English is spoken everywhere, it is the home of big brands such as IKEA and H&M, its academic culture is based on creativity and free thinking, and the country has jaw-dropping scenery: these are just some of the highlights of Sweden that are being communicated in a stylish promotional film which the Swedish Institute has produced.
Aimed at the 20-25 year old youth demographic, the film was released late last year and has already had 700,000 views on channels including Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook and Chinese social media networks.
Douglas Washburn, project manager at Study in Sweden, told The PIE News that since introducing tuition fees for students outside of the EU/EEA, fee-paying enrolment numbers in Sweden had initially dropped but were now recovering.
“The film highlights many of the things that make Sweden an attractive study destination and includes cultural quirks, cutting-edge innovations, stunning nature and of course student life,” said Washburn.
The A to Z of Studying in Sweden was filmed after referencing the opinions of real international students in Sweden, and the government agency, the Swedish Institute, hopes that it will be used by agents, at orientation sessions and during presentations at student fairs.
“At the moment we have around 30,000 international students,” related Washburn. “This number includes approximately 3,000-4,000 fee paying students from outside the EU/EEA.”
He underlined that international students can stay in Sweden for up to six months after they graduate to try to find a job: if they find a job during this time they can receive a work permit and stay in Sweden.
Additionally, the government has a fund of 190m SEK (US$22m) for scholarships for students from outside the EU.
Washburn added, “The government is also investing more money into marketing Sweden toward prospective students and to build our alumni networks with the goal of increasing their contact with Swedish companies spread around the world.”
