LUNDAEKONOMERNA #122 LUNDAEKONOMERNA
From Lund to Harvard Stefan Lรถfven LundaPride
LUNDAEKONOMERNAS KÅRFÖRETAG
LUNDAEKONOMERNAS SAMARBETSFÖRETAG
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Reach the editorial staff at lundtan@lundaekonomerna.se and annons.lundtan@lundakeonomerna.se Nådiga Lundtan is a magazine by and for students at Lund University School of Economics and Management. All work is done voluntarily since we are a part of a non-profit organization. We strive for relevance and high quality in everything we do, and we aim to be Sweden’s top union magazine for economic and management students. The statements in the magazine are only to be considered as views of LundaEkonomerna if specified.
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Editorial 5 LundaPride 6
Content
9 IKEA 10
The Largest Free Trade Zone in the World up for Discussion
12 An Evening with Prime Minister Löfvén
From Lund to Harvard, via Columbia 15
Bright Ideas of Bright Minds Foster 18 Lund’s Reputation as Entrepreneurial 20 5 Movies that Unite 23 The Inspector’s Page 24 Alumni: Ole Oberste Berghaus 26 LundaEkonom Out and About
President and Vice President 31 Nådiga Lundtan #122 May 2015 Publication The magazine is released six times a year with about 3300 issues and is distributed, free of charge, to all members of LundaEkonomerna. About 150 copies are sent to various companies and other student unions. Creative commons-licenses Cover: Stefan Löfvén, Niklas Hilden Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Page 11: TTIP Flashmob Hamburg, Campact Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0) Page 26: DSCN0385 Castle panorama, Bresslau Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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”A
Editorial ct only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction.” Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
The Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant introduced the central philosophical concept of the Categorical Imperative in his 1785 publication, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. In short, he wanted to develop a way of universally evaluating ones motivations and actions. His work in this area can be summarized in the question, “What if everyone did that?” Though it may seem like a silly conclusion or a too simple motto to live by, it works surprisingly well in many situations. The question can be easily applied to certain areas such as theft or murder. Other topics are more complicated and challenging to universally agree upon a solution as they are filled with grey areas, like charity or deception. If for example, everyone donated money to each other perhaps eventually no one would have an incentive to work and society would come to a halt. This, of course, is a grossly simplified philosophical discussion but I think it fulfills its purpose of highlighting that there are no simple answers. Where I feel Kant’s Categorical Imperative does succeed however, is with his discussion of laziness, or as he puts it “failing to cultivate one’s talents”. I think all of us can agree that we would not find a society where no one strives for anything to be particularly pleasant. In the end, I find great motivation through Kant’s philosophical exploration and try to apply it to most of my work, whether it being studies, hobbies, or whatever I find myself doing. If everyone cultivates their talents, and work hard on improving them, we can all battle laziness together and unite under one productive roof. Unity serves as the theme for this issue and even here Kant’s simple question can be applied. What if everyone respected each other? What if everyone were accepting? Though we may not live in that world at the moment there is still cause to rejoice. For example, on page 6 we interview the ambitious project leaders for LundaPride, the annual Pride event in Lund featuring speakers, activities, and the glamorous Pride Parade. The EU and the US may soon unite under a free trade agreement; you can read more about it on page 10. Finally, on page 12 Prime Minister Stefan Löfven explains how he wants to lower unemployment in Sweden.
Philip Wrangberg, Editor-in-Chief
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LundaPride On May 23 rd, Lund’s Pride Festival called LundaPride will take place for the second time. After last year’s success one of the two Project Leaders Albin Junhede and vice Project Leader Caroline Andrén are confident that this year will be an even greater one. Along with the parade, LundaPride will also feature several interesting speakers and artists in Lundagård during the day.
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fter many years of LGBTQ-movements being concentrated to the major cities in Sweden, 2014 was a game changer. Pride Festivals were held in eight new cities and Lund was one of them. It all started last year with a manifestation against the banning of homosexuality in Uganda. “I was asked by a friend on Facebook if I wanted to plan the manifestation with him and it quickly went from a two hour manifestation to half a day filled with speakers, fundraising, and activities. We also thought: ‘Hey, why do we not arrange a Pride parade as well?’ That one time event became a lot bigger than we first expected.” Albin says. Around 500 people joined the parade and many more were cheering alongside. This year the expectations of the number of participants have risen a lot. Just in a couple of days 3000 people had clicked the attend button on the event page, a major indication of the interest for this year’s parade. “We want this to be an event for the whole town, not just for the students and the response has been very positive. There will be activities from 10 in the morning to 3 am the morning after.” “The history of the LGBTQ-movement started with LGB and has developed into what is sometimes seen as the LGBTQAI-movement. This is also the concept of LundaPride, “LBGTQ - One movement, many perspectives”, we strive to highlight the many different subcultures within the movement. We want to show that there is a lot more within the movement than homosexuals and dragqueens. This year’s festival is also focused around the theme “Life” where the different stages in life, like kindergarten, working life, or retirement for LBGTQ persons are spotlighted.” Around 20 local and national companies, the City Council, and Lund University have backed the festival and sponsored it in different ways.
“Especially Lund University has been very generous, backing us with facilities and interesting speakers. We are very delighted for the support from both the University and the community ” Caroline says. But a Pride Festival is not just party and glamour. There is still a great need to inform and enlighten about the struggles many people have to battle with in today’s society. ”There is also a greater stress if you are transgender, since your identity is more visually noticeable and since gender is in our language - in both pronouns and general expressions. As a homosexual or bisexual you do not have this problem to the same extent. An everyday problem for transgender people is to choose a public restroom, where none of them represent your identity or where you are not accepted in the one that matches your gender. This is something that many people do not think about,” Caroline says. “In summary, the core of the festival is that we want to change the world by mixing partying and social hangouts together with serious meetings around these topics. This is a difficult challenge but we look forward to it.” Albin says. LundaPride will of course include a Pride parade which is unique since there will be no motor vehicles when the parade makes its way through the central parts of Lund. “The parade will only consist of people. So far several labour unions, Swerok, employees of SEB (Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken) and Projekt6 among others have signed up that they will be joining us in the parade. We think it will be breathtaking.”
Text: Ludwig Appelblad Photo: Andreas Paulsson
Schedule for LundaPride • • • •
10 am to 7 pm Speakers, seminars, and artists in Lundagård 4.30 pm Gathering for the Pride Parade 7 pm Evening event at Högevall 11 pm to 3 am Club Out at Mejeriet
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Facts:
LGBTQ – acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transperson and queer. LGBTQAI – acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transperson, queer, asexual and intersex. Homosexual – a person who falls in love with and/or feels attracted to a person of the same sex. Bisexual – someone who falls in love with and/or feels attracted to a person of any gender identity. Transperson – when someone’s gender identity or gender expression is not matching one’s biological sex. It is not a description of a person’s sexual orientation; instead it is related to someone’s gender identity. Queer – a broad term with many different expressions that generally can be seen as a questioning of heteronormativity. Asexual – someone with a low or is lacking interest in sexual activity. It is also used to describe a person who does not feel sexual attraction to anyone. Intersexuality – meaning ’between the sexes’ and refers to someone that from birth cannot be distinctly identified in the binary system of sexes because of variations of the sex chromosomes, gonads or genitals. Some identify themselves as a man or a woman and some as neither. LundaPride is organized by the association Stolt i Lund. More information: www.lundapride.se
IKEA was founded in 1943 and has over 70 years later about 150 000 employees worldwide. How do the people working at IKEA experience the historic and large company? What opportunities does the company give the employees to evolve together as a coherent unit? These questions and more were answered during the recently held IKEA day. When arriving at one of IKEA’s offices in Älmhult, you experience a welcoming feeling. The atmosphere gives an impression of belonging and togetherness. It is not something that you can point out or touch but it strikes you when observing the surroundings. When visiting the offices try to take a look at an adjacent meeting room, because what you will notice is a dynamic environment where people are involved and engaged in the subject. Employees have a casual work attire because at IKEA there is no need to window-dress yourself. It is more important that you show who you are and what you are capable of rather than what you wear. I was told before the visit that IKEA is expanding but I had no idea to what extent. Between 2014 and 2020 they are planning on hiring 75 000 people and the IKEA group hope to double the turnover. This will for sure create many opportunities at the still expanding company from the north. It is impressive that one of the world’s largest companies in the area of home furnishing still has grandiose plans of expansion. This is also evident when discussing opportunities at IKEA. You quickly realize that there is a magnificent range of career paths available for those at the company. People at IKEA are frequently evolving and are encouraged to never be happy with lagom. It is not a requirement but rather a possibility that you have as a co-worker. Throughout the company visit it was clear that the road upward was far from rigid and monotone. IKEA offers a diverse set of opportunities and employees are encouraged to try different roles, and many change between functions and countries several times in their careers. A frequent topic among employees is the grand company legacy. IKEA is an organization that truly exercises their beliefs which is probably why they still have a large part of the company operating out of the founding town, Älmhult. Within the IKEA Group there are different IKEA units,
many of which are also located in Älmhult. Examples of these units are IKEA of Sweden which makes the new design for the products, IKEA Components AB who makes it possible to put the products together, and IKEA Communication who makes the celebrated IKEA catalogue and executes the fundamental marketing. The reason why these organizations are still in Älmhult is to embrace and honour the company’s beginnings. During the visit you also realize how international the company really is. You meet people from different cultures that all have different stories to tell about how they began to work at IKEA. The international culture that IKEA really has embraced is vivid throughout the organization. From the employees to the products, it is clear that IKEA functions in a globalized world. We were for example shown how the furniture differed depending on country. In USA some products are made larger because of the trends there while in Japan they focused on compact living. To understand the company’s ambitions it is important to look back at its history. To do that I recommend the IKEA museum in Älmhult. They are currently building a new and larger one but the old museum is more than sufficient to gain an understanding of the company’s origin and history. At the museum they tell you how Ingvar Kamprad built IKEA from the beginning to what it is today. It is impressive to see what this company has accomplished in 70 years and in the way it has succeeded. It was also interesting to hear about how they accomplished to set and create trends in home furnishing. If you are interested in job opportunities that IKEA has to offer it is a good idea to start off by checking out the events that IKEA organizes together with LundaEkonomerna or Lunds University. It is also possible to visit IKEA’s webpage www.IKEA.se/jobb where you can see which job opportunities are available at the moment.
Text: Patric Tegen The above text is a paid advertisement.
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The Largest Free Trade Zone in the World up for Discussion Even though you are likely to have heard or read something about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in recent times, there is certain doubt to how far negotiations have come. The economic analyses were done in 2013, the stakes are higher than ever, but the talks seem to be frozen. Below is a quick overview of what the European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and the European Parliament are up to with this rather troublesome agreement.
TTIP is a potential partnership between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) for a free trade zone. This treaty will, once signed, make this zone into the largest free trade area in the world. According to independent studies, the TTIP will have a considerable positive effect on the European, and in length the world, economy. Beyond the EU and the US it is supposed to ‘trickle down’ to the rest of world, benefiting them as well because of interdependent global value chains. The agreement is up for discus-
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sion in the European Parliament (EP) again because of all the resistance it is facing in its current form. In general, critics on both sides of the TTIP are afraid of the consequences for the quality of the food, as the two parties have different ways of working in for example the chicken industry. Furthermore, general concerns about increased negative effects on the global climate following an economic upturn have been raised. These are only some of the concerns that have protestors call TTIP ‘the Trojan Treaty’. What everyone is now suddenly getting so upset about is a spe-
cific clause in the agreement, a so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). Even though this clause has existed since 1959 and is included in most firms’ trade agreements nowadays, people are perhaps only now realizing the full effects of it. Media has spurred interest in the issue since big cases such as Vattenfall’s nuclear operations in Germany. The clause basically implies that a company can sue a foreign government, which for example is relevant when that government changes a law that affects the operations of the (foreign) company in
that country. The rising critique against the clause and the TTIP in general has forced Malmström into a difficult position, as the US is unlikely to sign without the clause in the documents. However, recently the EP discussed new ideas, alternatives, or updates for the clause, indicating Malmström is indeed listening and adapting to the concerns of European citizens. This also means negotiations, which have until now almost completely avoided the subject of ISDS due to its sensitive nature, will take a new turn and possibly finally generate some action; enforcement of the TTIP, in a new form. So what consequences will the TTIP have, in any form, for you, both as a consumer and as a graduate (to be)?
As a consumer
Companies will have lower tariffs or other additional costs for products to deal with and this will translate into lower prices that the consumer can benefit from. Also, the variety of supply of goods will increase, and the enormous competitive free market will make sure only the best products and services survive, increasing overall quality. As Malmström also promises, the standards of both partners for products, especially food, will be maintained. TTIP should only make it easier for companies in the EU and US to do business but will not interfere with existing quality assurance regulations.
As a graduate (to be)
The agreement protagonists promise new job opportunities as well as overall increased wages for both high- and low-skilled workers. For example, as the EU expects the motor industry to increase by almost 150%, companies like Volvo might be expanding their operations in Sweden, the US, and/or China. A downside could be that, perhaps especially as a highly educated graduate, you will be competing with even more skilled people than before. Both parties are eager to enter this agreement while both also have their reservations on specific aspects of it. Once the negotiations lead to some tweaking and turning of the details, we might soon be thriving in and benefiting from the largest free trade zone in the world.
Text: Linnéa Elfving Nådiga Lundtan | 11
An Evening With.. It was an enthusiastic audience that greeted Prime Minister Stefan Löfven in the University Auditorium. It was his first time speaking in front of the students of Lund as a Prime Minister, and the second time as party leader of the Social Democrats. Last time he visited, he was an untested party leader, with his roots in the union of metalworkers. That is a very uncommon background, even for a minister, and unheard of for a party leader. He faced huge expectations and pressure to turn the tide for the historically most dominant party in Sweden. He inherited a legacy from some of Sweden’s most successful politicians, with names such a Olof Palme and Tage Erlander among them. The party has been a powerhouse and the obvious component of almost every government since the World Wars, with results varying from about 36% to 54%. However, the trend was broken when the last Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, united the right wing and won the election of 2006 with a majority of the votes, which is a rare event in Sweden. Since then, the Social Democrats have hovered just above 30% in the elections. Of course, a lot has happened since last time Löfven visited. In spite of the winds of right wing populism blowing through Europe, the left wing managed to take back the power, but the victory was bittersweet. The left wing coalition did not gather a much larger support compared to the last election, but rather managed to stay afloat while the nationalist party ”Sweden Democrats” managed to drain the right wing of a lot of votes. Faced with a majority against him, Stefan Löfven had to enter an agreement with the opposition, Decemberöverenskommelsen. Its purpose was to let the government rule, even though it has a majority against it. It is a very problematic accord that stirs a
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lot of public outrage against the establishment. In addition, to keep the left coalition together, a lot of promises had to be broken, causing huge dissatisfaction among the electorate. It is in the light of this background that Löfven visited us that evening to answer a plethora of questions about the future. How will he reach his unemployment target? Which promises will be fulfilled? How will the left coalition’s first budget impact us? The prime minister addressed these issues with an opening statement. It was obvious that the years as opposition leader and the election of 2014 had polished his skills as an orator. The speech was on par with his more politically schooled colleagues from the other parties. It was inspiring and somewhat vigorous, although lacking somewhat ideologically compared to his predecessors. The centerpiece of his opening speech was job creation. He stated that: ”For the better part of my time I think and act in a way to make more people get a job, …, as a Social Democrat I feel a deep loathing towards unemployment and the limitations unemployment inflicts upon people’s lives.” Before the election, the Social Democrats promised to decrease the unemployment to the lowest level in Europe, or as Löfven puts it: ”The fight against unemployment and the fight for more jobs is the most important task of this government and our goal is to reach the lowest level of unemployment in Europe by 2020” His critics mean that this is problematic as Sweden is heavily dependent on export. That means that job growth in Sweden depends on the growth of our trading partners (mainly Europe). This makes it very complicated to surpass the other European countries.
Furthermore, the structure of our labour market is completely different from that of Germany for example. Sweden has many high-skill jobs, and very few low-skill jobs compared to the rest of Europe. The labour market is also very regulated, which discourages companies from taking risks with employing, therefore making it less flexible. This results in greater unemployment as inexperienced applicants will not get enough opportunities. Other obstacles are increased global competition and a miss match between the work force’s skills and the skills the employers search after. Taking all this into account, the critics say that we can conclude that there is a risk of the government hiding unemployed people in ineffective job training programs and early retirement pensions to polish the statistics. This is something the critics imply happened last time the Social Democrats were in power. However, Löfven does not agree with this and ruled out something he called a job agenda: ”Our job agenda rests on three pillars. The first one is more investments, …, the second one is active industrial and innovation policies, …, and thirdly, we must educate and equip everyone with skills that enable them to take the jobs of today and tomorrow.” He means that this is a big change compared to the last administration, which only relied on tax cuts at the expense of other policies that Löfven presented. Instead, it is our mutual responsibility to create more jobs by investing. So, what investments are necessary according to Löfven? Mainly he points out the lack of housing which prevents people from moving to jobs and the youth from moving out, starting a new life, and begin studying at university. The solution he gave was the following:
Prime Minister Lรถfven Photo: Daniel Kodipelli
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”We need to do a couple of things. One of them is to speed up the building process, …, we will facilitate the process for small businesses, as not only the big ones should build, …, and last but not least we will use public transportation to create new spaces to build upon, …, it is not possible to create apartements, especially small ones, if we do not take a mutual responsibility, …, therefore it is the duty of society to stimulate with subsidies so that more are actually built.” As many voters notice, there are striking similarities between the old and the new administration. Both point at making it easier to build and deregulate. However, the conflicts lie in the subsidies, which the opposition means have a negligible effect. Discussing his previously stated second pillar (active industrial and innovation policies), he starts with quoting Anna Lindh, another famous Social Democrat: ”.. we should do as Anna Lindh once suggested, when she pointed at unemployment and climate change, and said ’from two obstacles we make one opportunity’.”
right skills. Over 10% of Swedish students fail to pass 9th grade, which excludes them from continuing their studies at Gymnasium level (Swedish high school). Out of these, 40% face uneployment later in life and therefore become highly alienated from the rest of society. Löfven says: ”We have a task together to invest in these young people who lack a high school diploma, …, everyone should finish high school!” To address the miss match on the labour market that the critics talk about, Löfven announced that he wanted to increase the enrollment to universities. For example, 280 more people will be able to enroll at Lund University after the implementation of the left coalition’s budget. In addition, he wants to increase the quality by improving the pedagogy, the internationalization of higher education, the way quality is evaluated and improve the link to research and the job market. He describes his policies for higher education as follow: ”We see a challenge in increasing enroll-
we need the means and resources to handle them. Afterwards, I asked the Prime Minister to expand on his job agenda. He talks a lot about investment, but mentions few words about taxation or cuts in expenditure to afford his costly reforms. Coincidentally, Sweden’s monetary policies are losing its power to stimulate the economy, which makes the fiscal policy more significant. So, I asked him how this fact would influence his fiscal policy. ”There is absolutely more we can do with our fiscal policy, and we plan to do that.” Then he repeated his ideas about investments in infrastructures and housing . Regrettably, he left out any answer to if he would be more expansive and borrow more to stimulate the economy, or continue to reduce the deficits. A key issue if you want to create more jobs than the rest of Europe. So, did we get any answers to our questions tonight? Well, Löfvén talked
”I feel a deep loathing towards unemployment” He meant that climate change forces us to think outside the box and stimulate innovations. We need new forms of energy and more infrastructure and public transportation. This results in a lot of job opportunities. Sweden invests a lot of resources into this. We have a huge input. The problem, however, is that the ideas are not translated into new products and services, which means a low output. Löfven offers plenty of ideas to solve this problem. One goal is to digitize the business world and the public sector. Another one is to change how countries purchase welfare services from companies. They should demand a certain solution to a problem, rather than a specific product. In addition, he wants to enable more venture capital for new ideas, create more incubators and counseling in order to help ideas grow in Lund for example, which then are exported to the global market. Lastly, he moved on to explain the third pillar, which ordains that we should equip the workforce with the
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ment, but at the same time increasing the quality. These parameters do not have to be mutually exclusive, but should rather complement each other. This is necessary if we want Sweden to be a leading research nation.” In addition, he wants us to rethink the way we educate ourselves. Today we move on to work when our education is complete. However, to address the miss match on the labour market, we will need to re-educate ourselves. To enable this, Löfven wants to expand the proffesional training amongst other things. He expanded on the concept by telling us: ”In the same way we have unemployment benefits and health insurance, we should have a skill insurance. Its purpose is to build upon your skills throughout your working life.” It is an interesting concept, and extremely important when considering the increased global competition as well as our extended life expectancy. Most of us will have to take plenty of different kinds of jobs before we retire. Thus,
little about how and if he would keep his promises. For example, he hardly mentioned the 90-days guarantee for unemployed youth, indicating that its future is uncertain. Neither did he talk a lot about how his new budget and policies would improve the income of poor people and retirees, or how it would affect high income earners and businesses. However, Löfven did explain how he would reach his job target. Investment in housing and infrastructure, improvements to innovation and the output of research, and helping more young people complete high school are some of his ideas. A lot of refreshing ideas and good reforms. The question is if this is enough. With no change to the structure of the labour market, few resources open to use for investment, and an absent answer to how immigrants who have a tough time finding jobs will get one, their promise to have Europe’s lowest level of unemployment seems far off.
Text: Anton Karlsson
From
LUND to HARVARD
via Columbia
Photo: Simon Hedlin
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Simon Hedlin is a Swedish journalist writing about economic research, American politics, and social change for The Economist. Simon has studied at Columbia University as well as Harvard University, but his university studies began here in Lund. Nådiga Lundtan spoke with him about what drives him, studying abroad, and writing. We also got a few reading recommendations from this avid reader.
F
or sale: baby shoes, never worn. The famous six-word novel of sorts exemplifies Ernest Hemingway’s brilliant use of understatement, a technique that echoes through Simon Hedlin’s writing for The Economist, Axess, and Svenska Dagbladet among other publications. ”Hemingway never says ’the girl is angry’. By showing rather than telling, he portrays the girl’s anger or frustration indirectly through her actions, allowing room for the reader’s own interpretation”.
Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor for nearly 20 years, collected his principles on how to live in a straight-forward way in his Meditations. Considering that his writings have thrived for almost two millennia, it certainly serves as a vivid example of a non-perishable intellectual idea. The straightforward yet wisdom-intensive passages of Aurelius’s assertions how human beings should behave has made many highlighters run out of ink.
Putting thought into action, he also conducts research on the decision-making process. His latest research on choice architecture is in collaboration with a Harvard Law School professor and will be published in the near future, he hopes.
Anyone can start a blog today and write how much they want about anything. The hard thing is to exercise judgment when weighing quality versus quantity. ”There is an opportunity cost here. Sometimes we tend to write a lot without really saying much. Hemingway has been influential to me in this sense—he wrote less yet somehow managed to convey more.” However, looking at Hemingway’s personal characteristics, one can notice the lack of moral guidance a young student might be looking for. With a drive for social change deep at heart, writer and graduate student Simon Hedlin found moral compasses by reading up on the teachings of old emperors, teachers, and philosophers. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author famous for books like The Black Swan and Antifragile, often mentions the Lindy Effect, the concept which effectively states that ideas surviving over a longer time-span become exponentially non-perishable.
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in one way or another. The most important reason might be that a lot of people at Harvard did not have an easy time growing up. I have several classmates who are the first in their family to go to college and there are also those who have grown up in poverty in the Unites States, or in extreme poverty in Africa, to name a few examples. These individuals tend to feel a great responsibility to help others in similar circumstances.”
These are important notions for Hedlin who runs a student organization at Harvard University, where he studies public policy, which organizes activities to promote social change. The organization wants to encourage other students to take social responsibility and do good for the society as a whole, and not just focus on what might be personally beneficial. ”There are many students out here that would like to give back to society
The idea of choice architecture is that presenting choices to individuals in different ways may lead them to make different decisions. Suppose your local government were to send out a letter to households about enrolling in some program. Now, there are several ways for the government to present the options. It can use forced choice (you require people to make an active choice between enrolling or not enrolling), opt-out (people are automatically enrolled, but can leave the program if desired), or opt-in (people must actively enrol, otherwise they will automatically stay out). Looking at the research, most of the literature suggests that opt-out is the most effective policy. In the experiment designed and analysed by Mr. Hedlin, however, they find that forced choice is more effective.
“This goes against intuition and empirical evidence. A possible explanation is that for certain types of policies—such as environmentally friendly energy—forced choice will produce a feeling of shame or guilt. You often know what alternative you should choose, and thus you feel obligated to make that choice if you are forced to make a decision. If I were to get a letter from my local government and they were telling me that I must choose between ”the more environmentally friendly program” or ”the less environmentally friendly program”, then I know that the first alternative is better for the climate and leads to less air pollution. So, I will choose that program. But if I were to be automatically enrolled in the program, I would feel that someone else has made that choice for me and I will not feel any guilt. Instead, I might opt-out because I do not like that someone thinks that they know what is best for me. Whereas if I have to choose between two programs that are either more or less environmentally friendly, I will most likely choose the more environmentally friendly program. A less paternalistic presentation of choices seems to promote the desired outcome. At least that is what we find in this experiment.” Apart from the obvious benefit of receiving a good education by studying at a great school, you also get the externality of running into intelligent people in your proximity who are prone to start debates. Everyone might not have the same opinions as you, but according to Mr. Hedlin, that is the beauty of it since it encourages you to sharpen your argumentation. ”Sometimes you actually change your opinion. They may be small and incremental but still significant. In addition, a good debate will make you more well-informed since it forces you to see the same issue from different sides.” Prospering in both the United States (now at Harvard University -
previously at Columbia University) and the United Kingdom (undergraduate studies at The University of Birmingham), Simon Hedlin began his academic career at Lund University. ”It was a restless summer, having just graduated high school, and I had been admitted to Birmingham, so I applied for some courses and ended up studying economic history in Lund. It is a tremendously fun subject but you cannot really do anything with it unless you want to go into academia.” From Lund to Boston, Simon has inevitably acquired international experience and he offers a few recommendations on how to get the most out of your studies abroad. ∆∆
”If you are deciding on a university for exchange studies, consider where you will find the best academic environment rather than picking a place because it is located in a specific city - you can go there on vacation instead.”
∆∆
”Take advantage of your Swedish background. Think about norms, policies, and trends in Sweden and put them in an international context. For instance, I have looked at Swedish paternity leave policies and applied them in my research in an American context.”
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”Choose something that is very different from your Swedish academic experience. For example, British universities often only have one final examination at the end of your academic year that determines your entire grade. No examinations, papers, or problem sets throughout the year, just two hours at the end. Doing things that are new and challenging will help you grow.”
Three books that have influenced Simon: The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway ”It is such a beautiful story in only 22 pages that somehow covers a lifetime of events.” Analyzing Politics by Kenneth A. Shepsle ”A book on public choice theory. It is used as an academic textbook but what is good is that it explains why politicians do things that we may consider bad or dumb. It characterizes politicians as selfinterested agents and explains the incentives that motivate them, which is in part why we have pork barrel spending in the U.S. - the notion that Members of Congress focus more on getting benefits for their home states rather than on doing things that would are best for the country as a whole. The book is also applicable to Swedish politics. When I used to work at the Prime Minister’s Office, people asked me why Swedish politicians do things that do not seem to make sense, and I used to tell them: ’read this book and you will understand that many politicians want to do what is in their own self-interest.’” Personal History by Katharine Graham ”A very interesting book about the first woman to head a large American newspaper, or any major American corporation for that matter. She became the publisher for the Washington Post in the 1960’s and she was the one responsible for unveiling the Watergate scandal that ultimately led President Nixon to resign. What is interesting about Graham is that she inherited the reign of the Post and no one thought she would make a good publisher, perhaps least of all herself. And then she ended up being the best publisher the newspaper ever had. When her father took over the Washington Post, it was worth less than $1 million. When she handed it over to her eldest son, annual revenues exceeded $1,400 million”
Text: Niklas Lövgren
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Photo: Harvard Public Affairs & Communications
Bright Ideas of Bright Minds Foster Lund’s Reputation as an
Entrepreneurial Hub
Photo: Evelise Bibiatello NĂĽdiga Lundtan | 18
O
n the 7 th of May, about two dozen students of the Master of Science program in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation, along with a handful of incubator start-ups from Venture Lab organized a trade show and exhibited their businesses. They presented their ideas, and even demonstrated (almost) functioning prototypes of their gadgets to the numerous visitors. In total, around 15 stands, some of which were impressively decorated booths, turned Ideon Agora into a vibrant fair: walking from the Barista coffee near the main entrance up to the Ideon restaurant one could not pass through without seeing some savvy innovation: from IT and healthy food to wearables and web technology.
Wearables, Sustainable Food Goods, Web and IT, and More
Among the projects was, for example, the wearable ‘Tuluma’: a small tool that attaches to the owner’s bag or some other possession and serves as an anti-theft device that does not only signal an alarm once someone tries to open or steal your bag but shall also be able to recognize you or your friends to avoid false alarms. Another product currently in development by three of the Entrepreneurship program’s students is ‘Farmazing’. It is basically a spacesaving and easy to use hydrophonic garden for the homes of urban dwellers who want to grow their own organic vegetables, berries, or flowers without the need of a great knowledge of the topic: “I knew that there had to be an easier way for everyone to enjoy the benefits of the gardening technique without having prior experience”, says Christina Halstead of the Farmazing-team. A special-interest product is the little gadget ‘NeverLose’ by the soon to be founded start-up ‘PowUnity’. It is a bluetooth device screwed to a pair of skis or a snowboard connected to a smartphone for instance that helps freeskiers find their lost skis faster in deep and powdery snow. Stefan Sinnegger, one of the
three people working on that little tool, refers to the initial idea: “jumping around in the snow and riding as if there is no tomorrow makes you lose your skis quite often”. Pretty much the shining stars with a lot of previous competition wins Tim van Dijk and Caroline Mensch of YOU++, a learning platform that shall – with professional assistance – help to teach young school children how to code and get them interested not just in the virtual computer world but the mechanics behind the curtain that make our tablets and laptops actually work: “There is this myth of programming being dull and difficult, but it is really just like learning any other language, and you can do the coolest things once you get the hang of it. We want to share that with today’s kids“, explains Tim van Dijk who came up with the idea last fall when he started his Master’s program.
What is more to come
Regardless of who you ask, all the participants were happy to be part of the trade show and valued the feedback they got from the visitors: “The trade-show was a way for us to get public feedback, and support for our Kickstarter launch this summer. We were extremely pleased that almost all of our visitors signed up for preorders”, says Andrew Lentz from the anti-theft tool Tuluma and announces that the team will be testing the prototype in late June and start up a Kickstarter campaign in early August. The Farmazing-team will continue in the next couple of weeks by “doing
market research and completing a final design that will be fully developed by the end of Summer 2015”, Halstead says. The next steps for PowUnity will probably be leading them to New Zealand where the winter season is kicking off rather soon: “We will have 50 prototypes ready by the end of June. With these prototypes we will do extensive product and software tests”, says Sinnegger. Then, they really want to establish their business and hope to sell 6 000 units for the upcoming European winter season. The interactive learning platform YOU++ will release a beta version of their service in the summer after which they want to start releasing their commercial version approximately in December. Out of around one dozen projects started by the Entrepreneurship students during their studies this year, a handful of them will eventually come to life in the next couple of weeks. Some project teams will even stay in Lund, at least for the summer or some more months to come, to pursue their business idea. It will be interesting to see how many that will make it to the market – and which ones will become successful businesses by this time next year, when the next trade show has been held.
Text: Sebastian Hoefinger
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5 Movies that Unite Invictus
Uniting a severely divided country like South Africa was before 1995 an impossible task for any man, except one. Nelson Mandela managed this feat and did so with the help of rugby, a sport to be loved by the people. Clint Eastwood directs Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in this passionate portrayal of South Africa, rugby, and the man that changed a country. Warner Bros. Pictures
Milk He may not have united a country under one cause, but he made excellent progress. Harvey Milk became California’s first openly gay elected official and took the fight for gay rights to the next level. Gus Van Sant directs and Sean Penn plays the memorable Harvey Milk. Other stars include Josh Brolin, James Franco, and Emile Hirsch. Focus Features
The Breakfast Club Five students with nothing in common enter the school library, posing as a detention hall, one tired Saturday morning. They leave that evening having found friendships in the most peculiar places. Jon Hughes directed the film that became the voice of a generation. Whether you were an athlete, a brain, criminal, princess, or basket case, high school was and will remain an iconic period of all our lives and so will this film. Universal Pictures
Lincoln Under the direction of Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis gives a chilling portrayal of former US president Abraham Lincoln. The film explores Lincoln’s campaign during the civil war to abolish slavery in the US. Though faced with a tragic end, audiences can rejoice at the fight that Lincoln led, and the outcome that eventually prevailed. 20 th Century Fox
The Royal Tenenbaums Family reunions are seldom portrayed as an uplifting experience in motion pictures. Wes Anderson’s film from 2002 is no exception. Stars like Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, and Gwyneth Paltrow navigate through family trouble as the siblings reunite with their parents after their father announces he is terminally ill. As usual Anderson delivers a quirky film telling a story made to last. Buena Vista Pictures
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Text: Philip Wrangberg
Fotograf: Håkan Målbäck
Har du växtkraft? Frigör den hos oss.
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grantthornton.se/student Facebook: Grant Thornton Sverige Karriär
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Våra medarbetare får stort eget ansvar, vilket skapar växtkraft. Kraft att utveckla våra kunders, de dynamiska ägarledda företagens, affärer. Men också kraft att driva på sin egen utveckling och hjälpa kollegor att växa. Vi arbetar i en företagskultur där vi tar ansvar, stöttar varandra och samarbetar i team. Låter det som en plats där du skulle trivas och växa? Välkommen till oss!
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Expanding Our Horizons
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If I had to choose one song that marked my youth – and still means a lot – it would be Walls Come Tumbling Down by The Style Council. It is impossible to stand still. The lyrics are highly political. The Style Council were cool and got you a bit fired up too. The message is that by being united good things will happen. Governments crack and systems fall Because unity is powerful Lights go out and walls come tumbling down
But unity is problematic. Some of the worst manmade disasters in history have been the result of unity (possibly of high-functioning idiots). The intersections of religions, class, nations, and land have always been crucial sources of conflict, all the while spawning and being driven by unity within the given pockets of society. To preserve and protect our unity, we sometimes need to trade off reason. “Intrasectionality” can be detrimental to intersectional relations, but it can also effectively bar the development of the section, or group, itself. Research tells us, quite unanimously, that heterogeneity, exposure to the novel, the combination of things and ideas not previously connected and the critical questio-
Photo: Jennifer Annvik
If we stick with each other, we can achieve magnificent results, and radically alter the premises of our lives. Through unity, you can win the Champions League; you can beat the evil and win wars. You can put a man on the moon. There are many aspects to unity, one being to display solidarity and perhaps altruism. Then there is unity to combat a common enemy, but also unity in the pragmatist sense that we can compromise and agree upon things, trade if you will, and thereby swap short-term, opportunist wins for long-term benefits. Being able to reach consensus in contexts where ambitions diverge can be poetic. ning of taken-for-granted truths within our little groups – the basis of our unity – are absolutely imperative for social development. The heart of the matter is the outer limits of us – the group we feel we belong to. Harvard psychologist Joshua Greene wrote about this recently in Moral Tribes, an interesting take on how the human has been able over time to adjust to understand how to protect the self, me, and then us. We have the capacity to care about ourselves and those we include in us: family, football team, organisation, state, religion, and so on. The problem arises when it comes to us versus them. Greene
suggests that mankind continues to fail regarding the expression of solidarity, empathy, and unity across from us to them because we lack the capacity to expand our horizons – hence the root cause of many of our conflicts. We can attempt to resolve this by actively ironing out cultural dissimilarities and create homogeneity. As we know, such strategies can sometimes preserve conflict instead. Fixing discrimination and then understanding the logics and worldviews of them is probably a much better idea. Jump the fence. Create a new platform for unity. Thus, Enlightenment, there
Text: Thomas Kalling
The Inspector’s Page Nådiga Lundtan | 23
Alumni Name: Ole Oberste Berghaus Program: MSc. in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science Graduation year: 2014 Current city: NĂźrnberg, Germany Current work: Consultant for organizational management Past involvement with LundaEkonomerna: Education Committee, General Council, Member of the Board (Head of International Affairs)
Photo: Ole Oberste Berghaus
Photo: Jens LundĂŠn
What did your student life look like? ”I got involved early in student activities, both at my undergraduate universities and in Lund. For me it is super important to have all three: brain work at university, exercising at the gym and outside, as well as ”feel good activities”. The latter is for me my involvement in volunteer organizations, such as AFS Intercultural Programs as an intercultural trainer - and in Lund as an active member of Projekt6, LUS, nations, LundaKarneval, and of course LundaEkonomerna. Through my involvement I met amazing people, many of which I now consider close friends!” How did the road from graduation to your first job look like? ”I started looking for jobs quite early - I thought - well, I did not. Thus it was a bumpy road and I looked for a too diverse range of jobs. A good thing though was that I had all my documents prepared, my CV in three languages and took my time to prepare for interviews and assessment centres. In the end I got my job by being open to a spontaneous interview: I got a call on a Monday morning to attend a job interview on Wednesday - the difficulty was that it had to be in person and I was over 1 000 km away. A spontaneous train ride of 12 hours later payed off and I got the job. Now I am working in a team of five. My first customer is no one less than the church, the oldest public institution.
How has your involvement in the union helped you in your professional career? ”Especially the work with different age groups, students, professors, and staff trained me on professional communication, public institutions, politics, hidden agendas, and much more. Having gained this knowledge, I am now aware of these ways of manipulation and I can reflect upon the customer’s actions much better. By having worked on a board in another country, I am now also aware of all the cultural differences between the Swedish and the German business cultures. With this in mind it is much easier to relate to different behavior - it has made me more flexible in my mind when reacting to certain actions of others - making it much easier for me to handle challenging customers.” What is your favorite memory from LundaEkonomerna? ”My favorite memory is the last weeks of our board work in the middle of 2014, when we all realized how great we worked together as a team and that our extremely different personalities were making a fantastic and very productive blend! ” What does the future hold? ”The future will be even more amazing: looking back, I come from the times of state owned wire telephones and now I have two smartphones. In under a quarter of a century. Maybe we will go vacationing on Mars in 35 years, who knows.”
Text: Philip Wrangberg
Nådiga Lundtan | 25
LundaEkonomernas 20th Anniversary
LundaEkonom Out and About Country: Germany | City: Mannheim | University: University of Mannheim A year and a half before graduating I realized there would be a semester hiatus between the end of my Bachelors and the start of my Masters. Then, a number of options sprang to mind, I could be economic and find employment, I could have sat in front of the TV and caught up on series, whilst sponging of my parents affection and sympathy that I had just finished an arduous 3 years of study and was about to embark on yet another year of study. Or, I could go abroad. As much as I would have enjoyed selling my soul to the oppressive job market, or getting fat off my parents cooking – I chose to attend an exchange semester at Mannheim Business School, which is supposedly one of the gems of Germany’s university system. On arrival, the city had a lot more graffiti and homeless people than the website gave away. The main university building – the exquisite Schloss – is situated in the heart of the city. Before it
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was used to house overworked, stressed out, coffee-addicted students in its labyrinth of seminar rooms and lecture halls, it served as the seat of the Prince Elector for the region. It proudly boasts that it is the biggest baroque palace in the world due to the merit that it has one more window than the palace of Versailles and with its sprawling East and West wing, it is certainly an impressive setting to be learning in. Stepping out of the castle you are welcomed into the hustle and bustle of the city of Mannheim. Although it will not be rivalling London, Paris, or NYC as a world metropolis any time soon (indeed as an eyesore it is only one level up from blindingly ugly neighbouring city Ludwigshafen), it is a place with charm – even if you have to go out of the city to find it. Personally I find the serene paths along the Rhein and Neckar which encompass the city in their parallel meandering rather pleasant. Similarly, a 30 minute walk away from the city there is the breathtaking Luisinpark and
a bit closer is the quaint Wasserturm, which I am informed during the Christmas period had a Weihnachtmarkt that was the envy of the region. With a program named after Erasmus, you would think that it encourages erudition and high academia – but in between my sporadic forages into studying intensely there is the chance to meet new people and visit other cities and towns. Mannheim is located in the center of Germany, thus you are able to travel conveniently to a lot of other cities in both Germany and the rest of Europe. During my stay here I have had the opportunity to visit a few other cities in Germany, such as Koeln, Heidelberg, and Frankfurt. I have also had the chance to pop into France and see the postcard perfect city of Strasbourg. During Easter time, the students of Mannheim have a two week spring break, where you can choose either to catch up on your studies or travel to other countries. Most exchange students choose
Photo: Raquel Mota to travel, which is also what I decided to do. During one week my friend and I visited Venice, Florence, and Rome. I consider this trip to have been a great way to mentally recharge for the upcoming months when all students decide to start studying for the exams in June.
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Photo: Arcticpenguin
To briefly address some academic points which I am sure you have been dying to hear about - since the credits of the courses here range from two to six credits per course, you end up having six to seven exams to study for at the end of the semester. The courses end with an examination between 45 to 60 minutes, which is quite little time compared to the four hour exams in Sweden. This usually means that if you have not studied the content and do not know it very well, even passing a course can be difficult here. According to students in Mannheim the ability to do great in a limited amount of time is what sets you apart from other students. Surely, from my perspective, studying at Mannheim Business School means being surrounded by many ambitious and hard-working students. Even though most of the students have their exams at the end of the semester, the libraries are usually more than half-full
all throughout the semester. A couple of weeks before the exam period all parties and other organized events stop and instead the opening hours of the library extend. Ominous signs indeed. Some of the similarities between studying in Lund and studying in Mannheim are the various student organizations and numerous partnerships the school has with leading firms. Just as in Sweden, the school offers opportunities to interact with these firms and to create future job opportunities. Even us exchange students are encouraged to apply for internships and jobs in Germany. However, if you do not speak German fluently, the possibilities are narrowed down. The description of my time here in Mannheim may sound like a lot of why I do not like Mannheim. If you have ever visited this city – I have no doubt that you would empa-
thise. However, when I leave I will probably miss it. Although many highlights of my time abroad have not been in this city, the people I have shared these experiences with do live in this city. Here I have met so many interesting people from all around the world, we have traversed language barriers, geographical difference, and prejudices – and we have found that we have things in common. We have discovered that smiles draw people to each other, we have found that laughter turns strangers into friends, and we have found that friends can be found in the strangest of places. If you had told me - that girl who was not sure what to do with a year and half left of her Bachelors that in some dingy, small town in a forgotten corner of Germany she would meet some of the most incredible people in the world. She would not have believed you, and sometimes, even now, I still cannot quite believe it myself.
Text: Mergime Preteni
Photo: Laetitia Anais Marie
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The past month with the
Corporate Relations Committee 8/4
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PRESIDENT Lisa Fjellström, 072 322 00 33 president@lundaekonomerna.se
EEE 2016 Jesper Sundström, 076 800 40 01 general.eee@lundaekonomerna.se
CORPORATE CHALLENGE Alexandra Wiklund, 070 783 77 03 cc@lundaekonomerna.se
ÖRESUND LINKING MINDS Marit Joten, 073 788 68 54 olm@lundaekonomerna.se
VICE PRESIDENT Felix Blanke, 072 322 00 44 v.president@lundaekonomerna.se
CASE ACADEMY caseacademy@lundaekonomerna.se
NÅDIGA LUNDTAN Philip Wrangberg, 073 593 69 45 lundtan@lundaekonomerna.se
THE MASTER PROJECT Max Bengtsson, 070 291 01 65 masterproject@lundaekonomerna.se
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE Isac Winell, 070 532 92 62 intu@lundaekonomerna.se
LIGHT Marte Erland, 070 461 97 87 light@lundaekonomerna.se
TREASURER Victor Håkansson, 072 322 00 55 treasurer@lundaekonomerna.se HEAD OF CORPORATE RELATIONS Sofie Andersson, 072 322 00 66 corp.rel@lundaekonomerna.se HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS Linus Classon, 072 322 00 77 communications@lundaekonomerna.se HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Helena Dolfe, 073 089 63 64 international@lundaekonomerna.se HEAD OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS Marcus B. Lindström, 070 514 74 29 social@lundaekonomerna.se HEAD OF INTERNAL RELATIONS Lovisa Ektander, 076 163 73 66 int.rel@lundaekonomerna.se HEAD OF ALUMNI Axel Walin, 073 328 59 78 alumni@lundaekonomerna.se
THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE Emmy Larsson, 073 546 89 44 uu@lundaekonomerna.se THE CORPORATE RELATIONS COMMITTEE Daniel Granath, 072 301 02 03 nlu@lundaekonomerna.se THE IT-PROJECT Robert Bärlin, 076 839 52 07 itp@lundaekonomerna.se THE SOCIAL COMMITTEE Malin Mörk su@lundaekonomerna.se KPMG INTERNATIONAL CASE COMPETITION Jennifer JönssonW, 073 066 00 28 case@lundaekonomerna.se
VINTERBALEN Linnéa Noelli, 072 887 85 96 vinterbalen@lundaekonomerna.se LUND INTERNATIONAL WEEK Stina Schmiedel, 076 314 53 45 liw@lundaekonomerna.se SAMDAY Simon Liljestrand, 072 207 78 74 samday@lundaekonomerna.nu THE MARKETING GROUP Emelie Jönsson, 070 794 45 26 mfg@lundaekonomerna.se
THE NOVICE COMMITTEE Fredrik Signäs, 073 813 17 13 novischeriet@lundaekonomerna.se
SEXMÄSTERIET Charlie Widenfors, 076 854 21 36 sexm@lundaekonomerna.se
LUND ECONOMICS STOCKHOLM TOUR Martina Huzell lest@lundaekonomerna.se
LUND EUROPEAN BUSINESS TOUR Nicole Johansson, 073 983 26 92 lebt@lundaekonomerna.se
SALES TEAM Robin Malmsten, 073 089 14 77 st@lundaekonomerna.se WILMA Rebecca Johansson, 073 204 40 01 president.wilma@lundaekonomerna.se ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMITTEE Peter Bidewell, 076 794 71 49 entrepreneurship@lundaekonomerna.se GENERAL COUNCIL Julius Kvissberg speaker@lundaekonomerna.se NOMINATIONS COMITTEE Martin Bjarnemar, 070 146 76 24 nominations@lundaekonomerna.se
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annons.lundtan@lundaekonomerna.se
Nådiga Lundtan | 30
I am sitting on the train on my way to the 50-year anniversary of Föreningen Ekonomerna at Stockholm Business School. Föreningen Ekonomerna is one of LundaEkonomerna’s friend-associations which of whom we have an important exchange with. LundaEkonomerna is part of a network called U9. It consists of the nine largest student unions and associations around Sweden, all for business and economics students. We meet up four times per year and share knowledge and experiences from our own organizations and faculties. The network and the unity it creates between our organizations is very important not only for our own associations but also for the development of the business and economics education at Swedish universities.
President Lisa Fjellström
As I am writing my last chronicle, I cannot help but to look back on the year that has passed (way quicker than expected…). A look back for me quickly becomes a somewhat condensed view of what LundaEkonomerna is for me. I have been an active member since my 3rd day in Lund and I do not regret one bit. The one thing that really has been more evident than anything else are the friendships I have built through LundaEkonomerna.
The saying goes ensam är stark. However, I do not always think that is the case. To achieve more we need to take
a look around and see how we can help each other out. One of the most important things I will bring with me from the past year as President of LundaEkonomerna are my weaknesses. During the year I have found myself in many situations where I have not had a clue on what to do. From this I have learnt a lot, mainly about my own reactions, my behaviour, and myself. This is something I will take advantage of for the rest of my life. My weaknesses will always follow me but what I can do is to continuously keep working on them and especially make sure I surround myself with others that complement me and can make up for my weaknesses. This year I have been surrounded by nearly 300 active LundaEkonomer that together have developed our student union and created things we have never done before. It has been an amazing year and I want to thank each and everyone of you. Thank you for this year!
me and everyone else around, and even though I wanted to challenge myself by leading a big career fair, it has been the unity that I have felt that has made me stay and wanting more and more from LundaEkonomerna. Working as a full timer this year has given me the luxury of experiencing many friendships and also see them form between our members.
So looking back, I started to think about what really built these kind of relationships that I find wherever I look around Skånis. It is not like you do not meet people in other situations in Lund, right? But just as the theme is for this number, I think unity is a strong part of creating these bonds.
Time goes by so quickly and in one year I will be close to graduation (again, way quicker than expected…). For whatever my future holds, the one thing that I am hoping for is not a high salary or a prestigious title but to feel the same unity as I do now. I really do believe that together, man can move mountains and I am willing to bet that LundaEkonomerna could at least move S:t Hans Backar to Parentesen.
Even though I am interested in creating the best possible education for
Thank you for this year LundaEkonomer, I will see you in the future!
Vice President Felix Blanke
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