A long period of active work has yielded results. In Kalmar, the availability of student accommodation is good, the environment is welcoming for students and a good supply of skills means that many want to stay in the city. That is why Kalmar is the student city of the year 2023.
The Student City of the Year award is awarded by the Swedish National Union of Students (SFS). The award is given to the city that excelled in its work to create a good study and living environment for students during the past year.
The municipality of Kalmar, the Linnaeus Corps and Linnaeus University jointly received the award during an award ceremony on Monday. SFS vice chairman Jacob Färnert presented the award.
- Kalmar offers an excellent environment for students to live and live in. There is good communication for students to get to the campus, there are many lovely green areas for recreation, and the city always emphasizes the students' presence and culture in the public sphere, says Jacob Färnert before the award ceremony.
The prize is awarded during a time when students' financial situation is particularly strained, which affects their situation on the housing market. The chairman of the municipal board, Johan Persson (S), particularly highlighted Kalmar's relatively good housing situation for students.
- Our long and loyal collaboration with the Linnaeus University and the Linnaeus Corps regarding university town issues has now yielded results. Among other things, we have a housing guarantee for our new students and Kalmar has been marked green three years in a row in SFS's annual housing report, says Johan Persson.
Ludvig Malmquist, chairman of the Linnaeus Association, highlighted the students' influence in the development work.
- The Linnaeus Society would like to draw particular attention to the good dialogue between us, Kalmar municipality and the Linnaeus University, which enables students to influence and influence in the municipality as well as at the university. The Student City of the Year 2023 award is a guarantor of continued good student life for Kalmar students, says Ludvig Malmquist.
Linnaeus University's pro-rector Niklas Ammert accepted the award on behalf of the university.
- We are very proud and happy about the Student City of the Year award. For a long time, the student union, municipality and university have put a lot of effort into becoming an attractive educational environment and now we see the whole, not least with our new campus with its central location. The award is really a receipt for the good work, says Niklas Ammert.
About SFS
SFS is an association of student unions at Sweden's universities and colleges that work for students' right to a good education and a good study situation. SFS has around fifty member associations which together represent approximately 380 students.
The city awarded the Student City of the Year award must constitute an environment where students can live, contribute and develop. The Swedish National Union of Students is very happy to announce that Kalmar has been awarded the Student City of the Year 2023 award.
The full justification from SFS
Kalmar offers an excellent environment for students to live and live in. There is a housing guarantee for new students and Kalmar has been marked green three years in a row in the SFS annual housing report. Rent levels are not too high and several student residences apply ten months' rent. There is also good communication for students with public transport between student accommodation and the campus. Kalmar Municipality and Linnaeus University also work to decorate the city in various ways to welcome students and make the city's citizens aware of the students' presence and culture. The city has several lovely green spaces and activities where students have the opportunity for recreation. The Linnaeus Corps, Linnaeus University and Kalmar municipality are also making an ambitious joint effort to try to set up a corps house for the students.
The students' opportunity for influence in Kalmar is good. There is a good order where students, university, municipality and other local actors can cooperate and have a constructive dialogue about the students' situation in Kalmar. Students' influence is taken seriously in both matters relating to education and student social affairs. This is expressed in both conventional channels, such as influence in various groups, as well as simpler forms of everyday discussion between students and relevant actors in Kalmar. Linnaeus University has also taken steps to strengthen and support student representation in its operations.
The municipality cherishes joint work and ensures that several parties have an important part in implementing investments that contribute to improvements in the students' lives. All parties see a joint responsibility for driving the city forward and where the students are seen as a given key. Competence provision is an area that the municipality, together with local actors, works actively with, and where both the university and the student union are given cooperation partners. Getting students to stay in Kalmar after their studies is seen by all parties as an important goal. Distinctive is that all parties highlight the importance of good relations as a means to constructive dialogues and quality-enhancing development work. Through well-organized strategies, the parties set joint goals for fixed periods and work actively to ensure that the students are seen as an important and significant part of the city's future.