Welcome letter Master’s Programme in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability – Autumn-24

The programme is now entering its 21st year. It was co-founded by Dr. Göran Broman (Professor at BTH) and Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt (Professor at BTH, Blue Planet Award laureate and Founder of The Natural Step) and is an invitation to early- to mid-career professionals from around the world to share experiences and build understanding and ability to act as change agents. The diversity of the class, your expertise and global perspectives are what give it life. Much of the learning will, in fact, come from your peers.

Below you will find additional information about planning to study in Sweden. Please make sure to check out our websites (www.bth.se/msls and http://www.msls.se/) for what to expect from the upcoming academic year and information about your future colleagues. Over the coming months we will update them with information relevant to the incoming class.

The MSLS programme runs a mandatory orientation week that begins on 26 August, 2024, and a closing week from the 9 June, 2025. We also highly recommend planning to arrive even earlier in August. If you cannot arrive before the programme starts, you must notify the programme manager, Merlina Missimer.

Please note, to keep your place on the programme, you must fulfil the steps in the section below: “Procedure to join the programme”.

Dear sustainability colleague, we hope and look forward to welcoming you to the MSLS programme and Karlskrona in August 2024!

To make your journey to Karlskrona as comfortable as possible, we offer the following advice.

• Review www.bth.se/msls and www.msls.se for what to expect from the year. As the programme is offered full-time, you should expect a work-load comparable to that of a standard 40-hour work week. Please see our website for more information on course content, the MSLS alumni, and tips from the current class for how to make the most out of your upcoming year! Also, a LinkedIn group has been set up for your incoming class by current students, so that you may get to know each other and ask questions. You can find the group at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8195672/ .
• Apply for your visa as soon as possible. If you require a visa to study in Sweden, you should apply for it immediately. Be aware that the Swedish migration office, along with many other services in Sweden, will be closed or offering reduced services during the summer holiday period (June-August).
• Plan your upcoming trip. If you do not have accommodation organised before you arrive we recommend that you arrive one to two weeks before orientation week to organize this. The week will be an opportunity to begin getting to know your colleagues and prepare for classes as well as a time where we run workshops which lay the foundation for the rest of the year. Please organize your travel, so that you can participate in this first week. Scheduled classes will begin on 2 September 2024 and run until mid-June 2025, ending with a graduation ceremony typically within a week of end of the semester. Additionally, in past years, students have found the need or the desire to stay in Sweden for some weeks after the programme concludes for extended study or travel purposes. We therefore recommend that you request a 12-month visa, if possible.
• Review the Arrival Guide on our website. As you look forward to August, you will no doubt have many things to consider in your preparations. An Arrival Guide prepared by the past classes and tailored to the MSLS class can be found at the website http://wearemsls.weebly.com/. Please also check BTH’s website International student guide for a practical guide on arriving and getting settled in Karlskrona.
• Additional Costs. You are required to purchase the Sustainability Handbook which is the textbook we will be using throughout the programme. Please order it as soon as possible. You can find it online on Amazon (paperback only), on Bokus.com or Studentlitteratur.se (paperback and e-book format). If you decide to buy it via Bokus.com here is a manual for how to purchase it as the website is only available in Swedish. All the other required readings will be available on Canvas.

In past years we have also undertaken a field trip as a class. The fieldtrip usually requires about 2000 SEK.