A long period of active work has yielded results. In Kalmar, the availability of student housing 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 presented by the Swedish National Union of Students (SFS). The prize is awarded to the city that has excelled in its work to create a good study and living environment for students during the past year.
Kalmar Municipality, the Linnaeus Society and Linnaeus University jointly received the award during an awards ceremony on Monday. SFS Vice Chairman Jacob Färnert presented the award.
– Kalmar offers an excellent environment for students to live and reside in. There are good communications for students to get to campus, there are many lovely green spaces for recreation, and the city always highlights the students' presence and culture in public, says Jacob Färnert ahead of the award ceremony.
The award is presented at a time when students' financial situation is particularly strained, which affects their situation in 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 faithful collaboration with Linnaeus University and the Linnaeus Society on university city issues has now yielded results. Among other things, we have a housing guarantee for our new students and Kalmar has been green-marked three years in a row in SFS's annual housing report, says Johan Persson.
Ludvig Malmquist, chairman of the Linnaeus Society, highlighted the students' influence in the development work.
– The Linnaeus Society would like to pay special attention to the good dialogue between us, Kalmar Municipality and Linnaeus University, which enables students to have influence and impact in the municipality as well as at the university. The Student City of the Year 2023 award is a guarantee of continued good student life for Kalmar students, says Ludvig Malmquist.
Linnaeus University's Vice-Chancellor 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, the municipality and the university have put a lot of effort into becoming an attractive educational environment and now we see the whole picture, not least with our new campus with its central location. The award is truly a testament to the good work, says Niklas Ammert.
About SFS
SFS is an association of student unions at Swedish universities and colleges that works for students' rights to a good education and a good study situation. SFS has around fifty member unions which together represent approximately 380,000 students.
The city awarded the Student City of the Year award must provide an environment where students can live, contribute and develop. The Swedish National Union of Students is pleased to announce that Kalmar has been awarded the Student City of the Year award in 2023.
The full justification from SFS
Kalmar offers an excellent environment for students to live and reside in. There is a housing guarantee for new students and Kalmar has been green-marked 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 residences and campus. Kalmar Municipality and Linnaeus University are also working to decorate the city in various ways to welcome students and raise awareness among the city's citizens about the presence and culture of students. The city has several lovely green spaces and activities where students have the opportunity for recreation. The Linnaeus Society, Linnaeus University and Kalmar Municipality are also making an ambitious joint effort to try to establish a student union house for students.
Students have good opportunities to influence in Kalmar. There is a good system in place where students, the university, the municipality and other local actors can collaborate and have a constructive dialogue about the students' situation in Kalmar. Students' influence is taken seriously in both issues relating to education and student social affairs. This is expressed in both conventional channels, such as influence in various groups, and 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 activities.
The municipality values joint work and ensures that several parties have an important part in implementing initiatives that contribute to improvements in the lives of students. All parties see a joint responsibility for driving the city forward and where students are seen as a given key. Skills supply is an area that the municipality, together with local actors, is actively working on, and where both the university and the student union are given collaboration partners. Getting students to stay in Kalmar after their studies is seen as an important goal by all parties. What is remarkable is that all parties highlight the importance of good relationships as a means of constructive dialogue and quality-enhancing development work. Through well-organized strategies, the parties set common goals for specific periods and work actively to ensure that students are seen as an important and significant part of the city's future.