Inventor of bed bug machine receives bursary

KTH Innovation and Borgerskapet inom Stockholms Grosshandelssocietet* have created a new scholarship together. The goal is to support and promote young entrepreneurs at KTH.

First out

The first grant has been awarded to one of two inventors behind a machine that effectively attracts and kills bed bugs. The inventor is Maja Åstrand and she is delighted to be the first to receive the new grant.

"I feel very honoured that they believe in me and my idea. I'll be graduating this spring, and after the summer we aim to have our first paying customer. The scholarship will enable us to develop the machines to the next level," Åstrand says.

Perfect example

Lisa Ericsson, Head of KTH Innovation, says she believes Maja Åstrand is a perfect example of an innovative engineer. 

"Maja has built her solution on a self-perceived problem and has used her engineering skills to understand as much as possible. Her entrepreneurial side is evident in the fact that she doesn't stop at building a solution, she also wants it to benefit more people," Ericsson says.

Lice instead of robots

When Maja Åstrand began studying the master's programme in systems engineering and robotics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, she thought she wanted to work with robots in healthcare in the future. 

"Instead, it was bedbugs.I hadn't planned to become an entrepreneur, but I'm really passionate about this problem," Åstrand says.

Text: Peter Asplund

Fact box

• The new scholarship is called "KTH Innovation & Stockholm Wholesale Society Entrepreneurship Scholarship". It will be awarded for the first time in 2024. SimulAir co-founder Simon Lilja has reached the upper age limit for the scholarship, so it will only go to Maja Åstrand.
• According to Lisa Ericsson, Head of KTH Innovation, Borgerskapet chooses Maja Åstrand as a scholarship recipient in recognition and reward for all her hard work. According to Lisa Ericsson, the scholarship is a generous opportunity that will help Maja Åstrand and Simon Lilja to continue developing their innovation.
• Are you curious about innovation? Do you have an idea you want to develop, or do you want to find other creative people? Read more about KTH Innovation .
• If you want to read more about the KTH students' bedbug machine , there is an article about it on the KTH website.