Each semester, the Master Programme in Business Administration, specialising in business management, starts with a new batch of students at the University of Gävle. The one-year programme, referred to as an MBA, is given in English and the students come from all parts of the world.
– It’s a broad range of individuals from different cultures and backgrounds, and they bring with them work experience from their own countries within areas such as marketing, accounting and product development. So our students here at Gävle already have experience before they arrive, and this is something we’re proud of and put to good use in our region, says programme director Daniella Fjellström.
Paper about sustainability
As part of the programme, the student must write a paper during the second semester, which can be, for example, a proposal for a marketing plan for a company. On Monday, a meeting was held between players in the region and the MBA students, where they had the opportunity to discuss their ideas.
“Sustainability is an issue that is gaining traction within all companies, but everyone defines what sustainable is in different ways. We will write our paper with a specific focus on sustainability, and this gives us a chance to establish contacts,” says MBA student Mehadi Hasan.
The meeting, which was held at Gävle Innovation Hub, was part of the EU project “Compete In”. It is linked to Region Gävleborg, Gävle Municipality, Valencia in Spain, Upper Silesia and Poznan in Poland, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in the UK, and Emilia Romagna and Reggio Emilia in Italy, where Reggio Emilia is the project owner.
Companies want to be international
The project aims to strengthen competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) internationally. According to Therese Florentin, international coordinator at the University of Gävle, this poses an excellent opportunity for MBA students.
– These students often have work experience from other countries in which our entrepreneurs are interested in marketing themselves. In our region, there is a great number of small and medium-sized companies that are not at all international, but who want to be. The companies for their part feel that they lack knowledge on international marketing. At the same time, our MBA students possess knowledge and experience from their home countries. What we have to do is connect our students with these companies, she says.
Text and photo: Anna Sällberg
