Nominated for “Årets Brobyggare” Bridge Builder of the Year

In December 2021, all employees at Jönköping University (JU) got the chance to nominate candidates for the “Årets Brobyggare” award (Bridge Builder of the Year), which will be awarded at Jönköpingsgalan on April 30, 2022 (new date). JU's management team has selected three finalists, and the winner will be presented at the gala.

The finalists for JU's prize “Årets Brobyggare 2021” are:

Administration of school activities in Vaggeryd Municipality

The school administration in Vaggeryd municipality, headed by Operations Manager Helen Bengtsson Carlström, has worked intensively to ensure that education within the municipality should be based on a scientific basis and build bridges between Jönköping University and Vaggeryd's school activities. The School Administration works closely with various parts of JU's research. The collaboration enables an invaluable connection between theory and practice for the school field.

More municipalities would benefit from being tied closer to a higher education institution as Vaggeryd works with JU. JU would also benefit if more municipalities had operations managers engaged and interested in scientific knowledge as Vaggeryd. A win-win for everyone involved!

Carina Ödebrink, Member of Parliament (S) and Mats Green, Member of Parliament (M)

Since the foundation was founded in 1994, it has been clear that JU, with a campus in the heart of central Jönköping, is important for the cityscape and has an important position throughout the region. As parliamentary politicians with local roots, Carina and Mats have intensely committed to appointing JU to university and putting it on the political agenda. They thus highlight JU's important position in the region, see development and expansion opportunities and show above all that JU's activities touch beyond political boundaries. Carina and Mats have constructively and enthusiastically taken the discussions forward. They have built bridges to enable the next step in JU's development and secure a solid and multifaceted higher education institution in a thriving region.

Sven Rydell, Business Manager Jönköping Municipality

As Business Manager at Jönköping Municipality, Sven builds, restores, and cares for relationship bridges throughout the municipality daily. The relationships that Sven has with JU and the extraordinary efforts to build bridges between Jönköping University and the surrounding community that he makes demonstrate a commitment that is beyond the title of Business Manager. Sven is strongly involved in JU's work with utilization. He generously shares his knowledge and contacts, regardless of whether collaboration occurs with a student, a teacher or the university's management. Sven is an outstanding ambassador for JU both within and beyond the region and does not hesitate when he gets an opportunity to highlight JU.

About the prize “Årets Brobyggare”

The “Årets Brobyggare” award goes to a person, organisation or company that acts as a positive force and initiates activities that help build bridges between Jönköping University and the surrounding society. Jönköping University's connections in the region and collaborations with companies and organisations are what keep JU relevant. In Jönköping University's mission statement, this is further clarified by the formulation:

Embedded in the region and engaged worldwide, we bridge knowledge and society, developing the talent of tomorrow.

About Jönköpingsgalan

Jönköpingsgalan is an annual business gala when people, organisations and companies, whose efforts during the past year have been of great importance to our region, are praised. During the gala, a total of ten prizes are awarded with different goals and objectives. Common to all prizes is that they are preceded by a selection process where three final contributions are presented at the Jönköping Gala. The gala is organised by FC Production. Read more about Jönköpingsgalan.