University of South Carolina
It was an interesting time to visit Sweden for the International Perspectives in Higher Education (IPHE) trip with a group of faculty and staff members from the University of South Carolina. While there during the week of spring break from March 7-14, 2020, little did we know that both the United States and Swedish governments would soon be advising higher education institutions to close campuses and switch to remote education and services in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. In thinking of experiential education for students, this interrupts many plans for completing internships, co-ops, job shadowing, in-person clinical hours, and special projects (unable to be completed remotely). Even with this unsettling news of this public health crisis turned pandemic, I did learn some valuable information about the differences between our higher education systems and gained insight into how students learn beyond the classroom in Sweden. To put the Swedish higher education system into perspective, an academic year is 40 weeks long, equating to 60 credits, which is considered full-time study. Among several other options including the traditional A/B/C/D/F grading systems, 5/4/3/Fail is most commonly used in Sweden. During our site visits with Jönköping University, Chalmers University of Technology, and Gothenburg University, we quickly learned that colleges in Sweden offer many entrepreneurial programs for students so they have the opportunity to brainstorm ideas of their own to create future businesses. In my opinion and experience working in Student Affairs thus far, this doesn’t seem to be a common practice in the United States outside of traditional business degrees. As a Career Development Coach, I believe many student support staff today still provide the most information about traditional careers/jobs with somewhat linear paths. I believe it is important for students to think outside the box and know that there are many non-traditional options for them to pursue.
During our visit with the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKA), an independent government agency with the highest power that applies education law, we gained insight into how the 37 higher education institutions operate in Sweden. The biggest difference is that funding is mainly public, which means there are no tuition fees for Swedish and EU students. In contrast, students in the United States are swimming in student loan debt, which according to Forbes, in 2020 is now about a total of $1.56 trillion. In Sweden, there is a maximum amount of about $50,000 per student per year that the government will pay for. One doesn’t have to progress to meet certain markers when studying either, taking pressure off those who may not be degree-seeking. Students of all ages can take one class over a long period of time if they desire. We quickly learned how studying in Sweden as a college student from the United States definitely has its perks. Seemingly the most important and obvious factor is that almost everyone speaks English in Sweden, so it’s a comfortable and familiar environment for most to be in. For instance, most menus and store signage have both a Swedish title and an English title listed so you rarely have to ask for help understanding. We also gained insight into the current shortage of teachers and nurses in Sweden when hearing from the employees at the Higher Education Authority (UKA), which is similar to what we are experiencing in the United States during this time. To combat this, Swedish teachers have received hefty raises to make the job more appealing. There are also fast track practices to help people get teaching qualifications in an easier manner, which is similar to South Carolina’s most recent practices of accepting non-traditional bachelor's degrees to allow others to become K-12 teachers. Many higher education courses in Sweden are offered as distance courses, so most of them are completely online. The Higher Education Authority (UKA) is very proud to offer this flexible course-based education. Lifelong learning is definitely a priority in Sweden, as we quickly noticed, so it’s not just traditional-aged college students enrolled; people at any stage of life are encouraged to study and take courses, even without planning to ever graduate. Our first college meeting took place at Jönköping University, known for their focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s a private non-profit university (one of three in Sweden) with 12,600 students. Jönköping University offers Pathway Programs (including internships) designed for international students as a bridge towards a degree. After having lunch and speaking with one of the hosts, Eric Freid, the Business Development Manager for International Recruitment, he explained that in Sweden, most companies offer 5-8 weeks of paid vacation per year for employees and usually give a higher paycheck during that period of time to encourage traveling and taking long vacations. Now this caught my attention! Sweden seems to really care for their workers and promote activities to increase positive mental health aspects. I also noticed how there were candles lit everywhere we went: colleges and universities use them in dining halls, restaurants have them on every table, bathrooms even would be decorated with lit candles! Greenery and plants are used as decorations in most places as wells Apparently, this is to help combat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) since there are short, dreary winter days without much sunlight that lasts for many months. Although the summer season is short, you would not be able to tell with all of the friendly, happy people around! Jönköping University hosts an Entrepreneurship Day (similar to a career fair) where students receive a small loan to create a business plan and do market research. During our meeting, the hosts explained that a group of 4 students recently won a contest sponsored by Volvo because they came up with an idea for a camera and sensor on the outside of the car so people don’t have to risk taking pictures of landscapes while driving. In particular, I loved hearing about their actual career fair, which is called “Next Step.” Students help plan most of this event through marketing, creating and maintaining the website, and even picking the companies they want to attend! We also learned that Sweden passed a new law where students can apply for a year extension after studying abroad to look for work or create a business. Jönköping University has an industrial placement course that is 12-15 credits but isn’t quite considered a co-op or internship; it is part of the engineering program. Students spend 8 weeks working full-time at a company and get class credits so they are not considered employed and they do not get paid. Our hosts said that most students do this locally and also have an opportunity to go abroad for this if they choose to do so. Our second college meeting was at Chalmers University of Technology, a full scale technical university with 11,000 students. Out of 41 Masters programs offered, all of them are taught in English except for one. Their focus on entrepreneurial learning creates value for others, identifies needs, and generates ideas for solutions. Their job fairs have about 200 companies that attend and the “student union” organizes the entire thing! Here is a link to the event website: https://charm.chalmers.se. We were also told that seed money is given (30,000 euros) to students, which they can apply for, to start their own business through the entrepreneurial masters program and they don’t need to repay it or show royalties/profit. This sounds like such an incredible opportunity! After learning that this school also gives students free rein to plan their own career fair, I knew it would be a great idea to bring back to the University of South Carolina Career Center. When they invest time and energy into the details of the event, they are more invested and able to target other students in their similar fields to invite them to attend. Located on the west coast of Sweden, Gothenburg University doesn’t quite have a campus. Instead, it’s spread out throughout the city of Gothenburg and the entire region. As our last site visit of the week, this campus was fitting because it’s structure is the most similar to UofSC. Gothenburg University is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities with 48,000 students and 6400 staff members. It is one of the largest universities in the Nordic countries. During one presentation on the study abroad process, our group was able to meet with two college students currently studying abroad there from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When asked about experiential learning opportunities within the study abroad program at Gothenburg University, one student explained that although she doesn’t have an internship or job shadowing lined up in her course schedule, the professors are very trusting and expect students to learn on their own time. She is assigned several group projects and will meet at coffee shops with her partners to accomplish the work. She explained that the first week of classes in the semester consisted of lectures every day, and after that they weren’t really expected to show up to class in-person during set times anymore because they are to complete the group assignments by the end of the semester as they see fit. However, we did hear a bit about the EUTOPIA Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (EURSS), which provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students at GU to conduct their own research project during the summer and apply for a scholarship within the EUTOPIA alliance. Through these four site visits in Sweden, I saw how lifelong learning is a true political ambition at each university and people are encouraged to come back to school throughout their career. The network created with professionals in Sweden will be beneficial to UofSC staff helping students seek opportunities abroad. I am so grateful that I had this opportunity and would love to go back one day!
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