original vision of Swegon Air Academy feels more relevant than ever. I am grateful to have been part of that journey and proud of what has been accomplished through twenty years of persistent and generous knowledge sharing."

• Lars Ekberg is a Professor of Indoor Environment and Climate Technology, Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, specialising in indoor environmental quality and the operation of building installations.
• Lars has been one of the many experts at numerous Swegon Air Academy seminars since 2010. He was also a part of the first book, AIR, and other SAA publications.
• Lars is also a member of the Think Tank by Swegon Air Academy – a neutral forum where researchers and other experts meet regularly to discuss trends, insights, research, and the different aspects of the indoor environment and how it influences buildings and people.

An editorial note

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all the experts who generously shared their reflections and experiences with Swegon Air Academy. Their insights and long-standing engagement are an important part of Swegon Air Academy's story, and their knowledge sharing has had a tremendous impact over the years.

The testimonials presented in this article have been published in condensed form for clarity and readability. They have been edited only minimally, with minor adjustments to grammar, structure and style, while preserving the original meaning, tone and intent of each contributor/expert.

Reference

Learn more about Swegon Air Academy - what we do, how we reflect and who we are as Swegon Air Academy. And find out more as we celebrate two decades of knowledge sharing that have shaped the indoor climate world and made a difference for the people inside - #20YearsCelebration.