WISE is the largest investment in materials science in Sweden ever and includes major investments at the leading universities in Sweden over a 10-year period. The vision is a sustainable future through materials science. Through collaboration with industry and society, WISE will promote and initiate the transition towards a sustainable society while at the same time pushing forward the scientific frontier in materials science, which strongly establishes Sweden as a leading nation in the field.

By attracting doctoral students and postdocs, and the leading experts in the field, 90 research projects will be initiated in Sweden in 2023.

WISE is funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the total budget for the WISE programme is close to SEK 3 billion for the period 2022–2033. The universities participating in the programme are Uppsala University, Lund University, Chalmers University of Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University and Linköping University, which is also hosting the programme.