Susanne Arvidsson, Director of SSCEN and Associate Professor of Business Administration at Lund University, emphasised the great need for new knowledge for sustainable development and how the quality of the theses shows that the interdisciplinary approach makes the students relevant to society.
Valuable thesis project can result in more efficient electricity grids
Prize winners Gabriel Malmer and Lovisa Thorin have shown how more solar and wind electricity can be safely connected to the electricity grid in Eslöv municipality without major investment costs.
“It is interesting for us to look at working more actively with switching in the grid so that we may use the existing grid more efficiently, and there are plans to do so,” says business developer Håkan Skarrie, Kraftringen, and continues:
“We would not have been able to deep-dive into these issues ourselves, so the fresh expertise we have gained from the thesis work is very valuable to us.”
The project was carried out in collaboration with a researcher in Taiwan and the local network company Kraftringen Nät. Here, supervisor Olof Samuelsson played an important role as he had contact with the researcher who had developed an algorithm but did not have access to a real network to test it on. Many years of good cooperation with Kraftringen on degree projects and a couple of interested students led to a practical case with good development potential.
Fresh perspectives can lead to increased innovation
Prize winners Rasmus Roth and Mikko Ala Porkkunen have explored a new form of green bonds based on a promised reduction in carbon dioxide emissions over a certain period of time.
“This topic is very interesting and much discussed in the industry right now,” says Patricia Håkansson, Head of Sustainability at Sparbanken Skåne in connection with the award ceremony.
“We have gained great benefits from the student´s perspectives. It contributes to increased innovation and helps us in addressing our challenges more effectively.”
Another thesis, that received an honourable mention, written by Anila Birinxhiku and Melina Hägerö, also concerns the banking sector as they examined challenges and solutions for how sustainability work can be integrated into the organisational culture in the banking sector.
Lars Bengtsson, professor of industrial economics at LTH, and the person responsible for selecting the 33 nominated entries together with the SSCEN management team and advisory committee, noted that the reading has been a rewarding and educational task. With this great start, everyone is looking forward to this annual award, having an even greater impact in the long term.
Great collaboration and continued learnings ahead
The happy and festive ambiance at the award ceremony was shared with relatives and invited friends over bubbly wine and canapés. Katarina Andrén, CEO of Sparbanksstiftelsen Finn, handed over the large prize cheques and gift cards to Akademibokhandeln, with the intention to stimulate increased interest in sustainability issues and learning.
To conclude, Ulrika Dieroff, Head of Business Services at the Chamber of Commerce of Southern Sweden, informed briefly about their activities, emphasizing the value of knowledge exchange and new contacts and that students are always welcome free of charge to the open events.
Everyone agreed on the value of collaboration and the worthiness of the winners of this year's award and look forward to a good continuation in 2024.
