From a Google search in Germany to a life in Västerås

Meet Lukas Dust, PhD in Electronics at Mälardalen University and co-founder and CEO of Scailab.

It all started with something as simple as a Google search.

In the German town of Soest, Lukas was looking ahead. An engineer with experience in the automotive industry and a strong drive to keep developing, he was searching for his next step. Somewhere among the options, Västerås appeared - a place he had never heard of before.

What caught his attention was Mälardalen University. Not by its name, but its approach. A close connection to industry, real projects, and people who are actually building and developing, not just studying. For Lukas, that felt different.

When he arrived in Västerås in 2020, the world was still in an unusual state. The pandemic shaped everyday life everywhere, but in the middle of it, a new routine slowly began to form.

The plan was clear: two years, then back to Germany. But life rarely follows the plan.

It started with the small things. Walks along Lake Mälaren, the closeness to nature, a city where everything feels close and manageable. A daily life where work and free time don’t have to be carefully scheduled weeks in advance. And at the same time, Stockholm just an hour away.

In Västerås, I experience a different kind of closeness. Here, it’s easier to stand out, to get involved and to make a difference.

His studies quickly became more than studies. A master’s degree turned into a PhD position, and the pace was intense. In just three and a half years, Lukas completed his PhD in Electronics at Mälardalen University. A demanding journey but also a defining one.

At the same time, his world kept expanding.

He moved between academia and industry, between Sweden and international environments. He was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, first as a member of the student council, then the business council, spent time in the United States, and built networks far beyond Västerås. But wherever he went, his direction stayed the same: to create something meaningful.

And then, life shifted.

When Lukas met his Swedish partner, his perspective changed. What had once been a temporary stay started to feel like something more permanent. The decision didn’t happen all at once, it grew over time: he would stay.

Language became the key. From something he could manage without, it turned into a gateway – to people, to everyday life, and to a deeper understanding of the place he now calls home.

Once I made the decision, things moved quickly.

Today, he is a Swedish citizen.

A journey still in progress

From there, something new began to take shape. Not just taking part in opportunities, but creating them. Together with two other researchers, Lukas co-founded Scailab, a company working at the intersection of technology, innovation, and people, clearly shaped by his own journey.

In Västerås, people from all over the world come together. Students and young engineers who often face the same challenge Lukas once did: starting a career in a new country.

Many get stuck, he says. Not because they lack competence, but because they lack a first opportunity. That’s the opportunity we want to create with Scailab.

When Lukas talks about Västerås, it’s without big words but with conviction. There is space here. Space to try ideas, build from scratch, meet people, and become part of something. A place where nature and water are close, but so are industry, innovation, and the wider world.

Västerås is a great base. From here, you can go far.

What started as a simple Google search has become something else entirely. A journey still in progress, where research meets entrepreneurship, and where the local and the global are closely connected. And for Lukas, it has become more than a career.

It has become home.

And maybe that is where Västerås shows its real strength – in the meeting between opportunity and people, where newcomers can not only arrive, but truly belong and grow.

Text by: Erika Thunberg Aureliusson, Västerås Stad.