PROGRAMME

The Global Swede Ceremony, 12 May 2014

11.00 The ceremony commences. Introduction by Political Advisor Mr Andreas Hatzigeorgiou.

11.05 The Swedish Minister for Trade, Dr Ewa Björling, addresses the guests.

11.15 The Director-General of the Swedish Institute, Ms Annika Rembe, addresses the guests.

11.25 Presentation of the Kosmopolit project by Andreas Hatzigeorgiou.

11.30 Acting Head at Unit for Research Cooperation at Sida, Adjunct professor Hannah Akuffo, addresses the nomi nated students.

11.40 Diploma ceremony. Representatives from each university present the nomination for their student. The nominated students receive their diplomas from the Minister for Trade, Dr Ewa Björling.

12.30 Swedish lunch buffet.

14.00 The ceremony ends.

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The Swedish Institute (SI) is a government agency that promotes interest and confidence in Sweden around the world. Attracting foreign talent is one of our key objectives.

The Global Swede initiative is one of SI’s ways of staying in contact with former international students and researchers who have studied in Sweden. For us, it is one of our most important methods of building relationships and creating platforms for a global exchange of experiences.

Annika RembeDirector-GeneralThe Swedish Institute

Global Swede Ceremony 2014

Honoured guests,

Today we express our gratitude to a nominated group of visiting scholars for having distinguished themselves in areas related to innovation and entrepreneurship and for having chosen Sweden as their destination for higher studies.

In a globalised world, strong ties and fruitful relations across national borders are vital to our collective welfare. Global Swede is our way of encouraging these students to act as ambassadors and to promote a positive image of Sweden, wherever their endeavours may take them in the future.

Ewa BjörlingMinister for TradeMinistry for Foreign Affairs

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Zhibek Abdyramanova

University of Borås

Zhibek Abdyramanova arrived at the University of Borås in September 2013 as an Erasmus Mundus doctoral student, and has developed her research topic there: strategies for development of the textile industry, taking into account both Swedish and Kyrgyz experience. Zhibek is ambitious and skilful, and shows great initiative and enthusiasm in both collaborative and independent work. Her interest in the Swedish culture, language and education is apparent and will be an asset in the future.

Eric Ast

KTH – Royal Institute of Technology

Eric is one of our top students. Good study results and keen on helping out with everything from being our ambassador at Master’s fairs to partici-pating in course and programme development. Eric has a high level of social competence and has shown great interest in all courses, excellent know-ledge and high ambitions. Together with another student, he was presented an award by the Estonian Green Building Council for their scale model, presented at the exhibition ‘Energy efficiency strategies for buildings and urban areas’. Eric was selected for, and participated in, a role play about the climate convention held by the United States Embassy in Stockholm.

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Felix Atuahene

Malmö University

Felix Atuahene is a Master’s student in Sustainable Urban Management at Malmö University. This interdisciplinary field of study encompasses several different perspectives, ranging from the very physical aspects of city development to its social and cultural consequences. Felix has proven himself to be an intellectually gifted and highly motivated student. Having come to Sweden from Ghana, being totally new to the social environment and to university studies in Sweden, he has managed so well in finding his place – in the student group, at the university and in Swedish society – that naming him a Global Swede seems only natural. Crucial in this respect has not only been his academic resourcefulness but also the fact that he is a very likeable person. After having concluded his Master’s studies, Felix Atuahene is planning to return to Ghana to promote sustainable development in his home country and its cities.

Jie Cao

Uppsala University

Jie Cao is an extraordinary top student. His major is in the field of chemistry for renewable energy and he has been awarded an Anders Wall scholar-ship. He has been a student ambassador for UU to the University of Beijing, and in his Master’s thesis – which was already presented in his third term – he suggested how the time span of an important production phase at Sandvik could be reduced by 47 per cent. Jie sees his future in a Swedish com-pany and, after conducting an interview with Jie in Swedish, a major company expressed great interest. Jie is a truly Global Swede.

Yu-Ching Chiang

Konstfack – University College of Arts, Crafts and Design

We are very happy to have Yu-Ching Chiang in the Industrial Design programme at Konstfack. He contributes by being active, creative and providing serious reflection on the work of other students. Yu-Ching also creates bridges with students at other departments. He is currently working on his degree project together with a Konstfack alumni, Samir Alj Fält and his Designlab in Skärholmen. There, Yu-Ching is working with design in explora-tory ways in connection with children so as to enhance and understand their creative capacity.

Ali Reza Dossal

Umeå University

Ali Reza Dossal is from Karachi, Pakistan and currently in his final term at the Umeå University School of Architecture. Ali believes that creativity and innovation are intrinsically intertwined. Prior to coming to Sweden in August 2012, Ali volunteered and designed temporary housing shelters for the Pakistani flood victims. This experience inspired him to explore the possibility of sustainable environments and to experiment using wood and eco-friendly materials in architectural contexts. He has consistently achieved good academic results and proved to be an outstanding student with an interest in innovation and entrepreneurship. Additionally, Ali works as a teaching assistant at the Umeå University HumLab, assisting under- graduates. Umeå University is delighted to nominate Ali Reza Dossal for the Global Swede Ceremony in Stockholm on 13 May 2014.

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Ziad El-Awad

Lund University

Born and raised in Jordan, Ziad has also had the opportunity to experience higher education in Lebanon and the United Kingdom. During his studies at Lund University in Sweden, Ziad achieved exceptional academic results and also demonstrated an impressive ability to retain and apply the theoret-ical and practical knowledge within his entrepre-neurship education. Ziad has also exemplified a high level of social skills and a strong commitment to the different entrepreneurial activities that have been a part of his education. Furthermore, Ziad has demonstrated a genuine interest in learning how the Swedish business world works, while also being a driving force in matters related to internationa-lisation and links across national borders. Overall, Ziad is expected to be an exceptional Ambassador for Sweden in his homeland.

Ashish Ganvir

Högskolan Väst – University West

Ashish Ganvir is enrolled in the one-year manufac-turing engineering Master’s programme at University West. He comes from Amravati in India and did his bachelor studies in mechanical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in India. Due to his excellent academic qualifications, he was awarded a scholarship from University West covering the full tuition fee for the Master’s pro-gramme. He is one of the brightest students in the class, and is cheerful by nature.

Manju Gayathry Ganesh

University of Skövde

Manju is a student from India, enrolled in the Master’s Programme in Molecular Biology at the University of Skövde. Manju has passed all her courses so far, and is a motivated and ambitious student. She is a good ambassador for our Univer-sity and has a winning personality, which makes her appreciated among her fellow students as well as among teachers.

Galyna Kaplan

Örebro University

Apart from her strong academic record, Galyna’s often surprising drive to go beyond what is required caught our attention. We appreciate her active engagement in class and support to her fellow students. Despite the tough conditions that have existed in her home country Ukraine since 2013, she has not let that affect her studies or limit her enthusiasm. Such characteristics made her deserving of the Swedish Institute’s ‘Goodwill Ambassador of Sweden’ title, and we believe she will make us all proud in the role of Global Swede.

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Dagmar Knotova

Stockholm University

Dayna has proven to be an excellent ambassador for Stockholm University and the Master’s programme in International and Comparative Education. She is a truly global citizen; born in the Czech Republic, educated in Canada, has worked in Saudi Arabia and is now a student in Sweden. On top of being a student with excellent results and successfully assisting Stockholm University in meeting inter-national delegations, Dayna also works as an Inter-national Student Coordinator at the Stockholm University Student Union with student governance and educational issues, where she has demonstrated an innovative and creative approach.

Peiying Kuang

University of Gävle

Peiying Kuang first came to Gävle in 2012 as a Linnaeus-Palme exchange student. After her bachelor’s degree she continued on to the MBA pro-gramme. Peiying is ambitious, creative, enthusiastic, and teachers can always rely on her constructive responses. Besides business studies, she is learning the Swedish language and has integrated very well into the society. She has also interacted with Swedish companies, and after completing her studies she wants to stay and work in Sweden.

Soukaina Lamrani

Jönköping University

Soukaina Lamrani is enrolled in the last term of the Master’s programme Strategic Entrepreneur-ship, and she has concluded all of her courses with very good results. Soukaina combines intellectual capacity, outstanding motivation, an entrepreneurial mindset and ambition with great social and inter-cultural competence as well as active participation in school activities, making her a truly Global Swede and an excellent ambassador. Jönköping University is proud to nominate Soukaina as Global Swede 2014.

Hadeel Masoudi

University of Gothenburg

Hadeel Masoudi came from Jordan to Sweden and the University of Gothenburg on an Erasmus Mundus JOSYLEEM scholarship. She is currently finishing the Master’s programme in Business Creation and Entrepreneurship in Biomedicine with distinction. For instance, she played a key role in developing and commercialising an innovation project for an international medical device company. In her thesis, she designs a business strategy for Life Science companies entering the orphan drug market. She spends her spare time as a business analyst at Monocl AB, assisting Life Science companies in the commercialisation process. Hadeel has brought value to many innovators; her enthusiasm and intellect have led her to successfully take on several ground-breaking business creation projects.

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Christina A Mwakabumbe

Södertörn University

Christina Mwakabumbe, from Moshi University College of Cooperative and Business Studies in Tanzania, is an ambitious student with high academic grades. She is in her last year of Business Administra-tion with focus on Management and Accounting at her home University in Tanzania. At Södertörn University, she has shown that she is a motivated and innovative student by actively participating in discussions in which she brings up new and interest-ing perspectives and ideas, enriching the seminars. Several lecturers have recommended Christina as the Global Swede from Södertörn University since her engagement and motivation in her studies, combined with her eagerness to learn Swedish culture and share her own culture with students and teachers, makes her a good ambassador for Södertörn University as well as for Sweden.

Abhilash Ram

Chalmers University

Force and creativity are two characteristics that come to mind when thinking of Abhilash – he energises and stimulates his environment with his positive and reflective approach. Whether he is involved in language cafés, choirs, music, inter-national reception committees or any other of his initiatives, it is always with a smile and determin-ation. As a student, he is always top rank and con-tributes to the team effort of his Chalmers class. In his contribution to Chalmers international student recruitment, he is equally engaged and is a skilled ambassador for Sweden, Chalmers and global net-works – and not least for himself.

Tina Ranikj

Mälardalen University

During her year at Mälardalen University as an Erasmus Mundus student in computer science, Tina Ranikj has exhibited proof of academic excel-lence and talent. She has ample social skills and a deep commitment to her fellow students, and is a quick learner with a creative and entrepreneurial mindset. This makes her a role model for young women and men aiming at an international career. We feel confident in her ability to represent us and we are proud to call Tina Ranikj our Global Swede.

Anastacia Simonchik

Halmstad University

Anastacia Simonchik is a very ambitious and skilled student from Belarus. In June she will have been studying in the Master’s programme Innovation and Business Development at Halmstad Univer-sity for two years, and she has passed most of her courses with distinction. Her master thesis dealt with the issue “Attitude towards lean”, which she wrote together with Niklas Göthberg. The thesis was awarded second prize and SEK 25 000 in the national Master thesis context dealing with facility management.

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Ekaterina Sobakina

Linnaeus University

I am pleased to provide a reference for Kate Sobakina. My opinion is based on my professional experience with Ms Sobakina as one of my students during autumn 2013 and spring 2014 with studies in Inter-national Business Strategy. I have seen her per-formance in the classroom, on exams as well as co-writing her one-semester Master’s thesis. My impression of Ms Sobakina is that in addition to her fine personality, she possesses a very keen intellect and is dedicated to working hard on her studies, which have produced excellent results. With the experience I have of Ms Sobakina, I would give my utmost recommendation regarding her competence and performance as an excellent representative of Linnaeus University.

Dina Titkova

Karolinska Institutet

Dina Titkova is an outstanding student in the Master’s Programme of Bioentrepreneurship at Karolinska Institutet. She has excellent academic results coupled with social abilities and high ambitions. She has contributed positively to her programme throughout her studies. Her technical background and work experience combined with business knowledge and a genuine interest in the subject will help her achieve her goal, which is to improve health care through digital technology and innovation.

Marta Zdravkovic

University of Agricultural Sciences

As a Master’s student at SLU, Marta has excelled by her academic competence and creativity. During an internship at the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education in Nairobi, Marta established good relations with international organisations such as the UN, and she went on to become a co-founder of the World Agroforestry Centre Network of Young Professionals. Her MSc thesis addresses university-private sector collaboration in Africa, and her commitment will continue in the form of a joint SLU-Botswana University project.

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