Organisers

The University of Kalmar

The University of Kalmar offers a number of areas of study and research that directly relate to its location on the shore of the Baltic Sea and the Kalmar region. The proximity to neighbors around the Baltic Sea has given rise to intimate collaboration in a number of areas. The Baltic Sea region, currently one of the world’s most expansive economic regions, is of focal importance to Sweden. The University of Kalmar's Baltic Business School has unique programs in service- and recreation-based sectors like tourism, music and event management, trade and international business.
The training offered at our School of Design is another example of programs that have been developed in close collaboration with the region’s design-based enterprises and, not least, its world-renowned glass industry. The Maritime Academy has trained ship’s officers since 1842. Today, it trains sea captains, marine engineers and machinists in technologically advanced facilities on the Kalmar Sound.

The School of Pure & Applied Natural Sciences at the University of Kalmar is recognized for excellence in teaching and research across the Natural Sciences and in cognate disciplines. The School has a particular focus on Biomedicine, Bioscience and Biotechnology, which is reflected in our undergraduate degree programs in areas such as Environmental Science and Technology, Optometry and Pharmacy. At the advanced level we offer a series of research oriented Master’s Degree programs which are strongly tied to our various research profiles and which can provide a basis for work in industry or for future studies towards a PhD. The School has a broad spectrum of high impact research activities and is organized around a series of Research Centers. The Kalmar harbor is the site of a state-of-the-art marine biological laboratory. Our researchers are extensively engaged in international and national collaborative endeavors, and our PhD training programs currently involve around 100 students.

The Linnaeus University

On 1 January 2010, Växjö University and the University of Kalmar will merge to form Linnaeus University. This new university is the product of a will to improve the quality, enhance the appeal and boost the development potential of teaching and research, at the same time as it plays a prominent role in working closely together with local society. Linnaeus University offers an attractive knowledge environment characterized by high quality and a competitive portfolio of skills.
Linnaeus University will be a modern, international university with the emphasis on the desire for knowledge, creative thinking and practical innovations. For us, the focus is on proximity to our students, but also on the world surrounding us and on the future ahead.
A modern university
The underlying rationale for the merger between the University of Kalmar and Växjö University is the ambition to create a university where the focus is fixed firmly on quality and competitiveness. Linnaeus University will be:
• a fully integrated, dual-campus university
• an active initiator of stronger research
• bigger, more visible and more influential
• a driving force behind new forms of collaboration and coproduction with the local communities which it serves

Linnaeus University will have approximately:
• 25,000 students
• 15,000 full-time equivalents
• 2,000 members of staff
• a budget of SEK 1,500 million, with SEK 350 million earmarked for research and postgraduate studies