Leadership and Management in International Contexts, Master Programme

Student testimonials 

"I have improved my team skills"

Hello future leaders, my name is Elisabeth. I come from Austria and I am about to finish the master's programme 'Leadership and Management in an International Context' at the LNU University in Kalmar.

Last year I completed my undergraduate studies in Tourism and Leisure Management and I felt that I am not quite done with my academic education. So I started to search the internet for options and also talked to friends for advice. It was clear for me that I wanted to experience life in a Scandinavian country, because I have met so many nice people from there and also heard so many good things about the high quality of their education system. In the end, I decided to go to Kalmar, a rather small city in the south of Sweden I have never heard before. Looking back at my time here, it was a good decision.

The programme is characterized by many nationalities and room for self studies and personal development. While working on team project with friends from all around the world I learnt a lot about how to handle cultural differences and could greatly improve my own team skills.

The city of Kalmar offers almost all that you need as a student. There are shopping facilities, restaurants, pubs and clubs (most of them offering student specials on Wednesdays and Saturdays), and also a big variety of sport facilities (if you are interested in team sports like football or volleyball there is an organisation called FIKS, which organises this kind of sports for students, there are different activities each day of the week). All of the hot spots for students are within walking distance, but many also cycle, which is a lot of fun.

The university takes great care of their international students and makes it very easy to feel welcome. During the welcome week in the beginning the student's organization organized many fun activities where you got to know the other students. Throughout this year we formed a great community in our programme and we do many free time activities like cooking, bbq, bowling,... together.

Interviews with alumni

"When you are surrounded by supportive people..."

This is Karen from Shanghai, China. I got my bachelor degree in economics one year ago and I will get my master degree in leadership, soon in June. Now I am working on my thesis with my partner Isabel and after that, I will try every possible way to stay longer in Sweden since it is such a nice country with such nice people!

There are so many stories to tell about this year in Leadership program. The most impressive part and also my favorite part is to find those amazing supportive people here. I've never had such a great experience that when you need help, there is always somebody there ready to help.

The staff in university are always ready to support From accommodation to study, I get numerous supports from the staff working in our university. I enjoy free Swedish courses, free lectures in another campus of our university Växjö, book reservation service, and millions of help. One story I want to share is that once I used to lose my glasses in library and five days later when I reminded of that, I asked for help from the reception desk. The next morning I received a call telling me that they found it for me! What a surprise!

The professors and teachers are always ready to support I have no idea how the relationship between professors and students in other countries could be but here, we are friends. We never call Philippe "Dr. Prof. Daudi" although he has Phd degree and he is a professor. I have a lot of disturbing things to bother our professors and they never said "Nej". I ask feedback from them, seek advice for my study, and also discuss my future with them. They are most trusted people and never too busy to give a hand.

The lovely classmates are always ready to support Basically except toothbrush and boyfriend (or girlfriend), we share everything. Anytime when you get a problem, don't forget you are not alone. We have lots of teamwork to do this year and we benefit a lot from each other. After school, we are close friends and always play together, movie night, bowling games, barbeques, international dinners and endless parties! It is so nice to check my email account in the morning and find one saying that "since you are doing the thesis about female entrepreneurship, I think this article is gonna help you!"

Even the "strangers" are willing to support! This is a surprising part. Before we conducted our thesis interviews, we wrote a few emails to some female entrepreneurs from the list of "101 most talented Swedish young people in 2010"in the Veckan magazine and we did not expect much since "celebrities" are not accessible at least in my country. But we received several positive replies and they gave us more contacts. With these more contacts, we are getting more and more female entrepreneurs to work with, like snowball rolling. Now the problem for us is that we could not do all the interviews since the time limit!

The city of Kalmar is situated on the southeast coast of Sweden. Kalmar is a beautiful city with 65,000 inhabitants and a long history dating back to the Middle Ages, with many cosy neighbourhoods and great charm. The lush green areas surrounding Kalmar Castle and the city park are many students' favourite.

The proximity to the ocean and the island of Öland has left its mark on the city and there are many long pedestrian paths along the coast. It is never far to anything in Kalmar and most places can be reached in just 5-10 minutes' walk – the university, the ocean, the gym, or the city centre, Kvarnholmen.

In Kalmar the university buildings and student accommodations are spread throughout the town and are well integrated with the historical surroundings – making students feel part of the town.