From engineer to CEO of Universal Robots

While Kim Povlsen studied robotics at SDU, Esben Østergaard, Kristian Kassow and Kasper Støy were elsewhere in the university, in full swing developing the robots of the future and founding Universal Robots.

- All of us students knew who Esben was, Kim Povlsen smiles:

- If you were studying at SDU, you knew that he was a man of ingenious ideas.

In 2008, Universal Robots sold its first robot arm, the same year Kim Povlsen graduated as a robot engineer. After 12 years, their life paths miraculously crossed each other again. Kim Povlsen will continue Esben Østergaard's life's work as chief executive of Universal Robots.

- I see myself as an engineer. I am first and foremost an engineer. Many of my basic qualities come from my time in studying engineering, says Kim Povlsen, while for a moment he sets aside his new presidential identity and reminisces about his time as a student, where his heart beat for robots.

- The important thing is that in the process we quickly find out whether it is right or wrong, but we should not be afraid to try.

Learning to learn new things

Today, Kim Povlsen is 38 years old and the newly appointed president of Universal Robots. With an international market share of 50 per cent and offices in 20 countries, Universal Robots also stands out as a beacon for the entire robot cluster in Odense.

- The majority of the closest private friends that I have today, I also studied with. We spent a lot of time together whilst studying as well as in our spare time. When you spend so much time together, deep friendships arise, says Kim Povlsen.

But it was not only friendships that were built during the five years as a robotics student at SDU. Book by book, lesson by lesson, his professional identity was founded.

- The way the engineering programs at SDU are designed is really interesting. We learned a lot of theory, but it was constantly used in project-contexts with companies. Everything we learned, we got to try, so it was not just theory but also practical, says Kim Povlsen:

For Kim Povlsen, it is not crucial that when Universal Robots hire new engineers, whether or not they are equipped with all the latest technological advances. The crucial thing is whether they master the basic skills of maths and physics, possess curiosity and the ability to learn new things.

- We are in the technology industry. Development is going really fast. And since Universal Robots is doing everything we can to stay ahead of the curve, this means we are working on the latest technologies at any given time. So the engineers who work with us must constantly learn new things.

Ready to do even more

Although Universal Robots is today owned by American Teradyne, the company still shares DNA with SDU. Not only because the founders found each other at the university, but also because many of the employed engineers have graduated from SDU.

- I have experienced that many of my colleagues from SDU have the same mindset that it is ok to try things out. It is also from this that true innovation arises; by putting things together in ways that no one has thought of before - and then see what happens, says Kim Povlsen.

Universal Robots has 4-5 major research projects running with SDU and in addition to various project collaborations, the company has always got 8-12 students employed.

- We are ready to do even more as soon as the opportunity arises. It is a fantastic collaboration we have, and the close relationship means a lot to us. These are some very exciting projects that the students are doing with us, and they achieve really good learning and insight into the business world, says Kim Povlsen and elaborates:

- Universal Robots is the robot cluster's beacon, and I think we have a responsibility, in collaboration with SDU, to continue driving the talent pool for the benefit of the entire robot cluster in Odense.