Stockholm School of Economics

We are pleased to welcome Barclays to the Stockholm School of Economics Corporate Partnership Program.

As one of the world's leading investment banks, Barclays brings deep expertise in global capital markets, corporate finance, and advisory services. Through this partnership, our students will gain valuable opportunities to engage directly with industry leaders through guest lectures, events, and discussions on the future of finance. In return, Barclays will gain access to top talent, cutting-edge research, and valuable insights from the SSE community.

At a time when financial markets are navigating macroeconomic uncertainty, regulatory change, digitalization, and the energy transition, stronger connections between academia and industry are more important than ever.

"We are proud to partner with the Stockholm School of Economics, an institution that plays a central role in shaping the next generation of leaders in the Nordic business community," says Per-Olov Bergström, Chairman of Nordic Investment Banking at Barclays.

The partnership reflects a shared commitment to knowledge exchange, talent development, and building bridges between global expertise and Nordic perspectives.

We look forward to a fruitful collaboration and to creating new opportunities for our students, researchers, and the broader SSE community.

For years, Martin Kragh has helped shape Sweden's understanding of Russia, Ukraine and developments in Eastern Europe. Now, the SSE alum is taking part in one of Sweden's most cherished broadcasting traditions as a Sommarpratare in Sommar i P1.

Martin earned his PhD from the Stockholm School of Economics in 2009 and is today Deputy Director of the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Associate Professor at Uppsala University.

In his Sommar episode, he reflects on world politics, Russia's war against Ukraine, and his own experience of living with a serious illness.

Link in the comments ⬇️

Photo: Mattias Ahlm/Sveriges Radio

🍓Wishing you a happy Midsummer from all of us at SSE! 🍓

Often considered Sweden’s unofficial national day, Midsummer is a time when people come together with friends and family to eat, sing songs, leap like little frogs around the Maypole (midsommarstång) and bask in the warm, golden light of the year’s longest day. Well, that’s what we all like to remember, but rain on Midsummer’s Eve is as much a tradition as pickled herring and strawberries with cream, so it's best to be prepared for anything!

If you happen to find central Stockholm unusually empty on Midsummer’s Eve, it's a day for communing with nature. Head to a lake, a meadow or a remote island in the archipelago and that's where we'll be!

Here at Stockholm School of Economics we are wrapping up this school year. We look forward to welcoming new and old students in August, but until then, we’re going to make the most of the sunny weeks ahead and charge our batteries ahead of the next semester.

🌼 Have an amazing summer – Glad Midsommar! 🌼

Photo: Anna Hållams/imagebank.sweden.se

While much of Sweden slows down for summer, eight new startups are getting to work at SSE Business Lab.

Most of this year's summer batch is building AI solutions for Swedish industry, tackling challenges ranging from quality control in manufacturing to reviewing the thousands of technical drawings required to build a ship.

The cohort reflects both the growing role of AI across the economy and the diversity of today's startup ecosystem. Founders include former employees of UBS, Klarna and Alfa Laval, alongside students from the Stockholm School of Economics and KTH.

“The summer batch is special. When the city is empty and the calendar is quiet, there's nothing to go to and nothing to be distracted by, so the teams admitted can lock themselves in and just build,” says Isabel Keulen, CEO of SSE Business Lab.

We are excited to welcome Atenify, Aurem, Carve, Klose, Loira, Nuro, Polhem and Tracearc to the SSE Business Lab community and look forward to following their journeys.

🎢 What can an amusement park teach us about happiness?

The Center for Wellbeing, Welfare and Happiness at the Stockholm School of Economics is launching a new research collaboration with Liseberg, Scandinavia’s largest amusement park.

Together with affiliated researchers from Karolinska Institutet and the The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE, The Liseberg Happiness Lab will explore how shared experiences and positive forms of stress influence wellbeing and human relationships.

With more than two million visitors each year, Liseberg offers a unique real-world setting to study joy, excitement, social connection, and wellbeing beyond the traditional laboratory. During the summer of 2026, more than 1,000 volunteer participants are expected to contribute through surveys and physiological measurements collected before, during, and after their park visits.

The research will examine questions such as whether shared adrenaline-filled experiences can strengthen social bonds, whether intense positive experiences can have lasting effects on wellbeing, and what positive stress can teach us about human flourishing.

Interested in participating in the study? Learn more by visiting our homepage – link below.

Photo: Liseberg

Another strong result for the Stockholm School of Economics.

In the Financial Times Masters in Finance 2026 ranking, SSE has risen three places to 23rd globally, maintaining its position as the highest-ranked institution in the Nordics.

The ranking highlights strengths in areas that matter most to students and employers alike – including career outcomes, salary growth, value for money, and sustainability.

The ranking highlights strengths in areas that matter most to students and employers alike, including career outcomes, salary growth, value for money, and sustainability. Notably, 96 percent of graduates secured employment within three months of graduation, while SSE ranks third globally for ESG and net-zero teaching.

“The ranking is ultimately a reflection of the quality and ambition of our students,” says Program Director Anders Anderson.

We are grateful to our students, alumni, faculty, and staff whose dedication and achievements make results like this possible.

Read more:https://www.hhs.se/news/sse/2026/sse-climbs-to-23rd-globally-in-financial-times-master-in-finance-ranking/

🇸🇪 Today is Sweden’s National Day! 🇸🇪

The date marks two key moments in Swedish history: Gustav Vasa becoming king in 1523 and the adoption of the 1809 constitution.

Yet despite its long history, National Day itself is a relatively recent addition to the calendar. It only became a public holiday in 2005 (before that it was known as Swedish flag day), which may explain why our celebrations tend to be a little more low-key than in many other countries. Or is it because we simply save our energy for the unofficial national day – Midsummer? 🍓

Whether you're off waving a tiny flag somewhere, enjoying a fika,, or simply appreciating a quiet day off work and studies – we wish you a glad nationaldag! 🇸🇪☕🌿

🏭 Can pollution taxes drive innovation?

New research from the Swedish House of Finance at SSE suggests they can – but perhaps not in the way many expect.

Studying more than 33,000 manufacturing firms across 18 countries, researchers found that higher pollution taxes lead high-emitting firms to increase their investments in R&D. Interestingly, these investments did not generally result in more patents. Instead, firms appear to use R&D to build the expertise needed to adopt cleaner technologies and modernize their production processes.

The findings suggest that environmental policy can do more than encourage compliance. It can also motivate companies to invest in the knowledge and capabilities required for long-term transformation.

🔗 Read more about the research – link below.

We make financial decisions throughout our lives, from choosing a mortgage to deciding how to save and invest. But what actually shapes those decisions, and why do so many people struggle to build long-term wealth?

In this episode of Central Questions, former Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves speaks with Paolo Sodini of the Swedish House of Finance about the hidden logic behind how households build – and lose – wealth.

Why do people so often take the wrong kind of risk? Why can "investing in what you know" backfire? Should you choose a fixed or variable mortgage rate? And why do expensive mutual funds so often disappoint?

Drawing on decades of research, Sodini brings clarity to these everyday questions while also exploring bigger structural issues: why financial advice can fail ordinary households, how wealth inequality compounds over time, and what wealthier families may quietly understand about money that others do not.

One theme runs through the conversation: there is no easy way to get rich in financial markets.

Central Questions EP 1: Financial Literacy Isn't the Issue. The Advice Industry Could Be. In this episode of Central Questions, former Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves speaks with SHoF’s Paolo Sodini about the hidden logic behind how households build—and lose—wealth. They cover household finance, investing mistakes, diversification, mortgage risk, financial literacy, and wealth ineq...

Yesterday, first-year SSE bachelor student Milad Findakli received his scholarship from HM The King’s Foundation for Youth Leadership. Milad has been awarded the Compass Rose Scholarship 2026 "for demonstrating, through care and steadfast commitment within the Scout movement and in other contexts where he is active, that what may seem impossible is in fact possible".

”I want my leadership to show other young people that we all have a responsibility to care for and help develop one another. By being good fellow human beings, we can grow together and build up other people,” says Milad.

”SSE has played an important role in developing my leadership, both through courses such as Management and Global Challenges, but also through the inspiring environment and the people I have the privilege to interact with every day," he continues.

Congratulations, Milad!

🔗 Read more here: https://www.hhs.se/en/about-us/news/sse/2026/milad-findakli/

Photographs by Nathalie Malic and Magnus Fröderberg