Double degree offers new opportunity for students

Gunnar Peterson and Dr. Antonio Terceño after signing the agreement.

This is made possible through a new agreement between the two universities, which has opened opportunities for a number of Swedish students to study in Spain.

- If you want you can receive an undergraduate degree in economics, with a specialization in finance, in both Sweden and Spain. Students are also able to do an internship in Spain during a semester, in addition to the year they spend at the Spanish university. This is something extra and not part of the Swedish curriculum, says Ingela Strive, project manager for strategic internationalization at the School of Business, Economics and IT at University West.

Advantage on the job market

Universitat Rovira I Virgili is located in Reus, south of Barcelona and a couple of kilometers from Tarragona. The university assist in setting up internships for students at a company or organization with an international environment.

- Combining theoretical studies with the practical experience gained through the internship gives our students an advantage on the job market. Based on our previous experience with double degrees we know that this is sought after by employers, says Ingela Strive.

Exchange - five go and five come

Students are offered this opportunity after they have been enrolled in the programme for three full years. There are five spots available and students must apply in competition with their peers. The studies are financed through the Erasmus Programme. As five students leave for Spain for a year, five Spanish students are welcomed to Trollhättan in order to study at University West.

- This is internationalization on so many levels. By welcoming students from Spain, we give the students who are not able to study in Spain the ability to familiarize themselves with Spanish culture and build valuable contacts, says Ingela Strive.  

Active in internationalization

The Broker economist programme is run by the School of Business, Economics and IT at University West. The department works actively with internationalization and student exchange in a variety of ways. They have more than 70 partner universities around the world as well as a few so-called “preferred partners”, and Universitat Rovira I Virgili is one of them.

- We continuously strive to give our students a grasp of the international arena and to put them in a position to be successful on the job market. Double degrees are an example of this. It will help students enrolled in the broker economist programme, regardless of if they get the opportunity to study in Spain or if they remain in Sweden, says Gunnar Peterson, head of School of Business, Economics and IT.  

Visit from Spain

Representatives from Universitat Rovira I Virgili visited University West in November in order to finalize and sign the formal agreement. The delegation included Dr. Antonio Terceño, dean, Faculty Business and Economics, Dr. M. Teresa Sorrosal, vice dean, Dr. Mercedes Teruel Carrizosa, associate professor samt Dr. Xiaoni Li, associate professor.

For additional information:
Ingela Strive, ingela.strive@hv.se, 0733-97 50 68
Gunnar Peterson, gunnar.peterson@hv.se , 0733-97 50 58

Text and photo: Anna Hallberg