The dynamic melting pot we call Campus Skellefteå is a place dedicated to the future. Vibrant student life pairs with some of Sweden's highest-ranked educational programmes. Established universities, vocational programmes and the business sector are all represented here.
Most people who apply to Campus Skellefteå have a passion they want to express, realise, even experience. It may be something extraordinary, but it may also be quite ordinary. Like being the best in the world in PC game design or making a career change from shop attendant to nurse, without having to relocate, or recruiting people who work for global welfare. As a venue for all these strong wills, our task is to make sure that all the peripheral elements fall into place.
The jobs are in Skellefteå
The job market is growing in Skellefteå with thousands of jobs and Sweden's lowest unemployment rate, there are attractive jobs in whatever industry you are active in!
Welcome home to Sweden’ best job market!
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.
One of the novelties at Campus Skellefteå is University West introducing its three-year program Applied Urban Planning. Here, Ylva Johansson and Andrea Johansson, who will both be teaching, share their thoughts on the highly topical program and its strong potential for future urban planners. - There is a strong development in Skellefteå and we hope that the students and we as a university get an opportunity to be part of the development that is taking place, says Ylva Johansson, lecturer with a solid legal background and experience in the urban planning sector. Andrea Johansson is also a university lecturer with a professional background in urban planning, surveying, land and development and building permits. She emphasizes the geographically dispersed nature of the course. - It will be a decentralized education with several campuses involved, including Västervik, Värnamo and Skellefteå. "University West is the university that provides the program, and we have good experience of involving several actors. Every place has its own conditions, and community planning is based on the opportunities and challenges associated with the specific location. The fact that the program involves several different universities in different parts of the country will contribute valuable perspectives to the program," says Andrea. For future community planners, the program opens up a number of opportunities. Employers can be municipalities, government agencies and private companies. In addition, there is the possibility of continuing an academic career, for example, after graduation, students become eligible for several master's programs at University West. The program focuses on sustainable community planning and equips students to deal with complex issues. Especially considering how the world has changed in recent years. - One of our central challenges is to plan for sustainable societies. We face complex issues in this professional role. The focus of our education is on developing methods and competences where the ability to solve problems is central. As a community planner, you meet different target groups, so collaboration and communication are also integrated into the course, says Andrea. Ylva emphasizes that it is a profession in constant change. - You constantly face new challenges, just look at how the world is changing and how it affects the transformation of society - I'm thinking of the global situation and the climate issue, for example. You will always develop in your role as a social planner, she says.
A lot continues to happen on Campus Skellefteå - several new universities and educational actors are about to invest. The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, GIH, will establish itself from autumn 2024. GIH, known for its education in sports, physical activity and health, will offer a range of courses that include a three-year bachelor's degree in psychology with a focus on behavioral change. Two of the upcoming courses in fall 2024 are 'Leading Change' and 'Physical Activity and Brain Health in Schools'. Both of these courses will have between 20 and 30 training places and focus on sustainable change management. The psychology course is expected to start in the fall semester of 2025. It does not lead to a psychology degree but can be studied to work as a behavioral worker in HR or health care. Maria Ekblom, professor of sports science at GIH, thinks that these are suitable courses for Skellefteå and she is enthusiastic about the opportunities offered by the collaboration with Campus Skellefteå: - We strive to be a national and international player, and to do so through involvement in Skellefteå is a golden opportunity. Through our education and research, we want to positively influence the development of society, and Skellefteå is working on very important issues for our common future, especially in light of Agenda 2030. There is a huge process of change going on, and we want to be part of that transformation. It feels very relevant!
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Skellefteå is one of Sweden's fastest growing municipalities and the region has a central role in the green transition. 14,000 new jobs are expected to be created here over the next five years, but a major challenge remains: skills supply. Can the Skellefteå Universities Alliance challenge traditional academic frameworks and multiply the number of students in higher education in Skellefteå? Northern Sweden is buzzing with activity. The green transition means great opportunities for innovation in a region with good access to renewable energy, and Skellefteå has become the focus of the world's attention. But with rapid development comes new challenges, and over 14,000 new jobs are expected to be created here in the next five years alone. At the same time, there has been no national model for rapidly increasing access to higher education in a place that has no university of its own, is a separate labor market region, and is expanding rapidly. Until now. - Skellefteå takes great responsibility in the green transition. A prerequisite for the development to continue is that we can meet the acute need for higher education on site, says Ida Lindh, strategically responsible for Campus Skellefteå. She is one of those developing the Skellefteå Universities Alliance (SUA), which will be a model for how national and international universities can offer their courses locally. The model makes it possible for more people to stay and study in Skellefteå, while creating a national test bed for academic innovation and renewal. - Extremely large establishments of new companies as a result of the green transition have meant that all social institutions must accelerate their activities. Through the Skellefteå Universities Alliance, the new needs of higher education will also be met in Skellefteå, says Peter Larsson, the government's special coordinator. Skellefteå is currently the only one of the country's 20 largest cities without its own higher education center, while there is enormous interest in the region among companies working with the green transition. Campus Skellefteå already houses education from Umeå University and Luleå University of Technology, but to meet the need for education and competence, the number of educational places and thus the educational actors need to be multiplied, says Ida Lindh. - We realized quite early on that we need to gear up and create innovative solutions to be able to meet the growing needs of the business community and the public sector in a rapid way. Previously, Skellefteås young people knew early on that you need to move if you want to get an education. Today we see that more young people want to stay, but also that the importance of lifelong learning is increasing. This requires proximity to education, and contexts that lower the thresholds. Umeå University and Luleå University of Technology are already on site at Campus Skellefteå. Now it is clear that Mälardalen University, University West, the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, the University of Gävle and Mid Sweden University are also joining SUA. - This is a win-win-win: Smarter use of the resources of Swedish higher education institutions, we reach more students with existing educational offerings and create a national and international test bed for innovation and education. At the same time, we are securing critical skills for industry and the welfare sector," says Ida Lindh.
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At the Skeria Foundation's annual distribution, which aims to stimulate activities that will increase the well-being on Campus Skellefteå and contribute to increased interest in research and education, the Student Association and its sub-sections took home a total of SEK 149,000. The rest was distributed between Sammes Foundation, Network KVIST for Women Engineers and Per Westerlund, Assistant Professor LTU. Lorents Burman who in his role as chairman of the Skeria Foundation and municipal council Skellefteå municipality handed out scholarships in the company of vice chairman Dan Magnusson and member Robert Brännström, LTU. - It is important to distribute funds in order to stimulate initiatives where students network and thrive here in Skellefteå and in the best case consider a future career here where they are really needed , says Lorents Burman . SEK 149,000 was distributed to the Student Association and its sub-sections represented by the SFCS board with the sub-sections Tafs, Kulturarna, Fusk, MIFFO, LAM, Phöseriet, Sexmästeriet, Idrottssektionen, SKRUV, and SKARV, to promote the work of the board, freshen up the interior of the student union building, develop and buy new games, arrange cultural events and work with local student culture and student life on site. The money is also used to organize student social events, arrange the Nolle period/student start-up, dishwasher and equipment in the student pub. The remaining funds went to the Sammes Foundation represented by Jörgen Markgren with the aim of arranging an educational package for the foundation's summer scholarship holders. KVIST, the network for female engineers, represented by Sarah Rönnberg, works to create activities for female engineering students in collaboration with women in business. Per Westerlund, Assistant Professor LTU was granted funds to support students' academic residence in Skellefteå and to disseminate research results. FACTS https://stiftelsemedel.se/stiftelsen-skeriafonden/
Promoting education is essential for building a socially sustainable, inclusive society. With today's rapid development, education is more important than ever. But the question is how to do it? In November, representatives from three Nordic countries - Sweden, Finland and Norway - met in Skellefteå to discuss the topic. Education is not just about formal training, but about a broader understanding and knowledge of society, culture and the world we live in. A process that, through working life, community involvement, cultural activities, dialog and personal reflection, continues throughout life. At Scandic Skellefteå, a symposium was held within the framework of the strategic partnership between Umeå University and Skellefteå Municipality, as well as the Finnish-Swedish project HanaAcademy at Hanaholmen - cultural center for Sweden and Finland and with support from the Cultural Fund for Sweden and Finland. Among other things, the participants received an inspiring lecture by Bengt Kristensson Uggla, professor at Åbo Akademi University, who highlighted the important cooperation between the three Nordic countries.
Skellefteå's new landmark and base for the Arctic Center of Energy is now taking shape. At the same time, work on the content of the building is intensifying rapidly. As previously reported, the building will be a meeting place for actors who enable and accelerate the electrification of society.
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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.
In 2025, Campus Skellefteå, together with Luleå University of Technology, will host Sweden's largest collaboration conference, Higher Education and Society in Collaboration (HSS). A conference focusing on how we can solve today's and tomorrow's societal challenges through collaboration and how can collaboration between academia, business, civil society and the public sector be developed and strengthened and what Skellefteå has to offer.
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Campus Skellefteå brings together a healthy mix of long-distance migrants, home-grown locals, distance students and international PhD students with one thing in common: they have all chosen Skellefteå as their base for study and work. Three of them are Anna Sundgren, Antonia Alba and Erik Okfors.
At Campus Skellefteå, electrical engineer Naser Nakhodchi found a research team with cutting-edge expertise and the opportunity to combine family life with a demanding PhD position at LTU. Now he will soon finish his PhD, take the step into Northvolt and after four intense years, the whole family has put down roots in Skellefteå. - For a family with children, it is a fantastic city - quiet and beautiful. It's easy to feel comfortable," says Naser Nakhodchi. This spring, Naser Nakhodchi starts his new position at Northvolt in Skellefteå. He comes most recently from a PhD position at LTU where he researched harmonics in low voltage networks. For example, it can be about how new connections affect the existing network, how the connection of electric cars and solar cells affects a 50-year-old electricity network that is built for completely different stresses. - "I didn't really have any plans to go back to school. We were living in Malmö and I was looking for work in southern Sweden. To be honest, I didn't even know about Skellefteå at that point," says Naser Nakhodchi. For a family with children, it is a fantastic city - quiet and beautiful. But then a well-known name appeared in his LinkedIn inbox. It was Professor Math Bollen from LTU who recommended a PhD position in Skellefteå - an exciting research area with an internationally recognized research team. - There are few universities in the world that work with this particular area, and the group is well known - perhaps top ten globally. 'About 100 qualified people applied for the position, so it was a big deal when I got it. So now the move took place, 140 km from Malmö to Skellefteå. Initially, the family lived in an apartment that the university helped with, but after a year they broke ground on the plot on Morö Backe where they have now built their house. And there is no doubt that the family likes the area. - "People here are very open and kind and we have great neighbors. In bigger cities it can be difficult to get in, but here it's easier. Her daughter quickly found friends at school and plays every day with the other children in the area. Overall, the move has gone very smoothly. His wife Maryam Mottahedin found a job within a month - first as a teacher and then with the organization Save the Children. Her eldest daughter has settled in at the English school and her younger sister will start preschool in May. - Of course, living this far north has its drawbacks: a little too dark and cold in the winter, a little too light in the summer. But for a family with children it is a fantastic city - quiet and beautiful. Naser sees the fact that Campus Skellefteå is relatively small compared to other university areas as an advantage. Not least that adult education is located in the same area. - "I could take a Swedish course in the building next to my office. It's also easy to feel comfortable, you know everyone who works on the campus and people are incredibly kind and inviting to everyone who comes there. Of all the places I have lived, studied and worked, I like Skellefteå best.
What is it like to leave your friends and family to study in a new city? Friends Eh Soe, Martin Ingemarsson, Diana Alistar and Jakob Gardelin all come from different parts of Sweden and met at Campus Skellefteå. - Student life here is great fun! Many are active in the association and you become very close, says Martin Ingemarsson. Almost 90 percent of all students at Campus Skellefteå are immigrants from elsewhere in Sweden and the world. Many are attracted by innovative programs focused on the tech and gaming industry, including Martin Ingemarsson who comes from Kinna, 20 miles southwest of Borås. He really had no plans to move this far north, but when he - a week before the start of the course - received the admission notice to an LTU program in 3D graphics on Campus Skellefteå, everything went very quickly. - I have a background in theater and wanted to do something creative - this education felt just right. We were the first wave of students to move into the student barracks and I think that helped socially. You get close to each other, for better or worse, and there was quickly a very good cohesion here, says Martin Ingemarsson. "I hadn't participated much in the student association's activities before, but here I became curious and showed up to help. Today, Martin is one of seven people who volunteer to run the student pub Traversen, or Travven as it is called, on campus - a meeting place for students that is open on Fridays and Saturdays. - At Travven you can hang out with friends, meet students from other courses and it's often where the student association's events take place. Students volunteer behind the bar, it's fun and you don't need any previous experience from bar work, says Martin Ingemarsson.
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.
How do you attract aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea? Skellefteå is home to the unique support organization SmartUp, which supports idea creators – whether the dream was born around a dinner table in Skellefteå or in a workshop in Aleppo, Syria. We met Jenny Moberg and Therese Johansson, who have been nominated for SmartUp of the Year, and Mohamad Sassila, who is living his dream.
Skellefteå offers a wide variety of activities for every taste and for everyone. There are things to do, sights to see, and attractions to experience. You can find activities for every day of the week, whether you prefer the great outdoors or staying indoors. Explore centuries-old attractions, enjoy exciting outdoor activities, and discover numerous things to do right here in Skellefteå and its surroundings.
