Nordic Center at UC Berkeley

#1 ???? Sweden, #2 ???? Denmark, #3 ???? Finland in the 2024 World Economic Forum Energy Transition Index. #TheNordics are sustainability leaders worthy of greater global attention. (Do the Nordics have problems? Yes! But can we learn from their examples? YES!)

Looking for a great list of Nordic Holiday events in the San Francisco Bay Area? Our friends with The Scandinavian School & Cultural Center have it at https://lnkd.in/gu_wfJh4!

Once upon a time, Swedish schools were the best in the world, but not anymore. Why not? In a lecture last Thursday at UC Berkeley, Alireza Behtoui talked about Sweden’s shift from an education system once renowned for equality and inclusiveness to one now facing rising inequality. He highlighted that until the 1990s, Swedish schools aimed to offer equal opportunities for all. However, a series of reforms focused on privatization, school choice, and decentralization has led to deeper socioeconomic divides. Teachers face reduced pay and status, while students in underserved communities find themselves in increasingly segregated schools. Alireza Behtoui, a professor of sociology at S?dert?rn University in Stockholm and currently on sabbatical at UC Berkeley, researches the sociology of education, political sociology, race and ethnicity. Thank you to UC Berkeley’s Institute of European Studies, Nordic Center at UC Berkeley, Scandinavian Department, and School of Education for hosting this event, and to Alireza Behtoui for shedding light on this important subject. Robert Strand Monika Stahler

?rsted and its CEO Mads Nipper are global leaders in the green transition. We are proud to be a formal collaborator with ?rsted at the University of California, Berkeley via the Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley Haas and Nordic Center at UC Berkeley.

Visiting ???? STINT, The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education Professor Alireza Behtoui kicks off the lecture “Once upon a time Swedish schools were the best in the world, but not anymore: Why not?” here at University of California, Berkeley. Introductory words by Nordic Center at UC Berkeley faculty director Mark Sandberg emphasize our approach at the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley how we oscillate between questions of where we in the ???? U.S. (and more locally in California) may prosperously emulate/learn from the Nordic experiences with questions of where the Nordic experiences demand our critical gaze.

Visiting ???? STINT, The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education Professor Alireza Behtoui kicks off the lecture “Once upon a time Swedish schools were the best in the world, but not anymore: Why not?” here at University of California, Berkeley. Introductory words by Nordic Center at UC Berkeley faculty director Mark Sandberg emphasize our approach at the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley how we oscillate between questions of where we in the ???? U.S. (and more locally in California) may prosperously emulate/learn from the Nordic experiences with questions of where the Nordic experiences demand our critical gaze.

Are you an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley? Sign up for our Spring 2025 course "Sustainable Capitalism in the Nordics?: A Berkeley Changemaker Course" with yours truly, Robert Strand! ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? Course flyer (with active links) available at: https://lnkd.in/gSfmnRAq.

We welcomed Emma Johnson as a Visiting Scholar to the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business via the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley and Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley Haas (CRB). Emma is a PhD Researcher with The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) - Lund University in ???? Sweden. Emma is diving deep into circular economics, specifically how ????Swedish companies are transitioning from a linear “take-make-waste” business model to a circular approach aiming to decouple economic growth from resource consumption and depletion. Here at the University of California, Berkeley, Emma has shared her research with students in our new joint Masters of Climate Solutions/MBA program, which includes CRB Student Advisory Board members Margo Wilwerding and Juliana Sandford, and discussed ideas of open innovation and circularity with the one and only Henry Chesbrough (aka Father of Open Innovation). We receive far more requests from talented scholars ??worldwide to come to UC Berkeley than we could ever hope to respond to. Our hosting of Emma Johnson stems directly from an increasingly strategic focus on the ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? Nordic region here at the University of California, Berkeley, with the ambition to establish a California-Nordic platform for the green transition hosted at the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley. We have many important Nordic collaborators in mind, including the Novo Nordisk Foundation, given their strategic focus on accelerating the green transition of society. The innovation ecosystem and SCALE of California, combined with the University of California, Berkeley's unparalleled resources, uniquely complement the Nordic region's sustainability efforts and competencies, providing the ambition, expertise, and research infrastructure necessary to accelerate the green transition. We are grateful to Lund University Rektor Erik Renstr?m and colleagues, including Kristina Eneroth and Alice Kjellsson, for their kind hosting of the University of California, Berkeley delegation one year ago that included (now) Chancellor Rich Lyons, Vice Chancellor for Research Kathy Yelick, Vice Provost Lisa Alvarez-Cohen, and Global Engagement Office Director Ashley P. Spinelli. Your generosity directly resulted in our hosting of Emma Johnson here at University of California, Berkeley. As a result, further seeds for Nordic-California collaborations have been planted! Onward Lund University and University of California, Berkeley!!! For more about Emma's stay here at UC Berkeley, please see the Nordic Center at UC Berkeley story at https://lnkd.in/euEzAPnz

"Bridging Continents for Circular Solutions: University of California, Berkeley Welcomes Emma Johnson." Read the full Nordic Center at UC Berkeley Story at https://lnkd.in/gzZezpyQ Excerpts below: UC Berkeley recently welcomed Emma Johnson, a visiting scholar with Nordic Center at UC Berkeley and Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley Haas based at University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business who has spent the last six years at Lund University’s International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) in ???? Sweden. Emma is diving deep into the world of circular economics, specifically how Swedish companies are transitioning from a linear “take-make-waste” business model to a circular approach—one that aims to decouple economic growth from resource consumption and depletion. A key element that emerged from Emma’s research is the importance of collaboration—not only between industries and municipalities but also among competitors. “Companies collaborate with their competitors, which seems counterintuitive,” she explained, “but it supports change on a broader level that also supports their interest in the end.” She also stresses internal collaboration within companies. Cross-functional teamwork, where sustainability isn’t siloed into compliance departments but integrated across all business functions, is essential. “How can sustainability be part of the strategy,” she asks, “and offer value to both the company and its consumers?” For companies that want to embed sustainability, this internal alignment is crucial. ..... “It was exciting to learn about industrial symbiosis, and how different companies can work together to optimize resource efficiencies. This talk left me motivated to continue learning and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of circular solutions.” ~ Margo Wilwerding, MBA & Master of Climate Solutions Candidate at University of California, Berkeley “Emma expanded upon my existing knowledge of circularity by offering new frameworks for assessing the lifecycle impacts of circular business models. As a trained consultant, I find such frameworks hugely helpful in thinking through strategic business questions.”~ Juliana Sandford Sanford, MBA & Master of Climate Solutions Candidate at University of California, Berkeley