JIBS UNITED MAGAZINE
16
20
YEARS
IF YOU HAVE GRADUATED FROM JIBS, FINISHED 2/3 OF YOUR PROGRAM, OR HAVE COME TO JIBS AS AN EXCHANGE STUDENT, YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN JIBS ALUMNI NETWORK.
WWW.JIBSALUMNI.COM YOU WILL BE CONNECTED TO MORE THAN 5000 JIBSERS AROUND THE GLOBE, RECEIVE JIBS UNITED MAGAZINE AND ALUMNI NEWSLETTER, BE INVITED TO ALUMNI EVENTS, HAVE ACCESS TO JOB OFFERS AND STORIES OF THE BIG FAMILY OF JIBSERS! JIBS ALUMNI IS ALSO ON
SEARCH “JIBS ALUMNI”
APRIL 15
7 PM @ KULTURHUSET SPIRA PRE-MINGLE FROM 6 PM
SPRING GALAXY
FASHION SHOW WITH PERFORMING ARTIST SABINA DDUMBA
WORDS FROM THE DEAN PICTURE & TEXT ANNA BLOMBÄCK - ACTING DEAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR
Dear JIBSers,
I’m sure it has escaped no one that 2015 is a year that will be forever etched in to JIBS’ history. In March, we received the EQUIS accreditation awarded by EFMD. In late December, the news reached us that we would become the first AACSB accredited business school in Sweden. This in itself is not a small feat but on top of this JIBS is also the first business school in Sweden who can boast the full double EQUIS and AACSB accreditations. The driving forces behind JIBS are exemplified in our guiding principles: international at heart, responsible in action and entrepreneurial in mind. The accreditations, placing JIBS in the top percentile of business schools around the world, serve well to prove that these principles are in actual fact lived, as proof of pioneering achievements, an international orientation, and attention to current global challenges are all essential for gaining the accreditors’ approval. Throughout the years, faculty and students alike have shown some great determination and relentless strive to achieve this international legitimacy and recognition. In 1996, a mere 1,5 percent of the world population had access to the Internet at home, the DVD was quickly becoming a commercial success, “Dolly the sheep” was the first mammal to be successfully cloned, the catchy tune “Macarena” was at the top on the US Billboard chart whilst the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” topped in the UK, and Michael “air” Jordan was stilling playing basketball for the Chicago Bulls. Also in 1996, Jönköping International Business School had existed for two years and the notion of accreditation was yet to be concretely articulated. The campus of today was non-existing (JIBS building was inaugurated in 1997 – read more about our history on the JIBS website), however, the JIBS spirit was already in play! At this time, a dedicated and entrepreneurial group of JIBS students saw fit to initiate the rebirth of the business school students’ magazine, first naming it Junited, a play on words in both English and Swedish. Having a good student magazine is essential for an accomplished business school, signifying as a feather in the cap. In our case, JIBS United serves as a storefront which brings all the aspects of our business school together. By visualizing a great variety of academic and international experiences, as well as entrepreneurial endeavors, you contribute to the building of creativity and aspiration. By featuring students, faculty, alumni and other stakeholders you are, also, the link between the past, present and future. So thank you for all your efforts, keep up the good work and here’s to 20 more!
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CONTENT 22 TEST BEST STUDY CAFÈS
16 HOW DID YOU END UP HERE? 18 ACADEMIC EPIDEMIC 26
SOLVE YOUR WAY TO EMPLOYMENT
10 12 20 24
MEET THE TEAM SAVE THE DATE WORLD IA DAY JOURNEY OF JIBS
14 BEING KIND IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL
28
20 THINGS TO DO IN JKPG
30
THE 2020 WORKPLACE
32
LIFE AS EXCHANGE STUDENTS
34
ARE YOU OFF BALANCE?
36 MEET THE JSA 38 COFFEE BREAK 40 NEXTSTEP 42 LETTER TO HOME 7
RIGHT NOW AT JIBS
NEW JSA PLATFORM Check out the new JSA webpage at www.jibsstudents.com. The new site is not only a looker, but will be more up-to-date and have new features as student-driven blogs.
SPRING INSPIRATION
Hot fashion, hot people and hot entertainment by Sabina Ddumba – three reasons to not miss this year’s spaced out SPRING Inspiration Fashion Show on April 15.
JIBS ALUMNI NETWORK
www.jibsalumni.com is a gateway to an inspirational professional community of JIBS graduates and former exchange students. It is a growing network which now unites more than 5000 JIBSers around the world. You are welcome to join as soon as you have obtained 2/3 of your program points.
WE GO DIGITAL!
For the first time we will publish the magazine online! Enjoy you favorite read from anywhere in the world and save some trees in the process.
JUBEL-SONG ON SPOTIFY
The JUBEL-bartenders Viktor Lindvall and Johan Persson are not only excelling in pouring beers, they are also making sick tunes. Their song J.U.B.E.L can be found on Spotify and is from now on the mandatory soundtrack every Wednesday. Viktor explains “It’s about enjoying the years at uni and living life to the fullest. It is also a tribute to our student pub, hence the name.” The idea about producing a song emerged while highly intoxicated during a late night skate session. A few weeks later Johnny’s friend Nilspop hooked them up with a beat and the creativity started flowing. “We had a couple of whiskeys at my studio (my wardrobe) and I think we were rapping and mixing until 5 in the morning.”.
NEW PROGRAMS
The autumn of 2016 JIBS introduces two brand-new programs that couldn’t be more right in time. SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT is a Bachelor-program designed for people interested in the management of change and innovation, with an emphasis on sustainability. It will foster your creativity, develop your entrepreneurial mindset and give you the necessary skills to drive change in a way future generations will thank you for. DIGITAL BUSINESS is a Master-program will prepare you for a management role in the digital economy of tomorrow. You will address the challenges digitalization poses for companies but also learn how to leverage on the opportunities the new technique brings.
YOU CAN GET PUBLISHED!
Try your luck and send your piece to junited.jsa@ju.se. If your writing skills are on point you might get featured in the next issue.
FLEUR FORMAL
It’s time to stir things up! On May 20 the first spring prom in JIBS’s history will take place. Expect an evening out of the ordinary - Fleur Formal will be a magical night you don’t want to miss.
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MEET THE TEAM PICTURE & TEXT EMMA ROLANDSDOTTER
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ELINOR LUNDBERG
ELIN ORRHEIM
NHUNG VU
EDITOR IN CHIEF second-hand or brand new
MANAGING DIRECTOR
ART DIRECTOR dance battle or debate
EMMA ROLANDSDOTTER
HELENA MÅNSSON
ANN CHRISTIANE NEAUBAUER
GRAPHIC DESIGNER control or chaos
GRAPHIC DESIGNER preparty or afterparty
BRAND EXCUTIVE & WRITER writing or reading
HELGA KAYDA
FRIDA-MARIA WALLGREN
ELLINOR LÖNNSTRÖM
MARKETING MANAGER & WRITER smart or sexy
WRITER spending or saving
WRITER sneakers or heels
backpacking or all inclusive
DO GYOEN KIM WRITER veggie or steak
LARISA SORA WRITER summer or winter
JASMEN SAMIE WRITER mac or pc
LINNEA NILSSON
LINNEA SANDBERG
MAGDALENA GRANATH
WRITER city or countryside
WRITER night or day
WRITER christmas or new year
JOSEPH PRIMAL WRITER dinner or breakfast
ANASTASIJA KOROTINA WRITER lead or follow
REBECCA NGUYEN PROOF READER text or call
JOSHUA FRANCIS PROOF READER netflix or cinema
JOSEFIN NORDGREN
LINH PHAM PROOF READER horror or rom-com
PROOF READER pepsi or coca-cola
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ART DIRECTOR NHUNG VU
MANAGING DIRECTOR ELIN ORREHEIM
EDITOR IN CHIEF ELINOR LUNDBERG
WORDS
FROM THE EDITOR TEXT ELINOR LUNDBERG PICTURE HELENA MÅNSSON
Finally! Hope you are as excited as I am to the read through the first JIBS United Magazine of 2016. Looking back, this magazine has an impressive history reporting on all kinds of JIBS-related matters since 1996, when the very first issue saw the light of day. 1996 – a time when the JIBS building was still under construction, Google was still in idea phase, and my own life journey was not even past kindergarten. Fast forward two decades and have made it all the way to university, but it sure took me a while. My life after high school has been like a nomadic journey looking for ”my thing”. I’ve tried it all – backpacking, camper van life, volunteer work, ski season, startups – you name it. To further add to the clichée of a Generation Y-restless soul I would say that I’ve learned a lot about myself, but more importantly I learned what i don’t want to do. While spending four gap years ticking off all the things I thought I was meant to do, I never came near an opportunity to realize one of my oldest dreams – to work at a magazine – til now. The process of putting together a magazine for the first time is not something I will even try to depict, I’m sure you haven’t read this far to hear about late nights and a tear (yes, one – I was just stressed). It has been an eventful ride and when browsing these pages I hope you will sense the effort the team has put into it, both when it comes the written content as well as the design. This talented team is a creative powerhouse and they have made sure that we have a wide range of articles that hopefully will inspire you! My best source of inspiration is other people. So be it if it’s a classmate, a historic icon or facinating character in a documentary – the people you encounter can have such an impact on who you aspire to become. Therefore, we have made an effort to go beyond the first courtesies. I admit, as a Swede I really appreciate an empty seat next to me on the bus and I do pick the hairdresser that I know won’t make conversation. But I think it’s time to challenge our habits and instead find out all the stories that our fellow bus passengers could share, and choose that hairdresser who could charge double for a therapy session you didn’t ask for. I believe only good things can come from being curious and building relationships with the people that cross our paths. Therefore, in this issue you will find plenty of interviews, life stories and snapshots from people, both inside and outside the JIBS-universe and inside and outside of Sweden. Looking forward, I hope the magazine will contine to inspire JIBS-students for another 20 years, but what I wish the most right now, it’s just for you to have a good read!
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Language Café at Books & Coffee
11– 13 13 14 15 16 18– 21 20 22 27
7 10 13 20 30
. . .
Movie night at HLK
Kultur på Campus at the library JUBEL Student Pub Akademien Night Club
Quiz Night at Books & Coffee
Culture Day at Books & Coffee
... .
8/4 Spain 15/4 Mexico 22/4 Australia 29/4 India
JSA Investment Club Finance Trip & JIBS Entrepreneur
ship Challenge
Day of Health - fair at Campus Arena & Food Safari
JSA Bi-annual Meeting
Spring Galaxy Fashion Show
Dodgeball Tournament with Pedsex & Akademien Open
International Week
Night
International Day - fair at Campus Arena
Student Union’s Annual Meeting
Full Moon-sittning
Fadder Education
Tacksittning
Faddersittning
Fleur Formal - JIBS Spring Prom
JIBS Graduation Ceremony
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BEING KIND IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL TEXT LARISA SORA PICTURE ISABELLE FALCK
November, 2015. Running from one meeting to another, organizing an event and a million thoughts in my mind. I always believed that certain people appear in your life at the right time and place, when you need them the most, but you just don’t see it. But there she is, Isabelle Falck. When we started speaking, I had the feeling time stopped for a few moments.
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She is a social entrepreneur and the founder of KINDNESSFOOD AB, two words which marked her experience. “I’m working mainly as an inspirational speaker and I also create lectures in sustainability, health and personal growth and workshops to help, inspire and coach youth and young adults to be kinder to themselves and our world”. This is not a story about eating healthy; this is about a recovery journey which was the stepping stone for an entrepreneurial ride. She would say she is not special, but for me and you, she is! You can find yourself in her story and at the end of this article I hope you have learned a priceless life lesson. She is KINDNESS and the strongest person I have ever met.
that before the stroke. Like you or me, she focused on living the day and thinking that taking care of herself could be postponed. The stroke was the wakeup call for the beginning of a new journey.
When she was younger, she wanted to experience and see the world, therefore, she left her small Swedish hometown and has started her journey. She travelled around the world for 3 years and still she wasn’t satisfied, she needed to show off an exciting and perfect lifestyle. It was never enough. Even though on the outside she looked very self-confident with a high self-esteem, on the inside, things were the opposite and she considered herself a failure.
After 6 months she was fully recovered and during this time, she felt connected to her inner self, having found her real values. Moreover, the doctors told her they were confident that the problems won’t appear anymore. Therefore, she moved back to Australia in Melbourne, back to her old lifestyle and lost herself once again.
“After 3 years of travelling I was home sick, hence I decided to move back to Sweden. I moved to Gothenburg with my best friends and my initial plan was to work as a waitress for a few months, be the same party girl as before and then travel again. One weekend spent with my family in my little hometown in the Southern Sweden triggered the roller coaster. During the night, I woke up and I felt very heavy and pins and needles in my arms. I felt pain, but I went back to sleep and in the morning I couldn’t get up even though I was conscious. After a few hours, my mother came to my room and she tried to wake me up. My family didn’t really believe that I was sick and I stayed there one more night. Still, the next day I felt even more exhausted. I was too stubborn to go to a hospital and I thought that nothing can happen to me, I’m too young. On the third day I couldn’t feel my upper body, so I was forced to go to the hospital. Officially, my blood test showed that I’m perfectly healthy; therefore, the doctors assumed that the brain may be the problem. After the CT scan, doctors told me that I had a haemorrhage in my brainstem. In other words, I had a stroke during my sleep. The best option was to rest in bed for the next 6 months and hopefully I would get my energy back.” Having a stroke at only 23 shocked her. She switched from a healthy, independent girl to a person who was sick and stuck in bed. She knew she couldn’t lay in bed her whole life. She had to fight for herself. She was always reading about how eating and thinking affects the human body. However, she hadn’t lived like
“After the stroke, my mother took care of me because I was not able to do it anymore. I was sleeping most of the time and I was feeling extremely exhausted. In a bad day I couldn’t stay awake more than 30 minutes. Once I told my mother that I want to eat and use products that are 100% natural we switched to organic products. I wanted to be back to normal and I decided that plant based food will be my medicine. After one month and a half I could feel my body again and my energy was improving”.
“I started working as a waitress at a brand new vegetarian restaurant in Melbourne and I had a lot of responsibilities. One day, the symptoms appeared again, the pains were even stronger and my balance disappeared. I went to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the doctors told me that I had an ongoing haemorrhage in my brain. Again, it was the moment when I had to be strong and calm for myself, my beloved ones and trust my gut that everything would be fine. In my case, the bleeding was very slow in comparison with normal strokes, and so you could never know what might happen. I lost my vision because the bleeding was pressing on my optical nerve and I couldn’t control my body anymore”.
recovery programme, and I worked hard to regain the ability to control my body, something that I had taken for granted before, and I promised that I wouldn’t mistreat myself anymore. I recovered more and felt better in 5 months than my doctors ever thought I could do in 5 years, even though I now live with the handicap of getting tired faster.” This story is not only about a person who defied death; it is about how your greatest weakness can also be your greatest strength. She is the person who can make you understand that you have a meaning for this world. She accepts herself as a human being who needs to learn to be better. She is the person who can touch your soul with her words and story. She can smile and cry in the same time and she believes in this world. “I’m not here to judge, I’m sharing what worked for me, but you need to be kind to yourself and to the world and trust in your own powers. I want to transform this experience into the best thing of my life. I know I can help people through sharing and inspire them to be kind. Being kind is kind of a big deal”. Isabelle Falck found her meaning. What is yours?
After 2 weeks, she was moved to another hospital for recovery. After 24 hours, she had the third stroke, the bleeding was heavier and the blood was covering the brainstem. It was getting worse and worse. Moreover, a surgery could cause even more damage or it could kill her. “It was the worst and the best day of my life. I can’t say how grateful I am for my strength and confidence at that moment. I held my mother’s hand and I told her to trust me that this is not the end. I knew that I wouldn’t die, I hadn’t lived according to my principles and values, I hadn’t helped people, I hadn’t loved myself yet. I needed to find a way to recover, a way that can be used by everyone. I needed to make a difference even from my bed, so I became more transparent and active on social media, sharing my story. I put all my faith into self-motivation and the “kind food”, food that is organic and doesn’t hurt people, animals or the environment. With the help of the doctors in Melbourne I built my own
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HOW DID YOU END UP HERE? PICTURE & TEXT LINNEA SANDBERG
When wandering around the Campus of Jönköping University, you can easily spot people from all over the world enter and exit the schools and the library. It is fascinating to think about how all of these different people with different cultures and languages have ended up here in Jönköping. Down below are four stories of how four students, all from different parts of the world, eventually ended up at Jönköping International Business School.
Tyko Tuohima is 18 years old and started his bachelor in Marketing Management
at JIBS in the fall of 2015. He might be one of the youngest students at JIBS, but he is probably far from the least experienced ones. Tyko was born in Helsinki, Finland, but he and his family later moved to Washington DC, USA. That’s where Tyko started pre-school and started learning how to play ice hockey, which later became a big part of Tyko’s life. His journey doesn’t end here, Tyko has also lived in Holland and Turkey before he moved all by himself to Canada to fulfill his ice hockey dream. After one year in Canada, he went back to Finland but not long after that he started his studying at Stockholm International School in Stockholm, Sweden. When he graduated in 2015, he was denied to start the Finnish military service due to that he was too young. So, he sat down with his family and with the advice from friends of the family, he decided to move to Jönköping to study at JIBS. In 20 years, Tyko sees himself as an employee at Nike, or other sports company. He wants to have a family and live in the west coast of the US, preferably in Malibu.
SKIP MILI PED T SERV ARY ICE
FIN LA ND
INSP IRED PROFBY ESSO Natalia Espinel is a 19-year-old girl from Quito, Ecuador and a JIBS exchange stuR dent for one year. Natalia is studying at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, which has a similar international approach as JIBS. Natalia first heard of JIBS from a professor who had been to Jönköping to evaluate the exchange between the two schools. The professor described and advertised JIBS to the students in the university and that’s how Natalia became interested in studying at JIBS. For Natalia, it was obvious that she was going abroad to study because she has always had an international approach to life. She learned English at an early age which is not that common in Ecuador and she has watched a lot of international movies and is curious about the world. When Natalia got to Sweden and started at JIBS, she was positively surprised that the weather wasn’t as cold and that the professors weren’t just Swedish. In 20 years, Natalia sees herself as a successful business woman that runs her own business in Ecuador, but she also wants to have time for her family.
EC UA DO R
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FINLAND
FRANCE
ECUADOR
Nicolas Le Bail, 22-year-old from France, is here at JIBS as an exchange student for
six months. He was born on the west coast of France but has been studying in Paris for two years. Nicolas heard of JIBS for the first time after one of his friends had been an exchange student here at JIBS two years ago. His friend described the school in a really positive way and Nicolas liked the international approach of JIBS and how the school is well located for traveling in Scandinavia. These factors became the reason why Nicolas made JIBS his first choice when he was applying for his semester abroad. Nicolas first impression of Jönköping and JIBS was that he was surprised by the early sunsets and short days and that it is a lot smaller compared to Paris. He also described the kick-off as a great first impression and that because of it, he and the other new students felt welcomed in the best way possible.
SINGAPORE
FRIE REC NDS MEN OMDED
In 20 years Nicolas doesn’t know where he will have ended up as he is a guy who lives for the moment and takes every day as it come.
FR AN CE
Ann Nquyen is a 21 years old exchange student from Singapore. Ann made her way
all the way from Singapore to Jönköping and JIBS thanks to her curiosity and the internet. When the application for the exchange semester opened up in September, Ann was clueless on where she would like to go. After reading a lot about Jönköping on the internet she found out that JIBS is quite similar to her school back in Singapore study wise, and in the last minute she decided to apply for JIBS as her first choice. The different climate, the fact that she didn’t know much about Sweden and the opportunity to discover Lapland and the northern lights was also contributive factors to why she chose Sweden. Before arriving in Jönköping, Ann thought that it was going to be much colder and that pickled hearing, mashed potatoes and lingonberries jam would be served in every restaurant. Despite the fact that it wasn’t as cold as she thought and that most of the restaurants serve pizza and kebab instead of the traditional Swedish food, she is still happy with her choice.
NOR TH LIGH ERN LUR TS ED
In 20 years, Ann hopes she works at a big cooperation somewhere in Asia.
SIN GA PO RE
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THE ACADEMIC EPIDEMIC
S T E R E OT Y P E S I N G R O U P A S S I G N M E N T S & H O W T O D E A L W I T H T H E M TEXT DO GYOEN KIM & ELINOR LUNDBERG ILLUSTRATION EMMA ROLANDSDOTTER
PROCEED
WITH
CARE.
People sensitive of generalizations should not read further or do so with the supervision of a not so political correct person.
Are you suffering from the Team Work Epidemic? Group assignment. The two most feared words in the beginning of a new course. Here at JIBS, you can’t escape the Team Work Epidemic infecting the entire system. The teachers claim it’s healthy for our development, but if you end up in the wrong team constellation you find yourself crippled. What at the beginning seemed as a harmless assignment can turn out to be your worst nightmare.
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Cultural differences aside, strong characters put together randomly in a group can cause both head ache and high blood pressure. Coordinating with your team members turns out impossible, you end up doing everything yourself, and the “fika” pauses are never ending. Your first impulse will be to avoid them like the plague, but with the right treatment you can actually get out of your group assignment with your health and sanity intact. The students that are carriers of the teamwork epidemic can hopefully be recognized by the following symptoms.
THE STUBBORN DISEASE
THE SLACKER DISEASE
Symptoms – the student that is always right, even when they are wrong. They usually dominate the group discussions, always want the last word and can appear as both aggressive and illogical. Often, it is clear that students who carry a dominant personality with strong beliefs can be troublesome. Although it may result in a good finale grade, it still affects the mood of the whole team in a negative way since the rest of the team members will feel drained and undermined towards a carrier of the Stubborn disease.
Symptoms – the laid-back student who is often self-centered and couldn’t think of anything worse than spending its time with school assignments. They sometimes come to meetings but always spend more time spreading likes on Instagram than participating in the discussion. They are highly dependent on the other members stepping in to complete their assigned parts and has no shame when it comes to openly leaving tasks undone until someone else panics and decides to take over.
Treatment -Meeting them head on will probably not work, it’s better to try and reach a compromise. If that still doesn’t work, just ignore them and do what you want, that will probably drive them even crazier and give you great material for a viral YouTube video.
THE WORKAHOLIC DISEASE Symptoms – the over-ambitious student who is obsessed with getting the highest grade and being perfect in their performance. They want to start with the assignment as soon as possible – preferably yesterday. It is often beneficial working with them since you can expect that they will deliver work as expected and often with excellent quality. On the other hand, it can be problematic and emotional conflicts can occur, if the other students (read you) do not put as much effort in the group assignment. Treatment - We know it can be tempting, but don’t send selfies from pub JUBEL while they are sitting one floor up inventing new Excel formulas for your report due in four weeks. Instead, ask the workaholic to join you! Offer a beer to help him or her to relax - establishing a good relationship will be good for the group productivity and you will have more fun along the way.
Treatment - In general, these students are not really bad people, they just have other priorities and show therefore very little interest in the academic world. Put your timidity aside and your foot down - let them know that you won’t tolerate laziness and explain that the choice is between digging in or dropping out. But, be street smart and offer a deal; maybe a few group meetings can be traded for something as vital as a personal latte service. Use your business sense and you can strike the deal of your lifetime.
THE FREE RIDER DISEASE Symptoms – the sneaky student who tries to go through the whole project unnoticed and with minimal work effort. Free riders often seek for an opportunity to “ride along” on the achievements of an ambitious group. Their success lies in their harmless personality, they are often likeable and stay in the background – a tactic which can give them many undeserved good grades. They usually try to hide in the corner when the difficult tasks are being appointed, then generously offers to make the table of contents. Treatment - If you are feeling adventurous, dare to give the Free rider a taste of his own medicine. Refuse to do nothing but your own parts and enjoy the look on the Free rider’s face when he realizes that the fairy godmother wont step in this time to save his ass. However, take action with caution, worst case scenario your whole group will get caught in URKUND since the Free rider thinks that copy paste is the cure to all his problems.
VACCINES Increasing the chance of a good team
If the epidemic has infected your group, use the political system of voting and strongly push the idea that majority will decide in the group. If you feel that it is not working, talk to your professor and if lucky you can get a new group that will suit your personality better. In other words, take action fast - if you are late for addressing conflicts in your group then no one can help you but yourself. If you are lucky enough to find the perfect team, hold on! Aim for a group with a good mixture of different cultures and backgrounds to get the maximum benefits of experiencing different chemistry with students who carry different values, attitudes and work styles – this will benefit you in the future. Having a good relationship with each other and having fun when working on presentations, reports and excel-sheets is also very important. When choosing your next group, try to find one that won’t force you to choose between great grades and loud laughs. If you continue having problems – look in the mirror. Maybe you are the carrier?
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THE PROJECTS YOU WORK ON IN YOUR SPARE TIME? There’s a UX storytellers’ e-book that is available online. We collected 42 short stories about information architecture, it took us one year to make it, but we had several hundred thousand downloads so I guess it was a success. Also, I have a podcast [Abends in der Kreativwirtschaft]. I invite people and we talk about design or UX related stuff.
WORLD IA
DAY 2016 TEXT HELGA KAYDA ILLUSTRATION NHUNG VU
What is Information Architecture (IA)? It’s the art and science behind the structural design of shared information environments. IA is used to arrange and organize information, both in digital and physical space, so that it’s findable, accessible, and meaningful. As the IA Institutes says, IA helps to structure ”the websites we use, the apps and software we download, the printed materials we encounter, and the physical places we spend time in.” Can you imagine what Netflix would look like if it had no movie categories or the possibility to search? That’s what IA is there for: to make the user experience (UX) better. On Feb 20th we celebrated World IA Day 2016 and for the first time ever it was hosted in Jönköping, organized by a team of highly enthusiastic JIBS students. We were talking about everything from designing train toilets (have you ever thought about that?) to discussing what we judge our user experience based on. We were fascinated about autonomous cars that can drive blind people and children, discussing why many companies design for customers that do
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not exist and debating what it means to design for real people, and much more! I was lucky to interview some of the people behind the UX design of products and services that thousands of people use daily, and got a glimpse of what is it like to work in the world of IA.
JAN JURSA Jan Jursa is the Team Leader of Conception and UI Design at Idealo.de in Berlin. Idealo is the leading price comparison service in Germany. Jan is also a Co-Founder of German IA Summit, MobX Conference, and the Editor in Chief of UX Storytellers eBook. He even runs his own videoblog: IA Television and much more! WHAT IS THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE? I moved to Berlin. That was quite crazy. Because I was on my way to Toronto, and I just thought: why not move to Berlin, never been there before, so I did it... and started working in Web design. HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH CREATIVE IDEAS? I guess everybody in the UX community tries to push things forward and contribute with his or her part. We all try to use technology for our ideas and try to do more than just a day job. The trick is, you have to stop sleeping! TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT
WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY “I MAKE STUFF BECAUSE I CAN” WHEN YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF AT WORKSPIRATION. ORG? We used to be the consumers. Now with all these digital tools we are producers and everybody can be their own boss. When you are the producer and consumer in one person, you make stuff… because you can (laughs). WHAT DO YOU THINK AWAITS INFORMATION ARCHITECTS IN THE FUTURE THEN? The technology is changing crazy fast. iPhone was introduced in 2007, and then in just a few years, everything suddenly changed! Who knows what’s next? Wearables [electronic devices that can be worn on the body] everywhere? I think it’s a great time for people who are interested in IA, because you can take this information and build digital spaces out of it.
OFER DESHE Ofer Deshe is the CEO of Tobias & Tobias in London. Using methods rooted in Ethnography, Human Information Processing, and Applied Cognitive Psychology, the User Experience designers at Tobias & Tobias create human-centred systems that improve business performance, and services that people love to use. WHAT MAKES TOBIAS & TOBIAS SO COOL? We combine a very holistic set of disciplines to solve problems. Many companies think of design as something that you do at the end to make it look nice. What we do is different. We build multidisciplinary themes that combine anthropologists, psychologists, product designers, business men and engineers, and we give them a really difficult task – to change how digital services are performed in a way that has never been done before. So what makes us cool is that we solve really complex and complicated problems that have a massive impact.
DO YOU FIND ANY SIMILARITIES WHEN WORKING WITH DIFFERENT SECTORS? What’s common is the approach. Unless you have empathy for the people you are designing for and understand the context in which they will use what you design, then you’ll fail. But if you understand it deeply, you can do something transformational. HOW DO YOU COMBINE THE ROLES OF ENTREPRENEUR, DIGITAL STRATEGIST AND COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGIST? I started my career as an academic, focusing on cognitive science. We know how people create mental models of the world, organize and process information. This is extremely important for IA of digital products and digital strategies that companies take. When you combine what is viable for business, feasible for engineers and ultimately desirable for people, what would work for people and be understood by people, then you create the best strategy. I have focused on blending science and engineering to create better businesses, and as an entrepreneur, I like to get stuff done, I thought it’s time to start something that I believe in. WHAT IS THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE? An ironman triathlon. That’s where you swim 3.8-3.9 km, cycle 180 km, and run a marathon. Once. And never again, because I thought it was really crazy.
ALBERTO SORANZO Alberta is Head of Experience Design and Innovation at Tobias & Tobias. She focuses on the creation and delivery of future-friendly experiences and solutions that create value across multiple channels. She is also a Mentor at Startupbootcamp and was a Digital Strategy consultant at Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT “DESIGN OF THINGS YOU DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT”? I care about designing not because we have the technological capabilities, but to support meaningful outcomes. Applying techniques just because we know them has absolutely no meaning if they don’t support what our client and the users of our client need. When we think about design process, we always want to focus on something huge, i.e. design the next Facebook. We miss a lot of moments where we could really change the perception of people and turn the casual user into an advocate for whatever service you’re providing. WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION? Everywhere! I think inspiration primarily derives from frustration – when you see something done poorly. I immediately switch into a mindset of what could I do differently to make this less frustrating!
WHAT IS THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE? Being Italian – my spontaneity equals to craziness. When I was in my 20s, my best friend and I lived in Milan, and once on Friday night, I say: how do you feel about coffee in Naples tomorrow morning (which is 800 km away). We got into a car and drove all night. For us that was normal – for other people, it was insane. So why would you do that? Because we can! WHAT ARE THE MOST VITAL LESSONS THAT YOU’VE LEARNED AS A PROFESSIONAL? Information architects – what they do is categorizing the world to make order and put labels on things, but life doesn’t work like that. People are messy and this stems creativity and innovation. It makes me very sad when I see people stuck to their boundaries because they are afraid of losing their identity. The truth is that if you ask me who I am – that’s why your first question was so difficult [who is Alberta Soranzo] - I am a million different things; mother, professional, hockey player, horrible tennis player… even when I am at the office, I am a million different roles, and I’m all of them, but no single one of them is me. If that makes sense. A perfect sense. And that’s exactly the answer I was looking for.
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? There is a finite number of projects in your life, make sure that every single one of them is special, something that makes a difference (not just gives you monetary returns). Otherwise, what’s the point?
”There is a finite number of projects in your life, make sure that every single one of them is special.”
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TOP 5 STUDY-CAFÉS IN
JÖNKÖPING
TEXT LINNEA NILSSON PICTURE EMMA ROLANDSDOTTER
Getting tired of your regular study routine? Has spending hours and hours at the school library gotten a bit dull and tiring? Then we might have the perfect solution for you. Jönköping is one of the cities in Sweden that’s blessed with a great variety of cafés and bakery’s. And what other place could be more perfect to study at than a café with delicious beverages, an endless range of buns and a relaxed atmosphere? We have picked out five cafés in Jönköping to compare and rate, in order to find the best study-café in Jönköping. Hopefully one of these cafés will make studying a little easier and most important, more enjoyable.
JOHANS CAFÉ & MATSAL
CONDECO
Johans Café & Matsal has been a popular choice for many students here in Jönköping. The combination of appetizing food, delightful beverages and its magnificent decor might be the reason many students find themselves coming back to this café. Johans Café & Matsal have an exquisite interior design and decor. The entire café is full of antique furniture and beautiful paintings decorating the walls. Due to the surroundings and atmosphere in the café, it actually made the study-session much more enjoyable and made it possible to stay focused on the schoolwork for a long time. Another positive aspect was that they hold lots of different types of foods and beverages, including homemade traditional Swedish dishes. The whole menu is made with genuine passion and from real ingredients. If you’re longing for a freshly homemade cinnamon bun, then this place has the best ones compared to the other cafés we visited. The negative side of this place is the fact that they don’t offer any student discount, however, Johans café & Matsal have won our hearts and is without a doubt, the winner of the café test.
If you’re looking for a café with an edge, then Condeco might be the perfect choice for you. When you enter this café, the first thing you’ll notice is their impressive interior design. With a mix of antique and modern furniture, relaxing music and service minded staff, Condeco creates a very pleasant atmosphere. The café has a wide range of food options, including lots of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free alternatives. Their coffee is fair trade certified and a big portion of their food is made from organic ingredients. Since Condeco has grown to be quite popular, it tends to get noisy on the bottom floor. If that’s something that bothers you, we suggest that you find your way to the top floor since the atmosphere there is mellower. This café does not offer any student discount and the price for a coffee is more expensive than other places. Another inconvenience was the size of their tables, it took two tables in order to fit a computer, study book and notes.Condeco is indeed a lovely and refreshing café. However, it might not be optimal for studying due to its prices and furnishings.
-For the best cinnamon bun
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-For the eco friendly
Banarpsgatan 16
28 SEK
Hoppets torg 5
Monday-Friday: 8am-6pm Saturday: 9am-2pm Sunday: Closed
5/5
Monday-Thursday: 7.30am-9.00pm Friday: 7.30am-11.00pm Saturday: 9.00am-11.00pm Sunday: 9.00am-9.00pm
32 SEK 5/5
BERNARDS ATOLLEN
COFFEEHOUSE BY GEORGE
BERNARDS KONDITORI
Bernards Atollen is a chic café located near Munksjön. It’s the perfect place to unwind in after a busy day. At first entrance, you will notice a smell of freshly baked bread, or in other words, a smell of heaven. Their interior design ranges from black, to different shades of grey, to white. This two-story café knows what elegance is all about. High stools and tables are situated along the front section of the room and the enormous panorama windows bring extra energy to the café. Situating yourself on the high stools by the tables in front of the panorama windows allows you to watch the everyday lives of passerby’s, which is enjoyable. But the downside was once again, the table size. They do hold bigger tables in the café but then, you unfortunately will miss out on the view. Low, soothing music was playing and I didn’t feel bothered by the noise from other guests. The staff was very polite and was keen to make you feel welcomed. They also offer a ten percent student discount on their whole selection of food and beverages. Although the café is beautifully designed and perfect for brunching, I wouldn’t categorize this café as the best place for studying. It can be a bit too formal for those who prefer more relaxed places.
Coffeehouse by George is a modern café located right by Jönkoping’s cinema. This café is very conspicuous due to the huge panorama windows stretching from floor to roof, creating a very open atmosphere. They have a wide selection of lunch options including tasty pastas, salads and sandwiches. Beside their ethical coffees, they also offer lots of teas, which is great if you’re a tea-lover. Coffeehouse by George also has a student discount of ten percent. That’s always favorable when you’re a student with a tight wallet. And if you prefer studying in the evening rather than during the day, this café is closes very late. What was noticed was that the majority of the guests were around 20-30 years and were also working/studying on their laptops. It was nice to be surrounded by people focusing on the same task.Coffeehouse by George was overall, a very pleasant café. However, there were some negative aspects. If you find it hard to concentrate when loud music is playing, then this place might be a bit inconvenient for you. It could be hard trying to focus on school work due to the loud atmosphere.
Bernards Konditori belongs to the same chain as Bernards Atollen, but it’s of significance, a lot older and provides a rather different concept. This café has a long history and has been around since an astonishing 1919. Unlike its sibling’s modern and elegant appearance, this café serve a more old-fashioned and mystique feel to it. It’s more of a traditional, old school type of bakery. The tables and chairs are made of dark wood and the majority of the decor shifts in dark brown and grey hues. What our tester particularly liked about Bernards Konditori was its short walking-distance from the university, their ten percent student discount, as well as the different sizes of their tables. The café is a perfect option if you’re a big group of people planning to study or just to spend time together. The staff was very skilled and knowledgeable in their area and seemed to know a lot about pastries and cakes. This made the café seem more exclusive and luxurious than most others.
-For the people watching
Lantmätargränd 34 Monday-Friday: 7.30am-7.30pm Saturday: 7.30am-5pm Sunday: 10am-4pm
-For the Big City-feel
Lundtröms plats 1 Monday-Thursday: 10am-10pm Friday-Saturday: 10am-12am Sunday: 10am-10pm
26 SEK
-For the group assignment
Kyrkogatan 12 Monday-Friday: 6.30am-6.00pm Saturday: 7.30am-5.00pm Sunday: Closed
27 SEK 4/5
3/5 27 SEK 3/5 Overall coziness, rates from 1 to 5 Coffee price, is the price of a regular black coffee
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THE JOURNEY OF JIBS
TEXT & PICTURE JASMEN SAMI
The first JIBSers arrived, classes was held at a nearby high school.
The opening ceremony of the characteristic JIBS-building designed by White architects
1994 1997 1996 1998 The first Junited magazine was launched
Founding of JIBS Alumni Association
Spring Inspiration Fashion Show back in the days
2000 2001 JIBS get its 200th partner university
As the years have gone by, JIBS has changed immensely. What is remarkable is that some of the faculty have actually been here since the ‘90s and so they witnessed the changes that occurred throughout the years. Listening to some of their personal stories provided more insight about JIBS and how it was in the beginning. It was fascinating to look back at the university’s history and see how much JIBS has accomplished. While there was higher education offered before 1994, HLK’s building was one of the only buildings constructed and the education was considered to be limited. The county administrative board decided to develop the Jönköping Foundation as it was viewed as a necessity to improve the programs. Before the foundation, the university was considered a Högskola and not a university because they didn’t fulfill the requirements. While Jönköping University is still called “Högskolan i Jönköping” in Swedish, the term no longer applies to the university because they now offer PhDs. Furthermore, this may be surprising information to some, but while the Jönköping foundation was made in 1994, JIBS was not built until 1997. Before JIBS iconic round white structure was built, the lectures were not in a
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university building but held at a high school. The space had to be shared with high school students and the faculty imagine constantly running into high school students and the inconveniences with the schedule changes. Furthermore, the offices and lectures were in separate buildings so it was difficult for students and professors to communicate. They did not have the pleasure of just going up a few floors to talk to a professor. When the JIBS building was built, there was a change in the atmosphere, a new profound hope. Professor Anders Melander shared a story about how the faculty argued about which floor to take for their offices and the excitement surrounding the community. The picture with 3,500 people gathered at the inauguration in 1997, captures how in awe the people were about the new building. With the programs, JIBS has gone
through a range of adjustments. In 1995, there was a master’s degree in economics and politics, however all the political courses have been removed. When discussing with Professor Scott Hacker, a program manager in the past, about the changes that have taken place, he explained the several alterations that occurred within the economics department. The current bachelor program, International Economics, used to have a political aspect but now only focuses on economics because unfortunately, the political department was limited with its resources. However, while JIBS does not have a political department, its past changes has ensured excellent programs. The fact that JIBS offers four bachelor programs entirely in English should be acknowledged as there are only a few universities in Sweden that offer bachelor programs conducted in English.
Junited – bold issue in the name of Love
First program fully in English
JIBS signs up to the Principles of Responsible Management Education PRME
2009 2003 2013 2008 2015 2011 The bachelor program International Management recieves EPAS accreditation.
The concept of internationalization, even in the beginning, was an important aspect for JIBS. Exchange studies have always been valued by JIBS as the option of studying abroad was available from the start. It is extraordinary that even from the beginning, they were able to partner up with foreign universities and make the exchange program a possibility. However, when JIBS first started, there was not a lot of English courses available because of the lack of international students. Associate Professor Anders Melander, a JIBS PhD student in 1995, recalled that in one of the first English courses, Strategic Management, there were only a handful of international students. It was actually not until 2003, when the first program in English was offered for international students. This is interesting to imagine because currently, Jönköping University has around 1,500
Master program Strategic Entrepreneurship recieves EPAS accreditation.
international students so the amount of international students has grown tremendously. Overall, the university has gone through years of development. It has now been double accredited and this is due to JIBS’s commitment to improvement. Before the accreditations, JIBS did provide quality work, however, they just needed to complete a few procedures before they could become accredited.
JIBS got a double accreditation of EQUIS and AACSB.
business programs have. With a double accreditation, JIBS will be able to gain more attraction and global recognition. It is so far the only business school in Sweden to receive both AACSB and EQUIS accreditation. JIBS always strives for the best and these accreditations will help the university grow even more in the future.
After finishing all the steps, finally, JIBS received its deserved accreditations. In 2015, JIBS earned the EQUIS accreditation which rewards the university for its internationalization and its efforts with providing students the needed tools to succeed in the business world. After years of hard work, JIBS is gaining recognition as after a few months, JIBS earned an accreditation from AACSB which only less than 5% of universities that offer
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SOLVE YOUR WAY TO EMPLOYMENT
TEXT FRIDA-MARIA WALLGREN PICTURE BI INORWEGIAN BUSINESS SCHOOL
In the year of 2013, JIBS Case Academy was founded at Jönköping International Business School. The purpose of the project was clear: they would in different ways prepare students for the upcoming entrance into the business sector. Their main task is to arrange case solving between companies and students. In case solving, students face real challenges that occur in companies, which they then in teams have to find solutions for. Besides getting experience of real business challenges, this also prepares for future work in project groups, which is a relevant skill at many companies. Most people are aware that today’s recruitment process also focuses on extra curricular activities, not only on achieving good grades. It is not easy to differentiate yourself with only your CV among hundreds of other applications. It is in this context the experience of case solving offers a good opportunity to outrank other applicants. During spring 2016, 20 ambitious students were chosen to compete in five different teams. Each team consisted of four students and they had to come up with solutions to challenges presented by H&M, NY. and Nefab. The cases were for instance based on former issues such as marketing a new product or how to become more visible using social media. I have spoken to former JIBS student Alexander Wigren who now works at H&M. Alexander graduated with a Master of Science in Business and Economics, a four year long programme, majoring in Business Administration with finance as his minor. The programme included one exchange semester at HEC Montréal in Canada. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EMPLOYMENT AT H&M? At the moment I am working as business controller at H&M Online and I am seated in a small global team named Sales Analysis. My closest colleagues and I have a wide range of work assignments, it can be anything from creating business cases, presentations and follow-ups on sales results, to train others to use our internal systems. Obviously, there exists
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tact with H&M. It is difficult to exactly define what makes you succeed when applying for a job. But personally, I am convinced that my participation in the case challenge with H&M through Case Academy was a significant contributing factor. H&M receives a large number of job applications every year, and therefore it is essential to have something that stands out to get to your first interview. Even if you manage to get an interview, the success is still far away. Since case solving has become a common feature in recruitment processes, I brought with me a lot of good experiences from Case Academy.
ALEXANDER WIGREN
some frequent elements during a month, but a great variety of tasks, altogether in a high pace. This is what makes working at H&M so inspiring. IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN CASE ACADEMY AND YOUR EMPLOYMENT AT H&M? I was involved in Case Academy during my last semester at JIBS, and it was through Case Academy I first got in con-
The fall of 2015 has been eventful for Case Academy, since they in addition to arranging open lectures, also have put a major focus on being present at international case competitions such as BI International Case Competition in Oslo. The winning team that represented JIBS in Oslo were the four students Philip Carlsson, Tobias Artursson, Mahamed Jama and Daniel Marza, who have told us more about their experience. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE BI INTERNATIONAL CASE COMPETITION? BI International Case Competition is an international competition between twelve different universities from all over the world. The participating teams are during 32 hours supposed to solve a real business case and in 15 minutes pitch their solution to a jury consisting of company representatives. This year, we
had to solve a case for Norsk Hydro, one of Norway’s largest companies. All participating teams were divided in three groups with four teams in each group. The winner of the group went to the finals where they had to present their solution in front of a large crowd of around 800 people, including the Norwegian crown princess Mette Marit. As mentioned, this year’s case was about Norsk Hydro, one of the largest aluminium producers in the world. The task was to identify what strategic choices and decisions Norsk Hydro had to make in order to realize their strategy ”Bigger, Better, Greener” and reach their goals by 2020. HOW DID CASE ACADEMY CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR PREPARATION FOR THE COMPETITION? Case Academy has been totally amazing! From coordinating everything up to the point where we only had to focus on practicing for the competition, providing us with cases and a tutor and helping us with the funding as well. They really went out of their way to create these amazing opportunities for students, they deserve a lot of credit for that. WHAT WAS THE MOST POSITIVE THING WITH THE COMPETITION? The most positive was getting to meet
and compete against all those super bright people from all over the world. The whole case competition was a very intense, surreal experience, and since all participants went through with it together, it created a type of aura where it felt like we had known these people for ages, but in fact, we had only know them for a couple of days. estion porum dunt dolliqui con est ipsuWas there any negative aspects? The 32 hour case solving really took a toll on us both mentally and physically. I think Tobias and I got at least a couple nosebleeds each due to sleep deprivation and stress. Now it is one week after the competition, and I have still not fully recovered. WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE AND MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED? The biggest challenge was by far time management. With the case solving period being 32 hours, it is easy to fool yourselves that you have a lot of time, which is never the case. The main thing I will take with me is to never underestimate how specific you need to be in your solution, especially in terms of what financial implications each strategic choice will have for the company. At a meeting with Annika Nordqvist,
project manager for JIBS Case Academy, Annika encourages all students to get involved during their time at JIBS. “A lot of students make the mistake thinking that they aren’t good enough to join the Case Academy. But it isn’t about being ingenious or overly creative. We don’t search for a specific type to join, it’s rather the opposite. We want to put together a diverse team where each member has their own strength to contribute to the group. We can’t have a team with four leaders for example, it simply wouldn’t work. First year students might feel they can’t contribute with as much as a master student – but that’s simply not true! First year students have the advantage of bringing fresh new ideas or perhaps a recent job experience to put into use. Our cases are not like the ones you come across in your school courses, there isn’t a right or wrong answer. It’s all about coming up with ideas of improvement, thinking outside the box and working in a team. “ She also explains that a lot of the big companies today use cases during interviews, therefore it is great to dare to leave the books and gain experience, preparing for your first job. Her expectation is that a participation in Case Academy would to lead to increased employment opportunities, provide reality-based experience, as well as a chance to expand your network which is important during the time at university.
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20 THINGS TO DO IN JÖNKÖPING BEFORE YOU GRADUATE! TEXT ANASTASIJA KOROTINA PICTURE FLICKR: BLUE_QUARTZ
Spring season is here and summer holidays are just around the corner. For some, the end of this academic year marks the completion of their studies at Jönköping University and as such, results in new beginnings for the unknown future. Given that we live in the moment,
we will never know the true value of an experience until it becomes a memory. That being said, it’s not too late to build on these memories before graduation! To make sure that you won’t miss anything from your stay in Jönköping, we have created a checklist. A checklist of things
to do before you leave, so that when this chapter of your life does come to a close, you can reflect upon those wonderful yet challenging years with a grateful heart. So what are the 20 things that each JIBS student has to do before graduation? Take a look below!
STAY AT UNIVERSITY OVERNIGHT. Yes! Each student should experience it at least once. The night before the exam when you realize that you know less than John Snow and therefore sleep is for the weak! SWIM IN VÄTTERN. It is cold, you’re right, but let’s be honest with ourselves; this is an incomparable feeling when you feel like a real Viking after getting out of the ice cold water. HAVE A DINNER AT A RESTAURANT ON PIREN. Piren is the place on the coast of Vättern full of restaurants/bars and it’s only open during the warm time of the year. This is the place you should visit before you leave! MAKE FRIENDS FROM ALL THE CONTINENTS. JIBS is the most international business school in Sweden. It would be a shame to graduate from here and not to use this to your advantage to experience upon different cultures. ATTEND A HOCKEY MATCH. Jönköping Region is famous for its hockey team HV71. If you want to see a screaming Swede, the only way to do it is to go to a hockey match. GET INVOLVED IN A STUDENT ORGANIZATION. You know what’s the fun thing about being active on campus? Well, for instance, you can get an opportunity to write an article that someone might be reading right this minute! DO A FOOD SAFARI. A great way to combine every student’s two favorite things; fun and food. It is also one of the best ways to get to know people from other faculties. Meeting people from other schools can expand your network dramatically. LEARN HOW TO SAY “CHEERS” in at least five languages. We know you can do it in a few already. Never stop learning!
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GO TO A TRIP ORGANIZED BY THE UNIVERSITY. There are plenty of them, just pick up the one you find the most suitable for you and go explore the world! ATTEND PRE-PARTIES hosted by at least five different student accommodations. It is nice to change places sometimes. Match, Old HLK and Delta House are smart choices but Jönköping is slightly bigger. GET AN “A” for a course. It should happen at least once in every student’s life! You may not be Einstein but getting an “A” can bring you closer to the feeling of being a born genius. BOOST YOUR CREATIVITY AT SCIENCE PARK. Even if you are not planning to be the next Mark Zuckerberg, attending this Start Uphub’s events will introduce you to some of Jönköping’s coolest people and light your entrepreneurial fire. LEARN ”STAD I LJUS” BY HEART. You should at least learn one song in Swedish bearing that you are an international student and preferably, in another language for the Swedes. Going for the Akademien anthem by Tommy Körberg will be a guaranteed success. SUBMIT AN ASSIGNMENT EARLIER. That’s how champions must feel like! Time has no power over you anymore! But seriously, for once, don’t do everything the night before. READ A BOOK WHICH IS NOT ON YOUR COURSE LITERATURE. And yes, you do have time for this; just substitute an episode of your favorite series for a book chapter. DO A BIKING TOUR AROUND VISINGSÖ. This can be a nice weekend to remember later on. Just make sure that you catch the last ferry back to Gränna. ATTEND A LECTURE THAT IS NOT MANDATORY. University gives you plenty of opportunities to listen to different speakers regarding various topics. Anyone would find something for oneself. INDULGE IN KEBAB SAUCE. Naples has its pizzas, Paris its pastries and Jönköping its… kebab sauce. Might not be as gourmet, but just as delicious. The recipe is unique and has put Jönköping on the map among fast food-lovers. HAVE A PICNIC AT STADSPARKEN. Probably the best view of Jönköping is from here. Enjoy beautiful sceneries, see lamas and spend time with your friends! PASS ALL YOUR COURSES. This is a good thing to do before you graduate right? Otherwise, Jönköping will be glad to see you back again!
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THE 2020 WORKPLACE,
WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE? TEXT DO GYOON KIM ILLUSTRATION HELENA MÅNSSON
Currently, Baby boomers and generations X and Y make up most of the labor force. However, by 2020 generation Z will enter the work force together with the Baby boomers and the Millenials. In order to understand, excel, and function in this new workplace, knowing the difference among the three generations will be the key. Technology is a double-edged sword when looking at it from the perspective of human benefits. On one side it can act as an angel creating new job opportunities, extending life expectancies, and opening the possibility for developing life
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on other planets. On the other side there is more competition because of the wide age differences of the people in the labor force, which could present a challenging future. However, we should not panic just yet, because as they say in business:
“With great risk comes great reward.” So let us find out what we can do to grasp this situation of ours and how to make the best use of it.
THE GENERATIONS
X Y
Z
Generation X (born 1961 – 1981) Age 34 – 54 today Generation X appears to have figured out the secret behind having a good balance between work life and family life. Because of this, Gen X seems to be more flexible in communicating with the other generations, especially when compared to the Baby Boomers (1946 – 1960) or Gen Y. While Gen X has a more informal approach to business and relationships, they still keep the Baby Boomer’s formal approach with emails, meetings, and calls. This is actual an asset for Gen X, because this flexibility in their approach to business allows them to work well with Baby Boomers and Gen Y. Fortune has an article which gives us some insight on this by telling a story of an awkward exchange between Xers and Yers: A Vice President (Xer) asked a question regarding the impression of the company’s trainee program and the new intern (Yer) said honestly that ‘It was boring’. the VP responded ‘I wrote it.’ Then the VP asked him ‘Who again, are you?’. It may seem harsh but from the Yers point of view, it is an honest feedback. Sometimes Xers may lack frankness and flexibility in humor.
Generation Y aka Millennials (born 1982 – 2002) Age 13 – 33 today Millennials, are drastically different than the previous generation, and often receive a lot of heat for their unorthodox ways. For example, they are fast-paced workers who overall have advanced skills in technology. Since they are quick to adapt in an ever changing environment, the ongoing technological revolution has benefited them tremendously in day to day tasks. One common critique of Millennials is that they seem to have developed a Peter Pan syndrome, meaning they do not want to grow up. This is only encouraged with social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and 9GAG, which are integrated with almost every part of their lives. They are still smart and efficient but they are even less formal than Gen X which is seen as a weakness, but can often be a asset within business relations and networking.
Generation Z, aka iGen (born 2003 – 2025) Age 0 – 13 today It’s hard to anticipate how the rising generation will function in the work force because they are too young to actually be part of it. These are just speculations, but the general concern for iGen seems to be that they have been raised on, and by technology; leading to the fear that they will be unable to function without it. Youngsters that are born after 2003 are probably using their multi-touch screen wireless 5D smartphones just to find a book for their courses in school. Similar to previous generations the current workforce is worried as how they will integrate with iGen, whom are highly dependent on technology. It might get to the point where they need a robot to tie their shoes. So imagine a context where generation X, Y and Z are all together in the working environment. Your manager (Xers) will give you (Yer) a project to run with your new employee (Zers). You tell him to call a supplier and negotiate a deal for a new contract and he tells you that he can’t do it because his Managing With Supplier app is not working and How To Successfully Negotiate With Supplier is not updated on Google Business Help search engine. It will sure be a pleasure to educate them, wouldn’t it?
THE 2020 WORKPLACE I think the workplace of 2020 will be a peculiar place where only the strongest will survive. Between the rise of welfare in first world countries, booming birth rates, longer life expectancies - which results in later retirements - and new technological developments, there will be an increased competition for jobs in the future.
So, how can the rising labor force survive
in such an overwhelmingly competitive market? The answer: by building trust among the generations. This can be described as parenting the kids - however this time, kids can also parent the parents, in the most appropriate manner possible. Trust will be significant when building harmonious relationships between the generations. To avoid conflicts the
different generations need to understand the various ways each generation communicates and adapt a working style that fits them all. Accepting this and trying to understand what you should do when interacting with either Xers or Zers will help you in your future career. The bottom line is: be open and willing to learn from everyone around you, both young and old.
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LIFE AS AN
EXCHANGE STUDENT
TEXT MAGDALENA GRANATH PICTURE REBECKA&REBECCA
One of many great things with JIBS is the long list of partner universities and the possibility for all students to study at least one semester abroad. Exchange studies will give you knowledge and experiences that will last for a life time. Two students from JIBS that can verify this are Rebecka and Rebecca. They are currently studying in two different parts of the world and both of them agree that it is a great opportunity.
REBECKA ÄREMANN AGE 23 LIVES Melbourne, Australia STUDIES Civilekonom CURRENTLY STUDYING AT Victoria University - Faculty of Business and Law AUSTRALIA
Living in another country has always been a dream for Rebecka. When it was time to send in the application for exchange studies, she did not hesitate. “I have always wanted to go to Australia” she says, “It is not a country that you go to for only a week or two since there is so much to explore”. When she found out that JIBS had partner universities in Australia, it was a given choice for her semester abroad. She had heard many great things about Melbourne, after all it has been elected the best place to live in the world. Melbourne is a lot different compared to Jönköping. It is a very big city and Rebecka states that there’s a lot of movement and people from all around the world. In this very cultural city there are many music and food festivals, as well as tourist attractions. Since there are a lot of universities in Melbourne, there are students everywhere, which is a lot of fun! At her university, she is studying four courses at the same time where she has an exam in two of them while having a hand-in in the other two courses. A difference from the studies at JIBS is that the courses are divided into smaller parts where group projects have a big role - there is not just one big exam. During her stay, Rebecka has had plenty of time to do fun things like exploring the city and sunbathing on the beach with friends. She is planning to go surfing, which she has wanted to try for a long time. Rebecka mentions the warm weather in Australia as a plus but she also says that it can shift a lot– it is hot during the daytime and cold during the night. Another thing that she has noticed is that the people are very open and nice, which is a different experience since Swedes can be a bit reserved. The Australians she has met are very interested in small talking about anything under the sun. Other than that people are very relaxed and open-minded. Finally, she says that Australia has so much to offer and there are countless of things to explore. The opportunities are endless!
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REBECCA RODILLAS AGE 22 LIVES Victoria, Canada STUDIES Civilekonom CURRENTLY STUDYING AT University of Victoria CANADA
In January Rebecca left Sweden to spend one semester in Victoria, Canada. Choosing Canada was not an obvious choice, the only thing she knew was that she wanted to go to an English-speaking country. After talking to an acquaintance who had studied at the University of Victoria the choice became easier. Furthermore, Victoria is a city that she probably wouldn’t visit otherwise so she decided to go for it. She felt like it would be exciting to visit Canada under different circumstances than being a tourist. The life in Canada is giving her many opportunities to travel, see new places and meet new people. When she’s not studying she likes working out at the new gym at campus and eating with other exchange students. There is always something going on in the city, mostly at campus, and it is never boring. Every Thursday the school pub arranges a karaoke night and Rebecca describes that as “something you cannot miss”. So every week she meets up with other exchange students from all around the world and they sing together. The school team is very active as well and when it is game day they arrange big events. It attracts many students that come to cheer for Team Vikes Nation and it creates a great sense of school spirit. The university she attends to has another setup than JIBS, she reads five courses at the same time. Even though Rebecca in the beginning was a bit sceptic if that would work, she quickly realized that it wasn’t very hard or stressful. They are also learning in a different way than in Sweden. The classes involve solving cases and exercises in groups and have a lot of discussions. She appreciates it since it helps her improve her English and she gets new perspectives on things. “It is interesting to take part of other opinions in the learning process as well as sharing your own opinion”, she states. In one of her courses, Leadership Strategies, they watch carefully selected movies and write individual reports about them. In the reports they analyze incidents and characters from a leadership perspective. “I think it is a very interesting and fun way to learn” Rebecca says. From her time in Canada, Rebecca will bring new knowledge of herself and how to cooperate with people from different cultures. She is finishing by saying ”I will always carry all the beautiful places I have seen and experienced with me – and especially all my amazing newfound friends”.
ARE YOU READY FOR TAKE-OFF? TAKE IROC’S QUIZ TO FIND OUT! 1. ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING ON EXCHANGE? A: OMG yes! I was born ready for this! B: I guess? C: Wait, what’s exchange? 2. HAVE YOU DECIDED WHERE YOU WANT TO GO ON EXCHANGE? A: I know where I am going, it’s destiny… B: I don’t know JIBS has so many great partner universities I just can’t decide…#PR C: I don’t even know where I’m going after I finish this quiz… 3. DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING EXCHANGE STUDIES? A: How will I let everyone know how amazing my exchange was? B: I have some questions but I don’t know who to contact. C: I’m so confused and scared! What am I doing? Where am I going? HELP ME! Ok last question I promise. 4.WHO SHOULD YOU CONTACT ABOUT EXCHANGE STUDIES? A: Nope B: Still not this one… C: International Relation Office D:You’ve gone too far, go back to C Contact IRO by email outgoing.student@ju.se or visit The International Relations Office at the Students’ House 1st floor.
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ARE YOU OFF BALANCE? PICTURES & TEXT ANN CHRISTIANE NEUBAUER
10 tips how to deal with stress. It is late Friday afternoon and you are sitting in the library working on a report, due Monday morning. Your focus is wearing off as your mind is tuning to weekend mode. Somehow, the group meeting from this morning is still bugging you. You thought it was just another unproductive meeting and that you could have used your time more wisely, like reading the stack of articles your professor has assigned you. Unexpectedly, you receive a text message from your friend, reminding you of the up-coming event happening tonight; that one concert you have been anticipating to see since forever. There and then, you catch a glimpse of the time, it’s seven o’clock already! Without hesitation, you jump out of your seat and start to pack your belongings; leaving the report unfinished. Given the urgent matter, a rush of adrenaline kicks in and your heart begins to pound heavily. On your way to the concert, an unsettling feeling creeps into your body. You keep thinking of the unfinished report and how you will manage to meet the deadline. Then you begin blaming your-
self for being forgetful. How was it possible to forget about the concert of your favourite artist? Or maybe your mind has just been so cloudy these past days? We live in a fast paced society where all of us are stressed out in various ways. The pressure to excel academically as well as having a social life is a common dilemma students face in their daily lives. Aside from that, students are affected by the fierce competition in the job market, in a way that they fear not being good enough to meet a company’s expectations. Further, pressure can derive from financial matters, family or friends. In short, existing in a world where we are connected 24/7; there is barely time for us to shut down. Stress is toxic. Stress is unhealthy. Feeling challenged and overwhelmed is nothing new to us but the way we deal with these emotions is the trickiest part. Most often, we begin to panic and feel anxious when we know that our body is currently under stress – which does not help to improve the situation at all. In sum, empirical studies show that chronic
stress damages the cells and organs of the body. However, here are some good news for you! Stress is actually not the famous enemy who wants to eat you up. Did you know that our primal stress response has a positive and motivating mechanism that gives us the boost of energy and the focus required for a job interview, sport competition or thesis presentation? According to Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford University psychologist, stress only becomes bad for us if we think it is. In stressful situations, the body releases a hormone called Oxytocin, which strengthens the heart and which is increasingly released through social contact and support. By reaching out or seeking help from others, the body then releases more Oxytocin. As such, the stress response becomes healthier and one can recover faster from stress. Given that stressful situations are inevitable in life, let’s view them as challenges that we can control and master. That way we can break the habit of thinking that stress is our number one enemy and instead, begin to embrace it as our friend.
90%
30% LEISURE
Irritability with co-workers, friends and family.
60%
SPIRINALITY
Feeling drained without signs of higher production.
55%
BODY
Depression
70%
FRIENDS
Feeling of apathy
FAMILY
Forgetfulness
STUDIES
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Sleeplessness
LIFE-BALANCE-CHART
ARE YOU LATELY OFF BALANCE OR EXPERIENCING THE FOLLOWING:
80%
…then, here are 10 tips to help you get back on track. Start today before stress takes control over you.
GET ENOUGH SLEEP
A well-rested mind is a productive mind. A good sleep will help you focus and become more efficient in your work. Do not pull all-nighters and get your 8 hours dose of sleep.
GO GREEN
Take a walk in the forest and breathe in the fresh air. Studies have revealed that regular visits to “green spaces” such that of parks and woodlands lowers the level of the stress hormone - ‘Cortisol’.
STOP THE CLOCK
Take 5 to 10 minutes break every hour. This will help you stay focused and productive all through the day. Keep in mind that breaks are very important for mentally challenging work.
JOT DOWN YOUR PLANS
If you can’t remember it, postit! Use sticky notes to write down the activities you need to accomplish. Once you have done the task, just tear down the note and it will give you a feeling of accomplishment.
KEEP TRACK OF YOUR PROGRESS
Keep a progress bar for your projects. Sometimes, it is good to have a visual chart that gives you a picture of how much work is yet to be done. Just remember to be consistent in updating the chart once you’ve completed each task.
MUSIC THROUGH THE NIGHT
Listen to relaxing music. Check out Spotify’s “Sleep” playlists and find your perfect lullaby. Set your smartphone on flight mode, turn off the light and listen to the rushing sound of the river.
DRAW IT OUT
Create your own “Life-balance-wheel.” Draw a big circle and divide it into eight equal pies. Each section could correspond to different aspects of life: Academics, Family, Friends, Spare Time, Spirituality and so on. Draw out and evaluate how satisfied you are in each of these areas.
MEDITATION MADE EASY
Colouring Mandalas relives stress. It can take you away from the negative thoughts you are focusing on. Have fun as you allow your mind to wander and connect to your creative soul.
CONNECT TO YOUR LOVED ONES
Reach out to others or seek help if needed. Enhancing one’s social support system is important to combat stress.
BE A YOGI
Add yoga to your lifestyle. It will definitely help your body, mind and soul. 10 minutes a day is enough! Here are four poses that are helpful in de-stressing. Would you prefer to watch a yoga video? Check out the YouTube channel “Yoga with Adrienne”.
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MEET THE JSA BOARD TEXT LARISA SORA
Kick-off week, International day, Spring Inspiration, Entrepreneurship Day...do they sound familiar to you? JIBS Student Association works day and night to help you take the first steps in shaping your future and creating an unforgettable experience at JIBS. All of this would not be possible if it weren’t for these 10 amazing, motivating and passionate people. They are here to listen to you and to help you make your voice heard... In the end, the JSA is you! AMANDA FISCHER, PRESIDENT
If you ever consider having a meeting with her, she may welcome you with her new friend, Faxe the puppy. Since she was a child, she has had dogs, horses and even turtles! Also, she has sailed around the world for three years and loves water sports. She considers herself ambitious, friendly and calm, but she does not like fake people. Even though she believes that she has no humour, she compensates with her confidence. “Right now I’m taking one year off from school and my absolute goal is to raise the awareness of JSA and rewrite the by-laws until spring. Even though I don’t have a lot of spare time anymore, I still manage to do the things I love and I’m working with an amazing team. The learning curve is so fast and it suits me perfectly”. I would recommend you to be engaged in extra curriculums at school, you will learn a lot, receive great experiences and it is fun too!
NHAT LINH, VICE PRESIDENT
Genuine warmth and smiles from the first handshake. Being useful and accomplishing everything she sets out to do are her objectives. She does not like challenges, but she still considers them to be the best life lessons. She is a positive, organized, humorous person and sometimes she sings out loud when she thinks no one is around. “I would like to push and lead my team to be as good as they can be and to make JSA more approachable to the students. So far, my life has not changed much, but it has become more visible. Hopefully, this experience will have only positive outcomes and it won’t change the core of me.” Take the time to discover yourself. Be all that you can be!
GENADI PETROV, TREASURER
Responsible and fair are two key characteristics describing our Treasurer. “And a big fan of coffee” he adds himself. Being a treasurer does not mean, as some people may think, being serious all the time. He likes people who keep up to their commitments and like most of us, he doesn’t like 8 o’clock lectures. “I definitely get much less sleep since I have become a Treasurer. Firstly, I would like to thank my predecessor, Jacob Grönberg, who assisted us in the initial transition period, until we were given formal access to the JSA funds. My goal is to introduce a new standard of accountability, make several projects more self-reliant in terms of onsite purchases of the products they need, share up-to-date information on demand by individual members via mail.” Always value international diversity!
ELINOR LUNDBERG, HEAD OF JIBS UNITED MAGAZINE
After a chit-chat with her, you will feel more creative and inspired. Travelling is her main objective, she likes coffee and festivals. She is in love with adventures and she has participated in an idol audition. “Even though I can barely have any free time, a new world has opened up for me, I meet new people and I have new opportunities. I hope this is the first step for working with media and journalism. My main goals are to digitalize the magazine and improve our brand through social media, as well as making the committee more attractive.” Be my friend!
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HEDVIG HENREKSON, HEAD OF INTERNAL
Being outgoing, positive and having the ability to handle stressful situations with ease – the perfect combination for working with events, which also happens to be characteristics possessed by our Head of Internal. She likes to take swims in the summer nights and finds it very challenging when she is not able to read people. “This position will help me become more organized and teach me how to communicate better with people. I’m spending much more time in school and I meet new people every day. My objective is to improve the communication and our projects, start recruiting earlier and have a great team with a lot of energy. Energy is the key for success!” Do what you have to do, but don’t forget to have a beer at JUBEL on Wednesdays!
MENAL SANNA KAHSAY, HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL
She is a caring, outgoing and an ambitious person. Also, she likes to laugh and sometimes she believes she’s Beyoncé in the shower. She loves travelling, basketball and cooking, but gets annoyed if she is served the wrong food when eating out. “I’m planning to have more events this year and give the opportunity for Swedish and international students to mingle and interact in order to improve the JSA brand. This year will give me the opportunity to improve my leadership, getting to know both its positive and negative sides.” To help yourself, you must be yourself and be the best you can. When you make a mistake, learn from it, pick yourself up and move on.
ADRIAN FERNANDES, HEAD OF SOCIAL
He is never ever quiet, instead he is open, active and responsible. He enjoys being busy all the time and being productive. Since joining the JSA Board, he has become more ambitious and willing to solve issues on his own. “I’m aiming to improve the image of JSA, make people more aware of what we do and engage with more students. Indeed, I had more spare time before, but hopefully this position will help me to grow as a person and I will create something unforgettable for the students.” Dare to step out of your comfort zone.
MARK CVACH, HEAD OF MARKETING
He is interested in music, culture and enjoys being up-to-date with the world news. He considers himself to be outgoing and funny, but he does not like hypocrite people or those who do not respect their commitments. “My main objective is to make JSA more visible through weekly newsletters, regular updates on Facebook, a new platform and website. Currently, we are picking up the pieces and making JSA better. Ever since I became a member of the JSA Board, my life is like a roller coaster. Every day brings something new. Also, I would be very happy to continue being involved in JSA projects after my term as Head of Marketing”. Join our events and clubs, make friends for lifetime and take the chance to learn more besides academic courses.
IDA MODEE, HEAD OF QUALITY
She is very dedicated to the things she holds dear and believes in. She likes good food, inspiring people and sunny days. With so much to do she wishes she could have more hours in a day. “I’m an organized, driven and positive person. Therefore, I hope to serve as a helping hand for all students who are having any issues regarding the quality of their education. Also, it feels good to be able to make a difference here at JIBS and know that your time here is meaningful. I’m sure that we will create lots of great things together”. Enjoy your time here! University is not only about your studies, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself and remember to have fun along the way.
MARTA YOUEEL ESHOO, HEAD OF EXTERNAL She likes reading psychology books, watching movies and socialise with ambitious people. Also, she describes herself as clumsy or “Bambi on ice”. She doesn’t like champagne, the colour pink or selfish people. “My life has become more hectic now and stressful when you have to balance school, work, the JSA and personal life, therefore I’ve been forced to become more organized. But for sure, I will learn how to compromise and cooperate with the students, as well as the companies. My goals are to get our partners involved more with the school, recruit more companies and improve the internal communication.” JIBS has something for everyone, every personality and every nationality. Try to be more involved, make a change and get your voice heard!
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COFFEE BREAK
With Carina Powers TEXT ELLLINOR LÖNNSTRÖM PICTURE CARINA POWERS
”It’s funny how people’s paths cross in life. The first time I met Carina Powers she was teaching an e-commerce class at Santa Barbara City College. She was one of the several inspiring professors in the marketing department that has stuck on my mind for years after my classes there ended. What I did not know that first time I stepped into her classroom was that she is actually an alumni of Jönköping International Business School. A couple of months ago when I was deciding who I would want to feature in JIBS United’s next “coffee break” I instantly thought of her, and lucky for me, she was more than excited to be featured. Carina was one of my most inspiring professors back in Santa Barbara, and she is one of the reasons I chose JIBS when deciding where to go to college.”
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Carina graduated the International Management program at JIBS in 2012 and has stayed quite busy since graduation. During her time at JIBS, Carina was a part of the JSA Social Committee, also known as Sexkreation. She joined because she wanted to learn Swedish and dive into the local culture in Jönköping. Being both Swedish and American, she was looking for an opportunity to study in a diverse environment with as many international students as possible and felt like JIBS was a great fit. Her choice of school was also influenced by the fact that she wanted to go to a university where she could learn from diverse teams and group work. She saw this as a great advantage, since understanding a variety of work styles and perspectives was a benefit. Before starting her bachelor studies, Carina had earned two-year associates degree at Santa Barbara City College. She realized after moving to Jönköping that the structure of JIBS differed from a typical American college. In the US, lectures are mandatory and teachers take attendance every class, as well as students are able to earn credits throughout the entire semester. To study in Sweden demanded a lot more self-guidance since there was no mandatory lectures. You had to be disciplined to stay on track throughout the semester, and be able to say no to the occasional fun event when it was “crunch time”, since practically all credits were earned during the final exam. At the end of her studies in Jönköping, Carina enrolled in a distance course to get her real estate license in California. She passed the exam a week after arriving back in the US, and started her own real estate business where she was able to put her business management degree into practice by managing contracts, sales, marketing, and her personal accounting. While working in the real estate sector, she also completed her Masters degree in Communication from Tiffin University in the US. After completing this degree, Carina was hired to manage Strategic Partnerships at a marketing technology company in California, and she also started teaching various marketing courses at Santa Barbara City College. Having spent years in both Sweden and
in the United States, Carina noticed some cultural differences between the two countries. In her opinion, the most notable difference between the two countries was that the people in the US were more openly friendly. She found that it was harder in Sweden and Jönköping to meet new people but once you got to know someone, they turned out to be wonderful people and she can still call a few of them her best friends. One of her friends from JIBS went to the same partner school during their exchange semester and they still keep in touch and try to meet up in different places at least once a year. Today, Carina lives in beautiful Santa Barbara, a city two hours north of Los Angeles. The city is called “the American Riviera” for a reason, situated at the beach it is like living in a paradise. She is a Strategic Partnerships Manager at Impact Radius and a Marketing Professor at Santa Barbara City College. She describes a normal day as crazy, and a constant battle to manage time between work, family, and friends. She points out that it can be difficult to balance the demands of others and to find some time for yourself and workout or just to enjoy the beauty that Santa Barbara has to offer. But all in all, she enjoys this stage in her life, working hard and seeing the rewards that are actually happening. Looking back at her education, she knew that her degrees from all schools were a part of the process of getting where she is right now. But the educations and degrees are only the first steps, they helped her getting the interview but they are not the main reason why she got the job. The long-term impression has always been about communication. To stay in touch with people and to put time and energy into personal relationships with people who can also benefit from the relationship has been the vital ingredient. Personal connections have been key for Carina’s happiness and success, both privately and professionally. I remember Carina as a positive force of nature, always with a smile on her face, spreading inspiration around her. I just had to ask her what gets her motivated to start her day, especially on days when she does not want to leave her bed. The answer I got was not surprising at all. “For me personally, there is just no time to
CARINA POWERS AGE 26 WORKING AS Strategic Partnership Manager at Impact Radius FAVORITE MEMORY FROM JIBS Crazy fun times with international friends, and feeling ”at home” while being abroad! FAVORITE MOVIE Hmmm can’t choose, love going to the movies. FAVORITE BOOK Eat Pray Love LIFE CHANGING BOOK Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom NAME IN SEXKREATION ”CP” FAVORITE CITY Barcelona FAVORITE COUNTRY Just went to Thailand and LOVED it! I’ve been cooking homemade Thai food ever since BEACH OR SNOW BEACH! At least 3 times a week
feel this way, and it rarely ever happens. But, if I felt like staying in bed on day, I would probably just do it!” Carina’s overall approach on life is that there is always something to do, and if it’s not work, then it is relaxing at the beach, taking a hike or enjoying some local wine with friends and family. It really feels like Carina has found her place professionally. Within five years she would like to be somewhere similar to where she is now – working with partnerships and teaching marketing classes to undergraduate students on the side. It is important to her to find ways to constantly evolve both professionally and private and at the same time help others in any way she can, even if it is by something small. Lastly, I asked Carina to look back at her time in Jönköping and her studies at JIBS. I asked her if there is any advice she would give to her former self, and to all the current students studying right now. The answer is pretty simple and straight forward: Give it your all, study hard and manage your time, but remember to enjoy yourself ! She also emphasized the importance of building good solid relationships with people that you can see yourself knowing forever, and then when school is over, go visit them in great places around the world! A trip is much more than a trip, when you have a local to explore it with!
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NEXTSTEP IN PICTURES PICTURE NEXTSTEP
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NEXTSTEP IN NUMBERS
2000 1028 750 680 300 60 19 15 12 9
VISITORS
SALES CALLS
KILOS OF FREEBIES
WORTH OF GOODIEBAG
NUMBER OF GOODIE BAGS
EXHIBITORS
TEAM MEMBERS
LECTURERS/SEMINARS
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
HOURS TO BUILD BOOTH WALLS
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LETTER TO HOME TEXT JOSEPH PRIMAL
Dear brother, How are you and everyone back hom e in India? I’m doing well but I have so much to tell you about this new country. The moment I stepped outside Arlanda Airport in Stockholm and I was gree ted by this phrase “hej hej”. I didn’t know exactly what it mea nt but I sensed it was some kind of a greeting. You see, this is the phrase that rules entire Sweden. Wherever you go and whoever you see, they greet you first by saying these lovely words. That’s a stran ge thing I have noticed in Sweden, they always have double for everything. What I mean is that they say everything twice mostly like hej hej and it goes on like nej nej, hello hello, tjena tjena, tack tack. The y seem to have double everything, they even have double buses and double trucks on the roads. So far I haven’t seen any double planes, but I haven’t given up hope! On the taxi ride to the train station I noticed that all the bill boards, traffi c signs and every other infor mation were displayed in Swedish . From that point I was taken aback and fear started to creep in. I thought to myself “how am I going to find my way out and survive here without learning Swedish?”. When I reached the station there was a gracious lady at the counter and befo re I could say something she said to me “Good Moron”. As you can understand I lost my confidence as our mom always called me a moron and I said to myself “not here too, please God”. I told the won derful lady that at least she called me a good moron and for that I am thankful. Luckily, the lady burs t into laughter and explained to me that it means good morning in Swedish. From that point on, I unde rstood that there was a huge difference between the English language and the Swedish. However, the majo rity of the people here speak fluent English. It makes it hard er for an outsider like me to learn the local language but at least I can make myself understood. If you would come visit me, I think you would be as surprised as I was to see that there are ladies working everywhere. From driving heav y trucks to working at construction sites and I thought to myself “Where are all the men?” At first it was strange but when I see such hardwork ing women I realize that this country has very little gender bias, especially in the job market. Imagine this in our hometown, where it’s taboo for women to be as independent and having the freedom to choose whatever job they want. I can also see a difference with the female students, as they are very active here; they participate boldly in many extracurricular activ ities, are not very bookish and are very ambitious. Most importantly, they mingle and share views with their male counterparts with ease. The y are keen on being independent even from a young age. As you know, we rarely see these things at hom e, where we wouldn’t even find female students work in the campus café. Politics aside, this place is beautiful. The first time I walked to school I saw the scenic beauty surrounding the university. It is located alon gside the country’s second largest lake and it’s so clean everywhere! When I arrived at my first lecture, I was seated in the midst of an Australia n, a Pakistani and a Sri Lankan. Then to my surprise the Hea d of the faculty walked in and said she was from Mexico! That’s how multicultural and international this university is. I get to meet and know people from almost every part of the world. The most shocking thing I witnessed was the welcoming of new students, organized by our seniors. It is called “the Kick -off” and it’s a ten day event packed with parties, beer, dance, music, bonding and most importantly a chance to experience the Swedish culture!
Coming to the university education system, what I have noticed is that they concentrate equally on team work and conventional teaching . They encourage and assign groups with members from various backgrounds, so that you get acquainte d with new ideas, unique experiences, unprecedented results. This is to help groom us on how to work as a team in the real work space. After eight months here, I haven’t finis hed exploring Sweden, its culture and traditions. It’s a real pleasure to be in this part of the worl d, it’s so peaceful everywhere, the traffi c is not so busy and there are always a lot of smiling faces. Still, I miss you, my home, the Indian mus ic, the spicy food and even the noisy, jam-packed roads… Bye bye!
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WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT TEXT AMANDA FISCHER PICTURE NHUNG VU
My favorite part of the day is walking to campus with Faxe in a leash and music in my headphones. Arriving to the office and opening the email inbox is the first thing I do every day. But this, along with the privilege of meeting lots of great people, is the only constant part of my day. The most common question I receive these days is: “What do you work with?” I should probably have a short answer by now, like “I have the overall responsibility of the association and am also accommodation responsible as a Union General at the Student Union”. But this does not explain my work at all, the answer is too ambiguous and mundane to describe my responsibilities. I have meetings with inspiring, driven people all the time to discuss exciting possibilities and future plans. I deal with everything from individual student cases to meetings with the leadership team of JIBS, to project oversight in all JSA activities or contact with media and external companies. It is hard to define my job in only one sentence and at the same time capture the various exciting things I do, where no two days are the same. I have been lucky to meet amazing people ever since my first day at JIBS. I constantly meet likeminded individuals, maybe because we share interest in our field of study and also decided to study at JIBS, an entrepreneurial and innovative business school, instead of one of the bigger universities in Sweden. My first year consisted of countless social activities and study hours, I was surprised how well university life suited me and couldn’t be happier about my decision. This was until I became engaged in the JIBS Student Association, JSA, and got hooked. Suddenly, I found myself amongst the most ambitious and driven students at JIBS, students who choose to contribute to more than just group works and pre parties. I hope that you all apply for extracurricular activities and engage in the different projects and committees of JSA, that you take the opportunity to learn, have fun, and in the meantime grow on a personal level. I promise you it will be worth it. I have only one thing to communicate to all students, and that is to engage in something outside of your university courses. This is where you grow as a person. It is not from slumbering in the lecture hall, sweating over a thesis statement or browsing through an article. It is when you take advantage of all the other things university life can offer you and truly give these years a chance to become your most memorable ones. You will meet amazing people, experience numerous unforgettable moments and learn more than you can imagine, and you will not regret it. My hope and ambition is that everyone will feel the same enthusiasm I do on my way to campus. Every day, I walk towards the office with music in my ears and my dog in a leash, filled with excitement and curiosity for what adventures the day will bring.
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