"The Husqvarna course is a very good recruitment base for us"

The Husqvarna course is an important collaboration between the School of Engineering at Jönköping University and Husqvarna Group. For many students, the course leads to thesis work, summer jobs and in many cases employment at the company.

This year, the Husqvarna course turns ten years old, which was celebrated at the School of Engineering on 12 December.

"It is a very good recruitment base for us," says Pär Martinsson, Senior R&D Director at Husqvarna Group.

The tenth anniversary of the course was celebrated by ten alumni from the School of Engineering who are now employed at Husqvarna Group, showing and talking about products they work with at the company. They have all studied the programme Mechanical Engineering: Product Development and Industrial Design, which includes the Husqvarna course. During the course, which is actually called Product Development Project, the students start with real projects at Husqvarna based on a particular theme, such as arborism. The students then develop prototypes of their product, which they present to Husqvarna.

"A bridge to the students"

"The Husqvarna course is an opportunity for the students to help us with challenges and show their innovation, but above all it is a bridge for us to get to know the students and see if they can fit into a role with us while getting to know us as an employer," says Pär Martinsson.

The ten-year anniversary took place in the gallery at the School of Engineering and among the visitors were Husqvarna staff as well as teachers and students.

"Very important for us"

Pär Martinsson emphasizes that they need incredibly talented engineers for their technology companies and that it is available at the School of Engineering.

"The Husqvarna course is very important for us and definitely a good way for us to find future staff. We often see that the Husqvarna course is part of a longer relationship with students where they move on to employment via degree projects and summer jobs.

"Rewarding for me"

Preow Bäckström, a consultant from Semcon who works as a designer and team leader at Husqvarna, was one of the the School of Engineering alumni at the exhibition.
"The Husqvarna course was very rewarding for me and a good preparation for professional life. I got a good insight into how it actually works in a company and how to go from idea to product. It was also very educational to be hands-on and work practically in a course alongside all the theory," she says.