Are you a young professional from the Western Balkans, EU's Eastern Partnership Countries, or the Baltic Region? Learn more about public leadership and governance in an increasingly digital and globalized world by applying to our programme. You will be able to participate in online activities and visit Sweden, with all expenses such as traveling, accommodation and meals funded by the Swedish Institute.
Courses 2023 - apply here
Arrangements
About the team and the programme
SeGRID is organized and led by researchers at the Division of Political Science at Linköpings University. The SeGRID-team consist of professors and researchers in political science with multi-disciplinary competence and extensive experience of researching about digitalization in society, public sector and issues of democracy and citizen participation.
The SeGRID-team has a long experience with close collaboration with municipalities, governmental agencies, and policy makers in Sweden, that they will facilitate meetings with. The research is anchored in contemporary challenges for citizens and public servants, from a broad social scientific perspective.
The SeGRID programme includes two modules: one online and one on-site in Sweden. SeGRID also includes kick-off webinars, and post-module activities for networking and further development of skills crucial for sustainable and democratic digital governance. We emphasis co-production of knowledge to enhance your professional career and shed new light on the challenges faced in your work.
The programme will cover all your costs for the on-site module in Sweden, including traveling from your home country, hotel, all meals, local transportations, and social events.
Online module
The online module begins in the end of Spring with live seminars, recorded lectures and podcasts, literature, and collaborative work with young professionals from different countries. The live seminars are led by researchers from the SeGRID-team. The online module gives you as participants comprehensive knowledge about sustainable and democratic digital governance anchored in contemporary research and practice. Topics that are discussed are amongst others – citizens usage of digital public services, automatization and innovation in public sector, best practices, and cybersecurity.
On-site module
The on-site module takes place in Sweden after the online module. It includes collaborative work, networking, social events, and study visits to public and private organizations leading digital transformation in Sweden. You will reside at a hotel near the university campus in Linköping. Previous years study visits have been made at Government Offices of Sweden, The National Library of Sweden, The Swedish Internet Foundation, Norrköping Visualization Centre, Research Institute of Sweden, Linköping Science Park, Wallenberg AI Autonomous Systems and Software Program, Linköping and Norrköping Municipality. Sweden ranks high on EU and UN indexes measuring digital development, come and learn from Swedish experiences.
Other activities
The short kick-off webinars take place before the online module which include getting to know each other and preparatory studies on the goals, expectations, and work methods in the module.
The post-module activities take place continuously and have so far included research writing and publishing, workshop on writing project proposals, hackathon and planning for research collaboration. Examples of former post-module activities have been visits by the SeGRID-team to participating countries such as Estonia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. All participants are welcome to join both the SeGRID and SAYP alumni networks.
SeGRID has led to several spill-over effects, which are highly valued, such as – helping alumni receiving a PhD-position in Sweden, regional knowledge exchange for new municipal projects, and the research project EMDIAC with participating countries such as Sweden, Estonia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
SeGRID previous years
Q and A
Questions and Answers regarding the organization of SeGRID 2022
What does the course cost?
The course is fully funded and there are no costs for the participants. Travel, accommodation and all meals are included.
How many credits do I get for the course?
This is a course for young professionals and not a course for university students and therefore there are no university credits for the course. You must already have a university degree to participate.
Do I need an English language certificate?
If you have studied at university in English then we will accept this or if you can demonstrate your competence otherwise. We will use the interviews to check English language proficiency.
I have applied for SeGRID but have still not received any confirmation regarding if I am accepted or not. When and how will I find out?
We will send out letters of acceptance to the participants who have been selected at the beginning och May 2023. The selection process has been performed in line with the criteria outlined by the Swedish Institute. The applicants who have not been selected will receive an email. Unfortunately, we will not be able to give feedback on why specific applicants have not been selected.
At what time will the activities take place during the day of the online week, will I have to take time off from work?
The activities where you will be expected to attend online with the SeGRID team and fellow participants will be for 2 hours during the afternoon/evening (Swedish time) on of the indicated dates per week. The times will be arranged by your tutor and you will know these upon acceptance to the programme so that you may plan accordingly.
Will you share study material with us before the digital and on-campus modules?
Yes, we use the Teams platform to upload and share all material with you.
I do not have a Teams, will I miss out on information from you, or should I open an account?
No, you will receive all necessary information by e-mail from us organizers. We will add you to the Teams platform via your email address.
How many days do you plan for on-campus in Sweden?
Each group will spend about a week in Sweden (including travel days) with activities planned both on campus in Linköping, Norrköping and in Stockholm.
Can we organize ourselves in a Whatsapp-group (in a specific country, and in the whole SAYP group)?
Of course, and as soon as we have got the complete list of participants from the Swedish Institute we will make sure you can start networking with people who will attend the SeGRID module with you.
Will our assignments be graded?
Your assignments will not be graded per se, but we do expect active participation during the digital and on-campus modules. Active participation during the digital module is a requirement to be able to attend the on campus, in Sweden week in August.
Is the first part connected to the second part of the SeGRID module?
Yes and in order to be considered for the second part, you will have to take active part in the digital module.
Thank you for all the relevant questions! We are very much looking
forward to seeing you all and learn from and with you!
Team SeGRID
Facilities
Related information
Cooperation for the promotion of democracy
Swedish Institutes and the situation in Ukraine
Strengthening democratic governance has never been more important.
We at Linköping University, together with the Swedish Institute, are committed to supporting our partner countries. We have many alumni from Ukraine and will continue our cooperation for the promotion of democracy. Join our Sustainable and Democratic Digital Governance programme to continue your journey on building a democratic Europe.
More information about the Swedish Institute’s response to the current situation in Ukraine.
More information about the Swedish Institute’s response to the current situation in Ukraine.