sweden.png

The Swedish Institute has released a promotional video that will definitely leave you yearning for a Swedish study experience!

Released in November last year, the film is aimed at ambitious 20-25 year olds looking to study abroad, and has already reached more than 700,000 on platforms such as Youtube, Facebook and Vimeo.

Douglas Washburn, Project Manager at Study in Sweden, told The PIE News that Sweden’s foreign student enrolments have suffered since the introduction of tuition fees for non-EU students in 2011, but claims that efforts to promote the country as a desirable study destination have seen these numbers slowly rise.

“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,” he said.

The A-Z of Studying in Sweden was put together using the opinions of real international students studying in the country. The Swedish Institute’s aim was for the video to be used to promote the region at presentations and student fairs.

“At the moment we have around 30,000 international students,” said Washburn. “This number includes approximately 3,000-4,000 fee-paying students from outside the EU/EEA.”

Washburn pointed out that unlike international competitors such as the UK, which has seen foreign student numbers drop due to harsh restrictions on student working visas, international students can remain in Sweden for up to six months to try and find a job after they graduate. If their search is successful, they can then apply for a work permit to remain in the country and build on their career.

Another positive asset is the SEK190m (US$22m) scholarship fund set up by the government to reward students from outside the EU.

“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,” added Washburn.

As for us, we’ll see you later…we’re packing up and heading straight for Sweden!

Additional reporting by The PIE News.

Image via Study in Sweden.

Liked this? Then you’ll love these…

Is this the coolest Math teacher in America?

VIRAL: Barber promises 9-year-old free haircuts for life if he gets straight A’s