The Wonders of Skansen

by Sarah Buckman, Pratik Patel, and Alex Li

On Wednesday, we had our third excursion to Skansen. Skansen is very special because it is not only an outdoor museum, but also a zoo. Skansen is the first outdoor museum in the world, founded in 1891. It is also a miniature of the whole of Sweden before the industrial era. Walking from the very south to the very north in Skansen, we can see different styles of buildings from the south to north in Sweden. Among them, the Sami camp left the deepest impression on us. One of the most interesting places to go in Skansen is the zoo. Different from the typical zoos we’ve seen in the United States, Skansen provides the animals with a larger natural habitat for them instead of a cage. We can see a variety of birds, mammals and reptiles disappearing and reappearing in the forests and jungles. The zoo also provides glimpses of native Scandinavian animals, such as wolverines, brown bears and eagle owls.

Although rain halted our exploration of the open-air museum for a short period of time, many visitors, both young and old, could indulge in the homemade sugary treats or other goods produced by the Skansen employees. Fitting into an authentic model for what a pre-industrialized folk society would seem like in Sweden, the daily jobs of bakers, dairy farmers, glassblowers, and other craft workers at this museum maintain a high level of successful self-subsistence, which advocates for the flexible preservation of cultural histories. The representation of Sami peoples, the oldest known indigenous population found in the northern-most area of Scandinavia dating back to more than 5,000 years ago, have been of great interest to us in our studies due to the great commonalities with the historical and geographical maltreatment of the North American indigenous populations. It is their successful reindeer husbandry, fishing techniques, adobe-like architecture, and the history of their nomadic movement that distinguishes the Samis from other indigenous populations as well as other Scandinavian cultures. Greater appreciation should be shown to the Sami peoples for the great knowledge they have shared to advance our knowledge of the Arctic sphere.

 

Attending the educational trip to Skansen, we were able to get a sense of Swedish culture. On our way to the educational park, we did not know what to expect or what we would learn from it. However, on our way home on the trolley, we felt a connection to the country in a way we had not felt before. We were able to grasp the depth of what culture was like for the Samis and how they adapted their lifestyle to such a harsh Arctic environment. As we discussed in class, Skansen is not only meant for outsiders to get an understanding of Swedish culture, but local Swedes can also take a part in the journey to discover the truth about their history. We would definitely recommend this to others because it’s not only educational, but also a lot of fun. Workers employed at the park are extremely friendly and did an excellent job of portraying Swedish culture.

Sarah Buckman is a senior in both Global Studies and Spanish with a concentration geared in environmental sustainability. She usually resides in the city of Chicago.

Pratik Patel is a senior studying Atmospheric Sciences with a concentration in Atmospheric Dynamics/Chemistry. He resides in the Northwest Suburbs near Chicago.

Alex Li is a sophomore studying Agricultural Engineering. He is an international student from China at the University of Illinois.

The Wonders of Skansen

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Hejsan from Stockholm!

by Rachel Bonet and Matthew Borden

Hejsan! The University of Illinois students living here in sweet Stockholm Sweden kicked off their studies with a tour of Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm, and a tour of the Vasa, a famous Swedish warship from the 17^th century. Our tour started off with a guided tour as well as a history lesson on the Riksdaghuset – Parliament House – the Royal Palace of Stockholm, and various historical areas throughout old town. The Royal Palace, a once mighty fortress that boasted a core tower, was known as the Tre Knonor – Three Crowns – is an architectural and cultural landmark at the heart of Stockholm. While touring we got the chance to see a copy of the famous Sankt Goran and the Dragon statue, a famous depiction and Swedish allegory to a great battle in the 15^th century of Sweden (Saint George) against Denmark (the evil dragon) to defend the fair maiden princess (Stockholm). Some beauty does come with a bloody history such as the Stortorget – The Great Square – where in 1520 the Danish-Swedish King Christian II beheaded more than 80 Swedish nobles. For those looking for a tight squeeze, Gamla Stan is home to the alley of Marten Trotzig which happens to be the narrowest functioning alley in all of Stockholm. Gamla Stan is a wonderful place and if you look hard enough you may be able to find ancient Norse runestones built right into a building or two.

Tuesday, the second day, included a visit to the Vasa Museum, which included the Vasa ship that tragically sank on its maiden voyage on August 10, 1628 due to incorrect measurements of the weights of the bottom in proportion to the top of the ship (insufficient ballast). The ship keeled over and 30 people died as a result.  It was not rediscovered and raised out of the water again until the 1961, when thousands of ship parts and other artifacts were found aboard the sunken ship. The ship was built as a symbol of power for the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus and the ship’s ornate carvings of power symbols from many non-Scandinavian cultures (such as Roman figures and lions) symbolize how Gustavus wished to be viewed as a courageous warrior and leader of a nation that was on par with the rest of Europe. The museum included other aspects of the disaster such as the unearthed remains of some of those trapped aboard when the ship sank.  It cast a humanizing light on the entire experience as it showed how individuals created certain aspects of the ship and died and well as how the nation, Scandinavia as a whole, and sectors of people (such as sailors) were all integral in the creation, sailing, and aftermath of the disaster. The sheer size of the ship and the aspirations that were linked to its creation and maiden voyage are clearly felt throughout the museum, which is a wonderful tribute to the Scandinavian culture of the period.

Rachel Bonet is a senior studying Anthropology, Animal Sciences, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She intends to study Environmental Law. Rachel comes from Darien, IL.


Matthew Borden is a senior in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, concentrating in Human Dimensions of the Environment. He is from Oak Forest, IL.

Hejsan from Stockholm!

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Students the Way of the Future

Erica Rose is Coordinator and Advocacy Secretary for International Students at Stockholm University in Sweden. Erica visited the University of Illinois as part of a delegation from Stockholm University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Karolinska Institutet for April's INSPIRE Summit. During her trip, she maintained a travel blog. The last entry, which is posted below, includes a discussion about the opportunities at the University of Illinois for studying the European Union through the EUC.

by Erica Rose

This is it, the final chapter in the trip across the pond. There was so much to take in I think it was good to have a break in between blogs (ok-this is more of a novel than a blog) and sort out the highlight of the trip that will benefit both Swedish and international students. Now where to begin, maybe the beginning of the day?

On the second day I was taking the elevator down to breakfast to meet some other delegates from Stockholm University when the president of KTH and the President of KI (Karolinska Institute) came into the elevator. I said hi and introduced myself and we all went to the breakfast area. I thought that would be the last time I would talk to them but I was wrong. As I went to sit down at a table near Stockholm University, the server must have thought that the two people I was talking with were also with me, so he put menus down for them right where I was sitting. Thinking it would be a quiet breakfast, I instead ended up eating breakfast and trying to speak Swedish (which is not easy to do early in the morning) with both presidents. –Which proves that you never know what´s going to happen- 9 months ago I was working in daycare trying to read in Swedish to one and two year olds- to sitting and eating breakfast with two of the presidents from some of the biggest universities in Sweden. Not bad for a Tuesday morning…

After that interesting morning, I went about the day and learned about what Stockholm University and University of Illinois (UofI) are setting up for you regarding jobs on campus, clubs, and studying the EU with an American twist. Again, the possibilities are endless.

For one, looking for a job on campus can be tough, and sometimes not always glorious (selling coffee, cleaning, etc.). But at the UofI, you can not only study but actually work in a field of your study right on campus. (And yes, even students from outside the US can use their study visas to work at these well known companies on campus.) It´s called Research Parks at U of I, where companies such as Yahoo, Autonomic Materials (self healing paint anyone?) and Deere & Company hire students to work or for internships. A real job on campus? now that´s pretty cool. While working for a big company is interesting, the Research Park also helps students with start up companies and has helped over 127 since 2001. (Research Park) To have a university offering real positions on campus gives you a leg up on everyone else when starting in the work force.  And not only that, the Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce is looking to get jobs for Swedish students coming to the USA, and vice versa. Sweden may be a small country, but they have some big friends elsewhere.

Secondly, I know I am always trying to push students to join clubs, but sometimes there may not always be a club out there that you think is for you. At UofI, this is not a problem as there are over 1,100 registered clubs on campus with a budget of $10 million dollars. Price is Right Fan Club, Archery, Board Game, Cooking, or Insomiac clubs? There is a club for someone and everyone.

Lastly, you can even study a couple courses or even the Masters on the EU at the European Union Centre. And yes, this EU Centre is officially certified by the EU Commision. Now you´re probably thinking, I come from the EU, why would I study that abroad? Well if learning about the EU with an American twist, seminars with guest lecturers such as Ambassador of Estonia and EU, UN interpreter, professors from around the world, international movie nights and multiple language courses options doesn´t pull you in, how about the chance to work or intern at an EU office in Washington or a trade office in Brussels? As one of the original 10 EU centres opened in the States, the EU Centre at UofI is opening doors for students that can benefit both students coming to Stockholm and studying abroad.

So in all, what I have learned the INSPIRE Summit at University of Illinois in collaboration with Stockholm University, KTH and KI is that it could really opening up the doors for students from many different disciplines from all over the world. The amount of interdisciplinary courses, shared research programs, job opportunities and internships that will be provided to students because of this increased cooperation between the universities will not only improve students quality of education and access to programs, but increase Stockholm University´s standing and make it a world competitor. This can only be possible if students at all universities involved show a willingness to participate. Students need to get involved in their education process on campus, studying abroad, and even looking at other universities to see if a collboration between the two is possible. Administration can take away the red taped barriers, but it is up to the students to take these opportunities to get involved and make a difference what ever and where ever you are studying.

Students the Way of the Future

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Anna Stenport Discusses INSPIRE

INSPIRE, the Illinois-Sweden Program for Educational and Research Exchange, is a program with the goal of establishing a transnational partnership alliance between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) and three leading research universities in Stockholm, Sweden. INSPIRE is funded in part by European Union Center grants, and EUC-affiliated faculty members are at the forefront of the initiative. One affiliated faculty member and an INSPIRE faculty liaison, Anna Westerståhl Stenport, was interviewed for the April 19 edition of Inside Illinois to discuss INSPIRE. Check out the full article below or by clicking here.

by Mike Helenthal

The odds are good you won’t see an umlaut above the university’s legendary “Block-I” logo anytime soon.

But an Urbana campus summit with the leaders of three prestigious Swedish universities April 25-26 shows just how big a partnership with Sweden is becoming.

“It’s innovative and unique,” said Tim Barnes, director of the year-old Illinois Strategic International Partnerships. “There’s never been anything like this; we are looking to build very broad and deep collaborations, sustained over time, of mutual benefits, and which affect all of the core missions of the partner institutions.”

The summit’s origins go back two years, after officials from Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology approached university officials about investigating a mutually beneficial academic partnership.

An agreement was signed and the consortium held a symposium on the Urbana campus in 2010, and a second at KTH last May in Stockholm, attended by a contingent of more than 40 UI faculty members and academic leaders. The effort also led UI leaders to form the Illinois Strategic International Partnerships and its pilot program, INSPIRE, Illinois-Sweden Program for Educational and Research Exchange.

The upcoming summit will continue facilitating the search for identifiable, cross-disciplinary collaborations, but it also could lay the foundation for an expansion of the INSPIRE partnership to include two of Sweden’s other prestigious universities, Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet.

Leaders of the two institutions, which already have extensive collaborations with KTH in strategic areas, also will participate in the symposium, as will civic leaders invited from both countries.

“They are basically the CEOs of these universities and it’s very unusual to have them all together in the same place,” Barnes said.

Mirror images

Barnes said adding the institutions to the consortium would broaden its academic reach and round out the partnership, considering Stockholm University features comprehensive liberal arts, natural science, law and education programs, and Karolinska Institutet is a world-class medical research and teaching university.

“We see great opportunities that align with campus priorities,” Barnes said. “We’re all looking at the same science questions and it makes great sense to look at some of these things together.”

In all, the Swedish three-campus footprint is very comparable to the UI structure, with 70,000 students and a broad realm of academic and research activity. 

“The (April) symposium is all about trying to foster those interconnections,” Barnes said, noting that higher-education research partnerships normally form at the personal level – an inherent weakness that makes them difficult to sustain over time. He said that’s why university officials have worked so hard to ensure the Swedish partnership – and others in the future – goes beyond one-to-one contacts and becomes integrated throughout the institution.

“It takes the will and desire of the individual faculty and departments to make those connections really happen,” he said. “Then it’s a matter of corralling them and pulling them all together. By pooling our limited resources we can do much bigger things. It becomes mutually beneficial if you do it right.”

Urbana Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise said partnerships such as the one with Swedish education leaders are tantamount to sustaining the UI’s world-renown reputation.

“These types of partnerships can have an almost exponential effect,” Wise said. “And not only do they lead to new relationships and research that produce new and innovative ideas and partnerships, they create answers.”

Beyond the obvious academic benefits, the defined partnership with Sweden’s top universities presents cost-saving, economy of scale opportunities and a regional presence with a European Union member, Wise said.

“Our future as a top-tier research university depends on maintaining global pre-eminence in an ever-changing competitive environment,” she said. “That can only be achieved by reaching out, discovering new opportunities and then adding our footprints.”

Barnes said the partnership is further enhanced by the fact that Sweden has a high population of English speakers. The country also is ranked among the highest in the world for its investment in research and development (as a percentage of gross domestic product) and the number of citizens who hold doctoral degrees, on a per capita basis.

“We’re looking at the INSPIRE alliance as a kind of gateway to Europe,” he said. “The university hasn’t had a go-to partnership like this that can take advantage of connections within the European Union.”

Teams approach

Collaborations between researchers at the two institutions started forming prior to the first meeting, according to two Urbana professors serving as faculty liaisons and involved with the INSPIRE process since its inception.

In fact, already there are more than two dozen collaborative projects being conducted between UI and Stockholm researchers alone. One of the projects with the most immediate impact is a joint interdisciplinary and co-taught class on the Arctic and climate change. The class is being offered at KTH over the summer.

The course, co-taught by a multidisciplinary team of Illinois and KTH faculty members, will provide UI students from a variety of programs with a well-rounded, multifaceted consideration of climate change and its effects on the Arctic, culminating with an up-front view through fieldwork in the Arctic circle, at a facility in the Svalbard archipelago.

Another new project has teamed researchers of the Illinois Rail Transportation and Engineering Center with the KTH Railway Group. The partnership led to a workshop last November and eventually could aid in the development of a federally proposed high-speed rail system in Illinois.

“A core feature of the two previous strategic research symposia was the comprehensive engagement across multiple colleges, schools and faculties, including engineering, natural and social sciences, arts and the humanities,” said Anna Westerståhl Stenport, a professor of Germanic languages and literatures and the director of the UI’s Scandinavian Program, who is currently on sabbatical at Stanford University.

She said those engagement possibilities will continue to be actively pursued at the April summit.

“Sweden and the U.S. both have a lot to gain from close collaboration in higher education,” she said. “INSPIRE is another way for faculty and students to gain access to more resources and help provide additional opportunities for global impact and significance. We know our Swedish partners see the partnership as a reciprocal opportunity to collaborate with a top U.S. research institution.”

Harry Dankowicz, a Cannon Faculty Scholar in mechanical science and engineering, a professor in the UI’s Information Trust Institute and a graduate of KTH, said he could see from the first meeting between the institutions that great things would arise from it.

“It became clear from the initial handshake that there was a natural match here,” he said. “Although one might have been content with a narrowly defined exchange agreement, that wasn’t the final destination of this partnership.”

One particularly innovative feature of the partnership, he said, is the integration of the core missions of the four universities: education, research, public engagement and economic development.

“By attending to the interest of all our stakeholders, namely students, faculty and the commercial and civic societies of the state of Illinois and Sweden, we aim to build an alliance that can provide global leadership in higher education, research collaboration and civic engagement,” Dankowicz said. “The upcoming April summit is an opportunity to bring these strategic components of the partnership into focus.”

Stenport said she sees a positive trajectory in the partnership as it gains momentum.

“The partnership is already adding value on campus,” she said. “Next steps will be to implement it as a valuable alliance across many different disciplinary areas. There is the potential to have a critical impact on the issues facing both countries, as well as the entire world.”

Anna Stenport Discusses INSPIRE

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