Intervju med programchef och programkoordinator
Martin Blom och Madeleine Forsberg är programchef och programkoordinator för kandidatprogrammet i International Business som startade hösten 2017. Ekonomihögskolan har under många år sett ett stort intresse från internationella presumtiva studenter att läsa ett kandidatprogram inom ekonomi, och programmet är ett sätt att ytterligare internationalisera utbildningen på grundnivå.
Why is the subject of international business important in today’s and tomorrow’s society?
For us here in Sweden – being a small export dependent nation – international trade has for a long time been a vital for our economy. The past decades of globalization and digitalization have however changed the competitive landscape with new threats, but also opportunities. In order to better prepare our students for these new threats and opportunities we decided the launch our bachelor's programme in International Business.
Why do you think students should come to Lund University and the School of Economics and Management to study?
First of all, Lund is an old, beautiful medieval city dominated by the university, its students and professors. It is a clean, safe and rather cosy place. The student life is indeed vibrant, with endless opportunities to engage yourself in fun, developing, and rewarding extra curriculum activities. Second, Lund university is one of Scandinavia’s largest and most prestigious universities. It is repeatedly ranked as a global top 100, full range university with a solid reputation for its research, education and strong traditions. Our close collaboration with the business sector adds a lot of value in terms of adjunct professors, internships and career opportunities for our students. Furthermore, as a student here you will have the opportunity to spend at least one semester abroad at one of our many highly ranked partner universities.
What are your experiences from this year’s Bachelor’s programme in International Business?
The first generation of programme students is truly impressive! They are indeed a bunch of talented, ambitious young people; strong individuals already with plenty of international experience and an international outlook. Strong in terms of academic backgrounds of course, but many also with impressive extra curriculum activities.
So if you have strong academic qualifications from high school, an analytical mind, is a hard-working team player, and are curious about other countries and cultures, you are probably well qualified for this programme and more than welcome to become part of the next generation!
What future career prospects do you think the students taking the programme have?
The alumnis from Lund University School of Economics and Management have for over 50 years been highly regarded, both in Sweden and abroad. Our Career Centre helps our students to identify their career objectives and supports them when it comes to achieving these objectives. The alumnis of this particular programme are well equipped for junior management positions at large international companies, government institutions or other organizations. Functional areas can include export, import, finance, controlling, business development, sales, marketing and customer care for example.
How fun and engaging is it to be part of the management of this programme?
It has been a fantastic journey so far! It is of course very exciting to build something from scratch, but still be able to lean against the strong academic traditions and resources here at Lund university. We have benchmarked against and learned from some of Europe’s best Business Schools when it comes to programme content and structure, which of course has been very interesting and stimulating. To sum up, we are indeed very grateful for how well the programme has taken off and been received among the students, faculty and other stakeholders.