On 4 October we hosted an alumni reception at the Swedish Embassy in London. Many alumni gathered after work for a fruitful evening of mingling and networking. Alumni also enjoyed an inspiring talk by Professor Thomas Kalling, professor of Strategic Management and director of SITE at the School of Economics and Management (LUSEM). In his talk Innovation Research at LUSEM through Industry Collaboration, professor Kalling told us about his work with SITE, a recently formed unit reflecting the School’s commitment to research collaboration with industry within areas connected to organisational and institutional renewal, such as entrepreneurship, innovation, technology management, and strategy.
As it was Kanelbullens dag (Cinnamon Bun Day), we cleaned out a local Swedish bakery and made sure our alumni could enjoy one of Sweden’s most beloved sweet treats.
Join the Facebook Group
It was great to hear that there is such an interest in starting a local group. After our pre-event meeting we had with a few alumni, we came to the conclusion that we can get the ball rolling by starting a Facebook group for London-based alumni.
You can join the group here and start inviting fellow LU alumni in the area. It’s an open group where everyone is welcome to add members, posts, photos and events.
Chapter info
The ambition is that this is now a group you all can use to meet other alumni and plan your own activities. Perhaps after a couple events, and if there is a group of alumni who would like to form a committee, we can create an official chapter in London! Check out our website here for more information about starting a chapter.
Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or ideas for future alumni activities in London!
This week we meet Iva Cvjeticanin, alumna from the master’s programme in Economic Growth and Spatial Dynamics, class of 2013, sharing her daily life as a Design Hub coordinator at Tetra Pak in the city of Gornji Milanovac, Serbia and as an international alumni leader.
Q: You graduated with a Master’s degree in Economic Growth, Innovation and Spatial Dynamics, class of 2013. Can you tell us a bit more about what you’re working with today?
I am very happy to share my story with other alumni and students! After graduation in 2013 I came back to Serbia and found a job in Tetra Pak in my hometown. When living in Lund I passed by Tetra Pak so many times. My new employment made me so excited because I knew that in this way I am staying attached to Sweden and to Lund. I work in a department called Design Hub Europe and Central Asia. We do technical preparation of designs to be printed in our factories around the world. My role is Design Hub Coordinator and, as I like to say it, I do everything except the designs. As an economist by formal education, I deal with various reports on productivity, cost, daily and monthly realization of job volumes. I also take part in big projects that are implemented globally and support implementation of certain methodologies in our daily work. On my to-do list are also organization of soft skills training for my colleagues and yearly team building activities.
Q: What does your typical work day look like?
I can’t say that there are typical work days for my role. However, it depends on the period of the month. I am usually busiest in the beginning of the month and in the end of the year when I am dealing with all kinds of reports for previous months or quarters.
So, let me tell you a bit my day looks like in the beginning of the month (written with the assumption that during the day there were no interruptions – which is highly unlikely). My official work day starts at 8am and ends at 4pm. I usually come a bit earlier to make coffee with my colleagues, prepare everything, and then we are all ready at 8am to start working. Unless I have a very urgent task, I start my day with reading e-mails and setting priorities for that day. At 9am we have a regular morning meeting where we analyze the performance of the previous day and discuss hot topics. Then, until lunch I have an undisrupted time that I use for data collections from different sources and platforms. Around noon, together with my colleagues, I go for a lunch where we try not to talk about work topics. We try to use this time to relax, tell funny stories and vacation adventures etc. When I’m back in the office I usually have (at least) one more meeting regarding an ongoing project and before I go home I use the data I obtained to start creating the reports.
“Last year team building with my work”
Q: Has your Lund University education been beneficial in your work? In what ways?
I would say that my education together with living in Sweden was an invaluable experience that helped me in many ways in my further career and I, would dare to say, my everyday life. First, education at Lund University helped me develop critical thinking. Now, I have a habit of questioning conventional thinking as well as questioning “doing things a certain way because we’ve been always doing them like that”. That is not good enough and calls for a change. In addition, the independent research we were conducting enabled me to manage a great number of different data in a limited time and make good analysis of it. Also, Lund University encouraged brainstorming and group problem solving sessions, which is a very useful skill when you work in a big team.
Also, living in an international environment makes you very open, tolerant and understanding to other cultures and any kind of diversities. This is especially important when working in an international company and cooperating with people from many different countries.
Q: You recently visited Stockholm for the Swedish Institute Alumni Leaders Meeting with alumni who have studied in Sweden, from all around the world. We are keen to hear about your experiences; what are your top 3 takeaways from the meeting?
Yes, I have attended the Swedish Institute Alumni Leaders Meeting and I am very grateful to the Swedish Institute for giving me this opportunity! I was representing Swedish Alumni Network Western Balkans (SANWB) which is a regional network for alumni from Balkan area. The organization was flawless and we fully enjoyed a very fruitful few days! Let me summarize my experience in 3 important points.
First, it was so inspiring to meet the alumni from all over the world! We were around 26 alumni from 24 different countries. During the days we spent together we shared experiences, brainstormed, made future plans and helped each other out with advice. It was a great feeling to see that no matter how different we seem from the outside, we have many things in common. We are all devoted to our alumni networks and we are trying to keep the Swedish spirit alive in our own countries (e.g. the majority of networks organize Kanelbullens dag in their countries in October). We all came back from Sweden with tremendous amount of memories and now we are making efforts to share all good things and habits we learned in Sweden.
Network for Future Global Leaders – Alumni conference in Stockholm 2018
Second, we had an opportunity to meet students and attend the diploma ceremony at the City Hall. It was very exciting to see all these students proud of themselves for finishing such an important chapter of their lives. They came to talk to us, asking numerous questions of what they can expect next, how does a life after Sweden look like, how to fit in the life of their home countries, how to live without “fika”… For us, it was like a travel in a time capsule. We were all remembering the time when we were in their shoes – happy, confused and optimistic about the future.
Third, I had to point out this lucky occasion, and I guess everybody who lived in Sweden will understand – the amazing weather we had in Stockholm! I landed on 27 degrees at 8pm in Stockholm and there are not enough words to express my happiness. ? During our stay we had an abundance of sunshine and I believe we all fell in love in Stockholm (again).
Q: If you could plan an ultimate vacation, where would you go?
There are many places on my travel bucket list, but if it were an ultimate vacation you would probably find me trekking through Latin America. ?
Lund University alumni based in New York City had the opportunity to mingle at the Official Swedish Residence on Park Avenue, as part of a special reception co-hosted by Mr. Leif Pagrotsky, Consul General of Sweden in New York, and several Swedish universities.
Catarina Dolsten (Medical Degree and BSc Business Administration and Economics; Lund University Foundation Advisory Board member) and Mikael Dolsten (PhD Medicine)
The Swedish universities were in the Big Apple as part of a marketing and recruitment visit, with the goal to attract more US students to study in Sweden. The Swedish universities were attending graduate fairs, hosting an information event and meeting with the Consulate General of Sweden in NYC and Swedish American Chamber of Commerce NYC to discuss opportunities to raise awareness for Sweden’s extensive range of degree programmes taught in English.
The alumni networking event was an ideal opportunity to re-connect with graduates and gain their feedback about their own study experience while also sharing ideas to reach out to prospective students in the US. It was a most enjoyable and lively evening with Swedish and international alumni sharing their memories and swapping contact details as they networked at the beautiful residence building.
Marc Gorrie,MSc International Human Rights Law (left) and Megan Grindlay, Lund University International Marketing Manager (right).
Lund University recruits students from all over the world to a range of 8 Bachelors and 100 Master’s programmes taught in English. The US is one of Lund’s top non-EU recruitment markets and we are regularly visiting the US to meet prospective applicants. You find our latest US and world tour schedule here – please feel welcome to help us spread the word that Lund University is currently on tour, or perhaps you might even suggest a visit to Sweden to attend the Lund University Graduate Fair on 22 November (Thanksgiving weekend)!
On 13 September Lund University alumni gathered in Malmö for an After Work about “Sustainable Lifestyles”. We took the opportunity to ask some of our alumni how they try to live sustainably.
Name: Anna Studies: Law, 2017 What do you do to live a sustainable life? 1. I try to repair broken things instead of throwing them away. 2. I don’t buy plastic bags. 3. I try to avoid dairy products (since I can’t say no to cheese and the occasional burger).
Name: Allisa Studies: Media and Communications, 2017 What do you do to live a sustainable life? 1. Meal planning for the week so I buy the right amount of food. 2. Reduce plastic use. 3. Eat less meat.
Name: Jian Studies: Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science, 2014 What do you do to live a sustainable life? 1. I don’t have a car. I usually use public transportation and if I need a car I use a car sharing service. 2. I only buy second hand clothes to my children. 3. Eat less meat.
Name: Amanda Studies: Lund University employee, Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science What do you do to live a sustainable life? 1. I try to avoid the big impact things, like flying. 2. I don’t have a car. 3. Eat vegetarian.
Name: Andrei Studies: Logistics, Service Management, 2015 What do you do to live a sustainable life? 1. I take the bike to work. 2. Use public transportation. 3. I try to limit my purchases, for example reducing the consumption of clothes.
Name: Robert Studies: Bachelor of science in statistics, Bachelor of science in business and administration, as well as Masters of Science in Finance, 2015 What do you do to live a sustainable life? 1. During the summer-time, I always bike. 2. I use cotton bags when shopping and energy-saving lights. 3. I also make sure that I turn off the lights when leaving a room. 4. I never throw away my old clothes, but give them to charity instead. Before I give away the clothes, I always make sure to repair them.
Name: Georgia Studies: Masters in Asian Studies. 2018 What do you do to live a sustainable life? 1. I bike a lot. 2. I have also consciously made the decision to eat less meat. 3. Making use of reusable mugs, cotton bags when shopping, and trying not to consume too much, are other things I do to live a sustainable lifestyle.
Name: Louise Studies: Bachelors in Contemporary Swedish, Literature, Contemporary English and Media and Communications Studies What do you do to live a sustainable life? 1. I actively take the train. A great adventure tip is to go interrailing in Europe as an adult; it is easy, fun and very rewarding. 2. I do not own a car, I never have, but for me this has never been a sacrifice. There are adequate car sharing alternatives. 3, Currently, I am studying to become a Sustainability Specialist. This has lead me to wonder how one should approach the subject of sustainable living to other people, without being perceived as ‘preachy’ and pretentious. Because it is not about being perfect, it is about tweaking your own behaviour to gradually become more aligned with the planetary boundaries that we all have to live within.
This week we meet Melanie Hetzer and Josef Moser, alumni from the MSc in Entrepreneurship, class of 2016. They share their story on pursuing their entrepreneurial dream by creating their mobile app Cora which gives support to people suffering from hypertension.
Q: You studied the master’s degree programme in Entrepreneurship in 2015-2016. What have you been up to since your graduation?
The first thing we actually did after graduating was travelling through Sweden and enjoying Swedish summer. Coming back, we followed our dream of becoming entrepreneurs and founded our health plattform Cora Health.
Q: You are the founders of Cora Health, a mHealth app dedicated to support people in their lives with hypertension. Can you tell us more about the app and your business?
Cora Health is a health platform in the field of hypertension. As a matter of fact, one in four adults in Europe is affected by the condition and an overwhelming number of those have developed hypertension as a result of an a unhealthy lifestyle. Cora Health is a connected health platform, offering blood pressure patients the information and guidance necessary to adopt heart-healthy changes in their lifestyle. Featuring an app, health guide, and newsletter, our platform helps patients to better understand their condition and supports them to take action and improve their heart health by starting a healthier life.
Q: What do you find are the major challenges for app businesses?
Nowadays, the mobile app business is a very tough business environment. Millions of apps compete for the attention of their users. If you want to be successful in the App Stores, you need to have a great and engaging product and a marketing strategy that goes beyond the App Store. We are lucky to be able to draw from years of experience in the field, but the high competition is indeed a challenge that is often underrated or even overlooked by entrepreneurs in the space.
Q: What does a typical work day as an entrepreneur look like for you?
As an entrepreneur you have a very diversified work day which means that every day can be quite different. While this is challenging, it is also very rewarding as you are able to learn and improve your skills in many different fields. Our regular tasks include everything from product development, to marketing, to people management.
The CoraHealth team
Q: What do you think is the biggest difference between being employed and running your own business?
For us, running our own business means freedom. As a bootstrapped startup, we are only accountable to ourselves which gives us the opportunity to try out just about anything. Nonetheless, this self-responsibility can also be a burden: as an entrepreneur your work simply is not over after you head home from the office. You will have many evenings full of thoughts and work and also sleepless nights.
Q: Has your Lund University education been beneficial in your work? In what ways?
Having graduated from the MSc in Entrepreneurship has helped us a lot in developing our business. First and foremost, our studies and especially the business project and internship we conducted in our second term has helped us develop the mindset required to living the rollercoaster life of an entrepreneur. Furthermore, we gained lots of knowledge and methodical skills that help us in our daily lives.
Q: If you could envision the future, where do you see yourself and your business in five years’ time?
Our goal is to become the go-to connected health platform for hypertension patients in Europe. We want help as many people as possible – pursuing this dream is what gets us up in the morning.
Back in business again after the long hot summer holidays here in Sweden! We are kicking off the autumn semester by finalising plans for a busy event calendar for all our alumni, both Skåne-based and around the world.
Here are the events planned (so far):
In Lund
13 September: Alumni After Work in Malmö with the theme “A sustainable lifestyle” (FULLY BOOKED)
11 October: Family afternoon at the Physics and Laser Show at Fysicum
12 November: Seminar “Turn your global experience into a professional asset”
13 December: Our amazing Lucia breakfast in the University main building
International events
13 September: Alumni evening at the Swedish residence in New York. In cooperation with other Swedish universities, at the Swedish residence. (FULLY BOOKED)
4 October: London Alumni Reception
9 October: Tokyo Alumni Reception in connection to the MIRAI conference
17 October: Alumni Reception in Den Haag with other LERU universities.
24 October: Joint alumni event in Shanghai with other Swedish universities
7 November: Berlin Alumni meet-up
Meet us in New York, London, Tokyo, The Hague, Shanghai and Berlin this autumn!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the Alumni Office at info@alumni.lu.se.
Gordon Lindeen attended our alumni event in Denver last spring and reconnected with Lund University. He is a shareholder at Hall Estill Attorneys at Law in Denver, Colorado. We have asked him a few questions about what he has been up to since his exchange studies at Lund University in the 1980s.
Q: What do you work with today? What does a typical day in the office look like?
My name is Gordon Lindeen and I have been a practicing intellectual property attorney since 1987. From June 1982 to June 1983 I studied in Sweden as a part of the University of California Education Abroad Program. Over the years, I have been involved in almost every aspect of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secrets law: acquisition, licensing, sale, evaluation, and enforcement. Lately, most of my work has been obtaining patents for major companies in the electronics, communications, and semiconductor fields. Every few days, I will have a conversation for an hour or two with a group of innovators about the group’s most recent new invention. I will then spend a few days preparing a patent application, confer again with the group to make sure that it is right and then submit that to an appropriate national or regional government patent office. I will also work with in-house counsel at the group’s company to make sure the company is getting the patents that it wants. Patent prosecution work is always new and exciting to me because I work with creative people and with their new ideas. It is also easy to keep a positive outlook because the inventors are excited to explain their invention.
On other days I will receive correspondence from those patent offices about earlier patent applications and why they may be rejected or allowed. This work requires an extensive comparison of the invention with what came before and the careful drafting and redrafting of claims that attempt to express the new invention in words. I work with patent attorneys and patent examiners in this and other countries to prepare these claims and explain these claims in a way that is convincing to the respective examiners.
Another aspect of this work is working with company management and engineers to determine a strategy for what should be patented and which patents should be sold, purchased or licensed. These are long term strategy discussions and decisions and it takes many years to see results. The enforcement side can be very different. In my view, the excitement and drama of litigation and adversarial negotiations around the globe is canceled out by the many quiet hours of analysis and preparation that go into any multi-million dollar decision regarding complex technology.
Q: As a patent attorney, what have been some of the unexpected challenges associated with the job? Any advice for students and young alumni thinking about following this career path?
This is a job that requires a great amount of careful study and careful thought. It is also a job where most of what you write is placed into a permanent record and might be used against the patent 10 or 15 years later in a dispute. Putting so much care into each word is not for everyone. In that way, the work is not for everyone, but it can be extremely satisfying for the right person. Another side of this work is becoming a patent examiner at a national patent office or at the European Patent Office. A great many patent examiners quit after a year or two but the ones who stay tend to enjoy their work.
One of my early surprises was how much patent trials are not like television courtroom dramas. Because so much is at stake, most cases are settled before they ever go to trial. A patent litigator’s job is mostly study and preparation and most of the arguments are not to a jury but to lawyers for the other side. On the other hand there are more patent disputes now than ever before and this trend is not likely to change for a few years.
Student housing – Delfinen (circa 1982)
Q: We noticed on your Hall Estill profile that you have Swedish listed under Foreign Languages. Has your former time in Sweden and your Swedish language skills come in handy during your work as an attorney in the United States? If yes, how so?
As a persuasive writer and a reader, which is most of my work, becoming conversant in Swedish not only deepened my understanding of English, but also brought me new ways of looking at the same idea. While Sweden and the USA share a common cultural foundation, there are more differences than many would suppose. Some differences are superficial and some differences are fundamental. Sometimes it is hard to tell. While “fika” and “lagom” seem superficial they point to a something fundamentally different. The Swedish language is the embodiment of Swedish cultural ideas so that these differences can only be fully understood through the language. Living in Sweden and conversing in Swedish gave me intellectual insights and abilities that cannot be obtained through book study. I apply these insights in my writing and in my arguments. It allows me to make different arguments from different perspectives to make the same point. This might also be true if I had learned Russian or Vietnamese, but I see the closeness of Swedish to English as an advantage in improving my use of English.
The AF building (circa 1982)
Q: Looking back on your student days, what would you say is one of the most valuable takeaways from your exchange studies at Lund University?
The physics institute was a lovely place and a welcome refuge even in friendly Lund. The instruction was good, the classes were small, and the professors were kind and welcoming. All of my credits were recognized by the University of California and yet these undergraduate courses were not greatly different from similar courses at home. The greatest value from the year in Sweden, guided, advised, and supported by our fantastic faculty guide James Massengale from UCLA, was learning to thrive in this foreign country with these foreign people. It is a pleasant and valuable thing to travel to another place and talk to shopkeepers, taxi drivers, and others that you may meet. It is another thing to move in to student housing, join a student nation, take courses, struggle through the material in a study group, take examinations, make friends, and become part of a society for year. Not only did I gain a deep insight into Swedish culture but I also gained a deep insight into my own, including how it is perceived by those on the outside.
Faculty advisor Professor James Massengale at a midsummer celebration in Malung
Q: What is your favorite memory (or one of your favorites) from your student days in Lund?
Lund is a beautiful city from the old cathedral to the springtime delight of the fields in bloom. Lund is also as close to Berlin or Oslo as it is to Stockholm and I did travel with some fellow students. Nevertheless, my favorite memories outside the classroom are of the warmth and kindness of my fellow students whether in the basement at Wermlands Nation or dancing weekly with Lunds Studenters Folkdanslag.
On 20 August, Lund University had the pleasure to welcome over 1700 new international students to Lund on the official Arrival Day in AF Borgen. Today you meet some of the new students who arrived from near and far.
Name: Josh From: Australia Studies: Chemistry Why did you choose Lund University? “It’s a beautiful city and university. It’s bilingual, so I have the chance to learn Swedish.” Looking forward to right now: “Having a shower!”
Name: Elisa From: Italy Studies: Management Why did you choose Lund University? “I have two friends who spent last semester in Lund and they told me many beautiful things about studying here. So, I wanted to give it a try. The School of Economics and Management also offers many interesting courses within my field.” Looking forward to right now: “Actually, I’m looking for new friends. I just arrived and everything feels a little confusing. I’m looking forward to settling in and hope to enjoy my course at the School of Economics and Management.”
Name: Anna From: Finland Studies: Medicine Why did you choose Lund University? “I want to learn Swedish and Lund is a nice town.” Looking forward to right now: “To unpack my bags!”
Name: Davide From: Venezuela Studies: Computer Engineering Why did you choose Lund University? “Sweden is a great country with many opportunities. And you can find good work here.” Looking forward to right now: “I’m looking forward to meeting people! I have been in Lund for some time and it’s been a little lonely!”
Name: Mioko From: Japan (just arrived after a 21 hour long flight) Studies: Media and Communications Why did you choose Lund University? “I wanted to study abroad and improve my English. I had heard that people in Sweden speak English fluently. I had also heard a lot of good things about Lund, and that people are nice, from friends who have studied here. I’m looking forward to connecting with people and meeting a lot of international friends.” Looking forward to right now: “Making new friends and improving my English”
During the summer we will publish popular articles from the Alumni Network newsletter, Lundensaren. This week you will get some useful advice on how to have a happy start at work after the summer holidays.
Become a member of the Alumni Network here to receive Lundensaren on a regular basis.
Text: Britta Collberg
Autumn can be a time of new beginnings and happy expectations, as it is for children on their way to their first day at school. For others, it means throwing oneself back into the struggle for work and recognition with a gnawing sense of inadequacy.
“Both relationships and employment are less stable in our time. We have to try to maintain a feeling for what is important in life”, says sociologist at Lund University Bo Isenberg.
He himself recently returned to work, has held a few introductory lectures and feels satisfied with his efforts.
“I have made a difference by listening to the new students’ questions and explaining to them what sociologists do. On other days, it is not equally clear what I have achieved, and then I feel more insecure.”
He shares that feeling of insecurity with a growing number of people. Sociologists study social change and they observe that society is changing fast, becoming more complex and harder to fathom.
“Terms of employment change, companies get bought up and move. Nowadays, even large parts of the middle class live with uncertain employment and abstract or shifting work duties. People feel replaceable and lack control over their lives.”
Meanwhile, we are expected to interpret change as something positive, thereby demonstrating our flexibility and enterprising spirit.
“The picture isn’t all black and white. Of course there is much that has improved. Gender equality for example – that is a revolution that has happened, to the benefit of all parties”, says Bo Isenberg, who was recently on parental leave himself with his little daughter.
He likes to read to his daughter in the evenings, but sometimes he does check his work emails as well…
“I believe that many people feel they risk missing something if they completely shut down. It can make it more difficult for them to assert themselves at work; colleagues today are competitors to a high degree.”
“In order for change to be positive, you have to feel that you can influence it yourself, but increasing numbers of people are forced to be flexible to conditions imposed by others”, says Bo Isenberg. They don’t recognise themselves in the political rhetoric on freedom of choice. In disappointment, some turn their backs on a reality that is increasingly complex and hard to grasp, becoming drawn to simplistic solutions. Politically, we see this on both the right and the left. It is comprehensible, but dangerous. Bo Isenberg would also like to see more honest public debate about everyone not having the same chances: class, gender, ethnicity and skin colour play a role and the gaps widen.
“We can discuss freedom of choice on a philosophical level, but we cannot get away from the social factors which control and limit choice in reality. A career like Zlatan’s, with Zlatan’s social background, is not the rule but the exception.”
Reboot or flying start? What can we do to avoid losing ourselves in this frenetic rate of change?
Bo Isenberg gives advice from the heart: “Get a dog! Dogs understand what’s important in life: being close, having fun, eating … Then it also becomes easier to say ’no thanks’ to all of life’s impositions: I have to go home and take the dog for a walk”.
An academic quarter is 15 minutes long and means that you start 15 minutes after a scheduled starting time. And, just in front of the university fountain you find the time zone of the “Academic quarter”. The tradition of the academic quarter at Lund University dates back to the 1700’s when only professors could afford wearing a clock. Students and university staff had to rely on the loud church bells instead.
The meridian of the academic quarter
In January 1728 Arvid Moller, a Philosophy professor, was announced Vice-chancellor of Lund University. He experienced that his fellow co-workers and students in general suffered from bad discipline since they kept being late for meetings and lectures. Therefore, one of the first things he declared was a penalty fee for everyone who arrived 15 minutes after a scheduled appointment. The reason 15 minutes or less was the accepted tardiness, was that everyone should have time to hear the church bells, get ready and travel to their destination. As proof of this tradition, the clock bell on the University main building wall tolls both full hour and 15 minutes past.
Being a Lund alumni you will know that it takes approx. 15 minutes or less to travel pretty much anywhere (by bike) in Lund.
The original Sphinx and a lady’s head
In the Botanical Garden, you find one of the original sphinxes that graced the University main building at its opening ceremony in 1882. However, due to the lacking quality in the cement of that time, all four sphinxes had to be removed in 1959 as a safety precaution. Their replacements came in 1993 thanks to generous donations to the university.
If you would have visited the opening ceremony in 1882, you would also have seen four grand female statues by the doors of the university building. The four statues represented the four faculties of that time: Theology, Medicine, Philosophy and Law. The ladies had to be removed in 1902, however, due the bad concrete they were made of. It is also said that they were removed since people were scared when passing them late at night. Today, you can find the head of one of the statues at the Kulturen Museum.
Giant Finn in the Cathedral crypt
Most of you probably know the fairytale about how Lund Cathedral was built by Giant Finn. According to the story, the giant was infuriated (obviously!) when he found out that he was not getting paid for his hard work building the Cathedral. He ran down the Cathedral crypt, clung on to one of the pillars to tear the whole thing down. However, by this point in time the Cathedral had godly protection and Giant Finn instantly turned to stone. If you visit the Cathedral today, you will find Finn holding on to the pillars in the crypt.
If we look past the fairytale, the figure is most likely the biblical figure Simson. If you want to have a look of the giant/Simson online, click here.
The Lagom measurement
Ever wondered how much the typical Swedish expression “lagom” is? Well, head out to Sandgatan and the Paradise park, just above the AF-building. In front of Gamla Kirurgen you will find the perfect measurement and example of “lagom”. It was placed there in 1992 by Uarda-akademien.
The “Lagom” measurement
Fontänen “Fontänen”
Maybe you have passed the tall white poles at LTH, the Faculty of Engineering? This is the last memory of an art project that really didn’t go as planned. This was originally meant to be a fountain, an art piece where water would run as beautiful waterfalls between fountain pools, into the LTH pond. However, just a short time after the inauguration in 1968 the dream and the fountain fell apart when a number of the pool sections broke. Many attempts to restore and save the fountain were made. But, in the 1990’s it was decided that the most sensible decision was to remove the pools, restore the poles and leave it be. The fountain got to present its former glory one last time in 1996. Today the fountain is part of the LTH area and architecture and a piece of university history.
Since 1666 Lund University has been a place for groundbreaking research and innovation. Brilliant researchers, scientists and students have over the years produced fantastic products that help and improve conditions for people and society all around the world (and even in space!). In this blog post you find a slice of all discoveries and innovations that came out of Lund so far.
1813 | Swedish Massage and gymnastics
In 1813 Pehr Henrik Ling, a Lund University student originally from Småland, developed a system for massage and muscle stretching. Today the technique is known as Swedish or classical massage and is one of the most common forms of massage in the Western world.
1944 | The Tetrahedron – milk packaging for the modern era
The “tetrahedron” milk package was the first step towards one of the world’s most successful industrial enterprises. In 1944, laboratory assistant Erik Wallenberg came up with the idea of the package’s four-sided pyramid shape and entrepreneur Ruben Rausing patented it and launched Tetra Pak in 1951.
1953 | Medical ultrasound
Physicist Hellmuth Hertz and cardiologist Inge Edler were the first in the world to see a heart beating. Together, the two researchers had developed the first echocardiogram for ultrasound examination of the heart, a technology which would prove to be revolutionary for diagnostics.
The first successful measurement of heart activity was made on October 29, 1953 using a device borrowed from the ship construction company Kockums in Malmö. On 16 December the same year, the method was used to generate an echo-encephalogram (ultrasonic probe of the brain). Edler and Hertz published their findings in 1954.
Edler and Hertz were nominated several times for the Nobel prize, but had to make do with the next best thing – the American Lasker award.
Asthma medicine (1966) and the inhalator for asthma medicine (1987)
Chemists Leif Svensson, Henry Persson and Kjell Wetterlin at the medical drugs company of the time, Draco, invented the asthma drug Bricanyl in 1966. The drug widens the respiratory passages and facilitates breathing by counteracting muscle cramps in the respiratory tract.
Chemist Kjell Wetterlin and his colleagues at Draco developed the Turbohaler – an inhalator for the dosage and inhalation of asthma medicine in 1987. The product revolutionised asthma medication and currently helps tens of millions of people the world over to control their illness.
1994 | Bluetooth
In a project initiated by Ericsson Mobile, a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances is developed thereby opening a whole new world for the electronics sector. The technology was introduced onto the market in 1998 and was called Bluetooth after Viking chief Harald Blåtand (Harold Bluetooth). Currently, millions of new Bluetooth products are shipped every day.
2005 | The Invisible cycling helmet
The Hövding cycling helmet is the result of Engineering students Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin’s joint degree project. The invisible cycling helmet – which can be compared to an inflatable airbag – rapidly earned worldwide attention, in part for winning the prestigious European Index Award for design.
The Hövding – the invisible bicycle helmet Photo by Hannes Söderlund/imagebank.sweden.se
2012 | The world ’s most water -efficient shower
Industrial designer Mehrdad Mahdjoubi’s degree project resulted in a shower that reduces water consumption by 90 percent. The shower, which was originally a solution for how to conserve water during a NASA space programme, became the start of the company Orbital Systems.
Source: Click here to reach the website about innovations from Lund.
Want to learn more about how Lund University works with innovation and the link between academia and business? Visit LU Innovation here.
A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. MOOC’s provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills and advance your career. Lund University offers a variety of exciting MOOC’s, focusing on business, law and sustainability. The list below is organised after the courses’ starting date. Have a look and take the opportunity to expand your knowledge of the world this summer!
Digital Business Models
Digital business models are disrupting 50-year old companies in telecommunications, transportation, advertising, e-commerce, automotive, insurance and many other industries. This course will explore how software developers are not just the innovators but also the decision makers in modern competitive battles from mobile to cloud, and from consumer goods to enterprise software. This course is offered by the School of Economics and Management at Lund University. Start date: 9 July Click here for course registration.
European Business Law (course 2, see below for 1 and 3): Doing Business in Europe
This course discusses strategic and financial considerations within Company law, as well as Labour law issues such as restructuring enterprises, working conditions and handling crises situations. The course also examines other legal areas such as Tax law, Environmental law and Private International law, and how they tie in to doing business in Europe. This course is offered by the Faculty of Law at Lund University. Start date: 9 July Click here for course registration.
European Business Law (course 1): Understanding the Fundamentals
In this first course we will examine the core structures and principles of the European Union as well as the main sources of law. This course is offered by the Faculty of Law at Lund University. Start date: 23 July Click here for course registration.
European Business Law (course 3): Competing in Europe
This course discusses how to compete on the internal market and protect your brand, product or invention. It includes legal disciplines such as Intellectual Property law (IP law), Competition law and specific branches within Public law, such as public procurement and state aid. This course is offered by the Faculty of Law at Lund University. Start date: 23 July Click here for course registration.
Writing in English at University
Acquiring good writing skills is essential for your success both at university and in your professional life. The course covers different aspects of academic writing, such as how to structure your text and how to convey your argument, as well as how to use sources and how to edit your text. Start date: 23 July Click here for course registration.
Academic writing (course offered in Swedish)
Do you know a bit of Swedish and would like to improve your academic writing? You may be able to take the Swedish-taught MOOC “Akademiskt skrivande”. Start date: 23 July Click here for course registration.
Greening the Economy: Lessons and Experiences from Scandinavia
How do we live a good life on one planet with over seven billion people? This course addresses this question by looking into how individual choices, business strategies, sustainable cities and national policies can promote a greener economy. This course is offered by the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University. Start date: 13 August Click here for course registration.
Greening the Economy: Sustainable Cities
How can we shape urban development towards sustainable and prosperous futures? This course will explore sustainable cities as engines for greening the economy. This course is offered by the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University. Start date: 13 August Click here for course registration.
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Most of you probably know the fairytale about how Lund Cathedral was built by Giant Finn. According to the story, the giant was infuriated (obviously!) when he found out that he was not getting paid for his hard work building the Cathedral. He ran down the Cathedral crypt, clung on to one of the pillars to tear the whole thing down. However, by this point in time the Cathedral had godly protection and Giant Finn instantly turned to stone. If you visit the Cathedral today, you will find Finn holding on to the pillars in the crypt.
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