Stockholm Student Academy has started!

The very first round of Stockholm Student Academy has started! 250 international master students from 9 different universities met yesterday in Aula Magna at Stockholm University to attend a lecture on Swedish history with Nils Edling, Professor of History.

This was the start of a program that runs throughout the autumn semester and includes meetings at several universities and colleges in Stockholm, as well as study visits and events around Stockholm.

The project was initiated by the Stockholms Akademiska Forum Board to provide concrete support to international students who want to establish themselves in Sweden. Three out of four international students want to stay in Sweden after their studies, but fewer than one in three succeed. This is devastating not only for the individual but also for Swedish companies and the Swedish economy.

– The fact that as many as three out of four say they want to stay is of course very gratifying and should be seen as a good mark, both for those offering the courses and for Sweden as a whole. However, we cannot sit back and relax; we must give students the tools they need to establish themselves here,” says Lars Strannegård, President of the Stockholm School of Economics and Chairman of Stockholms Akademiska Forum.

Stockholm Student Academy will provide the international students with knowledge of Swedish history, Swedish mentality, social system and labor market to increase their understanding of Swedish society and to strengthen their chances of establishing themselves in the Swedish labor market. This is exactly what the international students themselves state in evaluations that they miss most about their education during their time here in Stockholm.

– We know that Stockholm is highly ranked both for studies and as a place to live. Now we are giving international students an even greater opportunity to realize their dream of living in Stockholm,” says Maria Fogelström Kylberg, CEO of the Stockholm Academic Forum.

Read more about Stockholm Student Academy here.