Skellefteå Universities Alliance
Flexible and accessible academic programs that meet the skill needs of tomorrow.
We foster sustainable collaboration between research, academia, industry, and society - turning applied research into real-world impact that drives growth and competitiveness locally and globally.
At Campus Skellefteå, research doesn’t stay in theory. It is turned into solutions, innovations and real societal impact...
Campus Skellefteå is a hub where academia, businesses and public sector actors come together to drive innovation and cre...
Do you want to help shape a sustainable future? At Campus Skellefteå, you’ll be part of a unique collaboration between u...
The PROFS Graduate School of Practice-Based School Research is a collaboration between Luleå University of Technology, t...
Skellefteå is a place where creativity and innovative ideas are given ample opportunity to flourish. Growing up in an en...
Historically, Campus Skellefteå has been known for its world-leading research in wood science; today, it covers many mor...
The Arctic Center of Energy (ACE) is a center of excellence that accelerates the electrification of society.
Its work focuses on the circular economy, connected cities, and e-mobility. Starting in 2027, ACE Powerhouse will be ACE’s new home and a hub for research, education, and innovation. ACE is backed by Luleå University of Technology, the Municipality of Skellefteå, and Skellefteå Kraft.
Flexible and accessible academic programs that meet the skill needs of tomorrow.
The Rönnbäret Foundation aims to promote the development of research and higher education in Skellefteå. The Foundation operates by distributing funds equivalent to the return on its endowment capital to individuals or organizations that advance the Foundation’s mission.
Apply for funding and view current projects funded by the foundation
How can research in health and social care be strengthened through deeper collaboration between municipalities, regional authorities, and academia? That was the starting point when representatives from the Municipality of Skellefteå, Region Västerbotten, Umeå University, and Luleå University of Technology gathered for a joint afternoon session focused on research environments, strategic choices, and future collaborations.
This summer, 27 students at Campus Skellefteå will share over SEK 1 million in grants from the Sammes Foundation . In total, there are 14 projects on the agenda, ranging from hydrogen-powered drones to visualization of architecture. The aim is to strengthen the link between education, business and future innovations.
Skandinaviska Kiropraktorhögskolan, which has been in Stockholm since 1983, is expanding its operations to Campus Skellefteå starting in the fall of 2024. - Now we will be closer to students who wish to train locally, which increases accessibility and gives more people the opportunity to train for a profession where the chance of a job is very high, says Gordana Gedin, Rector.
An event for competence matching between business and students was held at Campus Skellefteå, completely in line with Skellefteå coming in first place when it comes to career opportunities in the ranking "Sweden's best student cities"*. A well-attended lunch event focusing on the meeting between business and students at Campus Skellefteå as part of an expanded collaboration between the Business Office, Skellefteå municipality and SKARV - the students' organization focusing on bridging contacts between students and business .
Mälardalen University is expanding its educational activities with two new programs at Campus Skellefteå - a master's in environmental technology for sustainable development and a public health program. The expansion is a direct measure to broaden the presence of the programs and respond to Skellefteå's specific needs.
Solvik Folk High School and Skellefteå Taxi developed a new and compressed taxi driver training course to meet the growing need for staffing in the region. Now they are getting ready for the spring semester's new course participants, and continue the successful collaboration. - This training is rooted in reality and what the job actually looks like. For us, it was valuable to be able to participate in the design of the course and contribute with our knowledge, says Sofie Strömberg, HR manager at Skellefteå Taxi .
Civil engineer Tobias Tonvall was faced with a life choice: should he stay in his home town of Luleå or move? Thanks to an advertisement from the consulting company Etteplan, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The company works actively to recruit from outside and notices a great interest in Skellefteå.
The region's high demand for technology and process skills with a focus on innovation and sustainability attracted Hossein Ali Pour, 33, to Skellefteå. He now works at the forefront of the green transition through a stimulating hydrogen project as a consultant at Altio. - I see a promising future here in Skellefteå, says Hossein.
The appetite for innovation has never been greater in Skellefteå, and the eyes of the world are turning to the north. To harness the many ideas born here, there are a number of organizations with expertise in business development and entrepreneurship. We met two Skellefteå professionals who help young innovators turn their dreams into reality.
Electric flights, northern lights and personal development - the Green Flight Academy in Skellefteå attracts students from all over the world to a new kind of flight school in the north. - The aviation industry is undergoing major changes. We want to build the pilots of the future as confident and soft leaders, says Cecilia Holmlund, site manager at Green Flight Academy. At Skellefteå Airport, aspiring pilots gather for the world's most sustainable flight school. In the spring of 2024, the first students will graduate from the Green Flight Academy - where large parts of the training take place with electric flights. But the training is not limited to electric flights, it includes all elements for a commercial flight certificate. This allows you to apply for a job as an airline pilot. Once there, you have to take a special course for the plane you are going to fly," says Cecilia Holmlund, site manager at the Green Flight Academy. Students from all over the world In August 2021, Sweden's most powerful electricity supply for aviation was inaugurated at Skellefteå Airport and a few months later the first two permanently placed electric aircraft arrived at Green Flight Academy. With students from Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands, among others, the program is an international melting pot, and for many applicants, the opportunity to experience northern Sweden was a big part of the attraction. - The theoretical training takes place on Campus Skellefteå and the student accommodation is 150 meters from the flight school and ten minutes from the city center. "Here the future pilots get to live student life with the other students - it has been very much appreciated," says Cecilia Holmlund.
Construction cranes, rerouted roads and transformed areas. The image of the new Skellefteå growing at the seams has become a common sight. Now it is also clear that 800 new homes will be completed in 2022. - These are much rosier numbers than in 2011 when we sold a single villa plot. In 2023, at least as many homes will be built and we will continue to create opportunities for those who want to build, says Patrik Larsen, Head of Land and Development at Skellefteå Municipality.
How does a company navigate to find competent staff in a Skellefteå where the battle for new employees is fierce? Scandic dared to think outside the box and recruited Mats Bergqvist from the Church of Sweden, who is now studying Scandic's internal leadership training. - We would rather build and strengthen the individual than stare blindly at a CV. It's the person that's important," says Elin Burström, Hotel Director.
From 8 February, it will be possible to apply for a Swedish Tax Agency ID card at the State Service Centre's service office at Kanalgatan 77. This means that it will now be easier for residents of Skellefteå and the surrounding area to apply for an ID card.
Chefs Lizandro Quevedo and Maria Neves had long considered leaving Gothenburg for a smaller city. And when Lizandro saw that the municipality of Skellefteå was looking for chefs at the end of 2021, things happened fast. He sent in an application, got a call the next day, and then both he and Maria were offered jobs in Skellefteå municipality's kitchen. - It was a jackpot for everyone, says Lizandro.
Since itsinception in 2011, Bryggargatan has offered restaurant students internships and extra sessions while attending high school. The young people are trained and given more responsibility in the kitchen as their skills grow. - The restaurant and food programme has been our recruitment base for many years and we have the expertise to train the students. Only they are inspired and ready to do their best every day," says Bryggargatan's owner and founder Jon Oskar Arnason.
Since 2014, Skellefteå municipality has invited to a lunch seminar in connection with the RFSL Pride week. This time it is time for Lina Axelsson Kihlblom, who became the first transsexual person in Sweden's government when she took office in 2021, to give a lecture. - It will be a story about a giant journey on a personal level that also reflects society, she says.
Skellefteå is expanding and the need for workers is great. Supplying skills is a challenge for many employers and international recruitment can be a solution. Boliden has recruited several talented people from other countries to Skellefteå and the mining company has methods to reach out to the right target groups and help new employees settle in when they arrive.
IT company Data Ductus was well advanced in the recruitment process with software developer Elham Ali. Then office manager AnnaCarin Falkman realised that Elham's skills would be an even better fit at Infovista, so she contacted Ulf Marklund, development manager at Infovista's Skellefteå office. It turned out to be a perfect match and since August Elham has been working as a developer at Infovista. - I am very grateful for this opportunity. The job was a turning point in my life, says Elham, who moved to Skellefteå in 2021 with her husband Hassan Farag, who got a job as a mechanical engineer at Northvolt.
For Andreas Häggström, his career journey has taken him north, from his hometown of Örnsköldsvik, to studies in Umeå before landing an engineering job in Skellefteå. Here, he has found the perfect mix of a stimulating job and family life with close proximity to leisure activities - without having to turn up the heat.
Do you want to become better at retaining and attracting employees to develop the right skills over time? Submit an expression of interest for a consultation or workshop on "Tough competition - what it takes to succeed in skills supply" and get started on building a sustainable and realistic skills supply strategy tailored to your business.
Did you know that it takes four months to train as an automation operator at Campus Skellefteå? Together with the industry, VUX has developed the training, which often means a job immediately after completing your studies. Sofia Waad graduated on a Friday in October and the following Monday she made her first day at Northvolt. - I thought, wow, this is going fast. But everything has worked out really well and I like the job very much," says the 24-year-old, who was helped by Relocate with the move from Höör to Skellefteå.
Tim Hisved from Boliden got a permanent job before graduating from Balder High School's electrical and energy programme this summer. The 18-year-old works as an apprentice at Boliden Electro and took time off work during his final year of high school to go to school. - A different but good solution, where both parties knew where we stood, says Tim .
After a two-year hiatus, the P.S. Missing You event was back at Skansen. The fun factor was high and the interest in the future of Piteå and Skellefteå, as well as the participating companies and authorities' offers, was great. The aim of the event is to provide information about all the exciting things happening in the region and hopefully attract expats and other curious people to choose Piteå and Skellefteå as their home town - in the near future or in the long term.
In 2022, up to 1,000 homes will be completed, with thousands more expected in the future. We're building and planning like never before. New homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and infrastructure are taking shape, and the need for land is great. That requires long-term thinking - and Skellefteå has it. Read more about the projects that will be ready for occupancy in 2022 here.
Peter Larsson is the government's coordinator for the major social transformation in northern Norrland. This work involves getting many different actors to work together. He believes in continued expansion in Skellefteå, even after Northvolt's battery factory is up and running . - Skellefteå will soon be a normal-sized Swedish city. Congratulations!" he says.
They get a bit sidelined. Is it sports? Is it culture? Hardly in the traditional sense. 30 million people watch e-sports every day, but we never read a mention of tournaments in it in the paper. A Division 4 football match, on the other hand. And can you recall reading a review of a LARP game? Yet it engages tens of thousands of Swedes and is rather like a very elaborate improvisational theatre. It would be easy to conclude that phenomena like cosplay, role-playing and fan fiction are virtually non-existent, not in northern Sweden anyway. But if you look a little closer, you'll find a vibrant movement. On 10-12 May, their big annual manifesto takes place in Skellefteå: Nordsken, northern Scandinavia's biggest gaming event.
Did you know that the world's leading manufacturer of remote controlled demolition robots is located in Skellefteå? With more than 90 percent of its sales coming from exports and a turnover of more than SEK 1 billion with good profitability, Brokk is a giant in its niche. - We are proud of our journey and of remaining in Skellefteå where it all began, says Joakim Furtenback, head of Brokk's marketing department.
Are you a one-man business in need of new collaborations and an environment where you meet other competencies on a daily basis? Or are you mostly looking for new talent and need a good place to look? Maybe your company needs an injection of inspiration about the possibilities of digitalisation? If you answer yes to any of these questions, Skellefteå's new startup scene The Great Northern might be for you.
The hospitality industry in Skellefteå is a growing billion-dollar industry. The last ten years have seen a 46% increase in guest nights at hotels and a new premium hotel is being built to better meet demand. But this is just the beginning according to Maria Broman, CEO of Visit Skellefteå, who sees huge potential in the location as travel patterns change to more value-driven and sustainable. - We have a lot to offer there, but to gear up we need new types of investment and to look at the place with new eyes, says Maria Broman.
In an industry that globally remains in traditional mining, Boliden has undergone a digital transformation and positioned itself as one of the world's leading mines in terms of automation. Where the biggest mining giants - which can be ten times larger than Boliden - have not done their homework in digitisation, Boliden has already come a long way, launching remote-controlled wheel loaders and drill rigs, among others. The mining company is also in the process of replacing wifi networks with its own telecoms network.
Imagine this: you are a person who lives on your creativity in a small town in northern Sweden, but you feel a bit lonely in your community. What do you do? Some would say "move to a bigger city, there are probably like-minded people there". Johan Lindström had a different idea.
Several of the world's biggest sports competitions and activity parks around the world use equipment made in Skellefteå. Smart choices and successful ventures have contributed to a large proportion of Nordic Sports, Latitude 64 and Fugu Sports products being exported.
When it comes to growth and development in the field of renewable energy, the eyes of the world are on the Skellefteå region. Tens of billions of SEK are invested here - when the rest of the world fears recession, expansion is the talk of the town. - I am absolutely convinced that we can be the model in the world that shows how to meet the climate challenges with a renewable society and innovative growth, says Joachim Nordin, President and CEO of Skellefteå Kraft.
Boliden Rönnskär in Skelleftehamn is one of the world's most efficient copper smelters and also the world leader in electronics recycling, with the ambition to constantly develop. The latest major projects are a new efficient leaching plant and a unique repository for process waste.
"Good housing is essential," says architect Thomas Sandell. And to build in such a way that you never have to demolish. With greater density in the city centre and higher density, Skellefteå will be highly attractive to investors. Read Thomas Sandell's thoughts on Skellefteå's potential, the 10-minute city and trends in economic and social sustainability.
Skellefteå has a new landmark. Sara Kulturhus will be a new meeting place for the entire region where culture creates the conditions for meetings and diversity. CEO Maria Ekberg Brännström believes in the Bilbao effect. - Sara Kulturhus will help to shape the identity of the city and the region.
Northvolt's decision to establish Europe's largest battery factory in Skellefteå has placed the municipality in a unique position. It has the highest per capita investment of any municipality in Sweden, and the investments will not only be socially, economically and environmentally sustainable - but also in a short period of time. This requires cooperation with stakeholders at national, regional and local level. Municipal director Kristina Sundin Jonsson explains how the municipality is preparing for the rapid and powerful expansion.
Sara Culture House will be one of the world's tallest wooden buildings. But it's more than the height that's world-class. The construction is the result of local collaboration with unique expertise in timber construction. - It's collaboration across borders and expertise coming together from all walks of life, says Daniel Wilded, Business Developer at Martinsons Building Systems.
Skellefteå has the highest per capita investment in Sweden right now. We are talking about at least 60 billion in the private and public sectors up to 2030, and there are many indications that Skellefteå will be one of Sweden's main growth zones in the 2020s. Both companies and public actors in Skellefteå municipality are working hard to achieve the expected growth. For those interested in premises for establishment, there are many property owners to contact for proposals. In the central parts of Skellefteå, for example, Diös and Nordvestor have several properties, and in the industrial areas NP3 is among the larger property owners.
Sweden is set to become one of the world's first fossil-free welfare countries, and Skellefteå is located in the middle of the country's most expansive and prosperous region. This is the birthplace of new industry and there is great interest in the location. As part of this, Showroom Skellefteå is opening its doors in The Great Northern - it will be the first stop for visitors who want to take part in Skellefteå's innovative business community and exciting future. - We are in a unique situation and we will convey this story in a professional and relevant way, says Malin Burlin Lundmark, coordinator at Skellefteå Science City.
The whole of Skellefteå is vibrating. New billion-dollar start-ups, led by battery manufacturer Northvolt, are having a positive impact on the business community, and intensive work is being done to solve everything from housing needs to recruitment issues. In the midst of all this is Campus Skellefteå, which will play a key role in enabling development. - The industry that is emerging here is not only new in Sweden but throughout Europe, which obviously affects the requirements for both research and skills conversion, says Ida Lindh, strategic manager at Campus Skellefteå.
Skellefteå is undergoing a major expansion and has an increasingly advanced business community, which means an increased need for higher education. - This creates good conditions for developing access to higher education in Skellefteå, says Ida Lindh, Strategic Director at Campus Skellefteå.
Skellefteå continues to be really hot. In recent years, it has become a Swedish and European symbol of growth, future-proof energy solutions and cutting-edge technology. One of the factors enabling this development is Campus Skellefteå.
In the 1980s, Skellefteå was one of the very first municipalities to invest in a supercomputer. A pointer that has had an impact, as Skellefteå is now a place where digital and creative industries thrive. - Here you will find all the conditions for the digital sector - good support, short decision-making paths, up-to-date education on campus and great coworking spaces, says Lara Gavina, senior strategist at North Kingdom.
On 14 October, Elite Hotels' unique venture The Wood Hotel opens in Sara Kulturhus. A world-class hotel experience with 205 modern hotel rooms, three restaurants, a sky bar with rooftop terrace and a spa with panoramic views over Skellefteå. The director is David Åberg, a former Skellefteå resident who has moved back home - and who sees great potential in Skellefteå.
Fransesca Quartey has been working in the performing arts for over 30 years. Now she will soon hand over the job as CEO of Västerbottensteatern. She has great faith in the future of Skellefteå and the region. "If we can create a kind of emotional infrastructure in the same way that this municipality is exceptional in terms of water, sewage and schools, then I feel that this place is the future," she says.
SBB i Norden AB today signed a letter of intent to invest over SEK 1 billion in Skellefteå's future cultural centre. SBB will own the entire property, including the hotel, and lease it to an operating company that the municipality will form within its Skellefteå Stadshus group of companies. There have been many interested parties during the sales process, which consolidates Skellefteå as an attractive place to set up business.
Egbert Venema and Sandra Hilbrands, both 45 years old, did what many dream of - emigrated abroad. But family and friends in Holland want them to move back home. They themselves don't understand their wish, as they have just found their home.