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‘We work towards making students more employable’
Offering over 600 masters courses and opportunities for research, Sweden is a great option for Indians
How would you describe Sweden as a study destination for Indian students? What are the opportunities available in the field of higher for students?
Swedish universities offer over 600 masters programmes taught in English, many of which are in the field of engineering and science. But there are also programmes available in various other areas, including social science and business.
Do elaborate on the recent initiatives aimed at attracting more Indians to Sweden.
India is not new for Sweden when it comes to education. The Swedish Trade Council in collaboration with the Swedish Institute and 10 Swedish universities will, during the Sweden India Nobel Week, focus on promoting Sweden as an education destination by endorsing the Swedish way of innovation and entrepreneurship. This will take place in the form of the Sweden Education Days in Bangalore (October 31, Hotel Lalit Ashok) and in Chennai (November 2, Anna University). The events include a business plan competition launched for undergraduate students in India (winners get an internship at a Swedish company and a cash prize of Rs. 50,000), sessions on “converting research projects to a tangible business,” focused sessions by individual universities and an open house exhibition. The activities are also done in collaboration with Swedish companies like Volvo, ABB, SKF, Ericsson to bring the connect between studying in Sweden and the potential to work with Swedish companies. The other initiatives also include increased representation of the universities in India through the Swedish Trade Council.
Are any efforts underway for making education more hands on for employability in India?
Swedish higher education offers a combination of theory and practice and trains students to work in modern organisations. Students are encouraged to think independently and take individual responsibility, which helps them to become more employable, regardless of where they choose to work. Swedish universities are working increasingly with Swedish and global corporations to enable students to do internships during or after they have completed their studies. A lot of research work done at the universities is in association with companies, which make students more industry inclined and more linked to the real business scenario. A few examples include Volvo with Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University, SAAB and Linkoping University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Ericsson.
Which are the most popular and sought after institutions of higher education in Sweden and why?
This depends very much on what kind of education students are looking for and what background they have. All Swedish higher education is continually assessed and accredited by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education. The universities with the highest number of international students are: Lund University, KTH - The Royal Institute of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, Uppsala University, Stockholm University and Jönköping University. Other highly ranked and sought after specialised institutions include Karolinska Institutet (medicine and health) and Stockholm School of Economics. Some 11 Swedish universities are generally ranked among the top 500 universities globally, in several ranking lists.
Coordinated by Gauri Kohli
