Liv Sandberg and Philip Engström are Alumni of the Year 2019
Facebook's agency manager Liv Sandberg and Philip Engström, who made a rapid career at the company Important Looking Pirates, have been named Alumni of the Year at Luleå University of Technology.
Alumni of the Year is an award given to people who have been students at Luleå University of Technology and who, after graduation, have achieved particularly great success in their careers.
This year it is Liv Sandberg and Philip Engström who receive the honorable title.
- I am very touched and grateful! The study time meant a lot to me and Luleå University of Technology is close to my heart. I hope to contribute with inspiration to students who study there now, says Liv Sandberg, who in 1997 took a master's degree in economics from Luleå University of Technology.
She was born and raised in Gävle, but with her father from Töre and mother from Luleå, the choice to study in Norrbotten was a way to get closer to her family roots. She has had a long career at the international media agency Starcom, but since 2018 she has been agency manager at Facebook in Sweden and Finland.
- "The education gave me a solid foundation to stand on, which I have used in my career. The study years were a fantastic time, with a great community and personal and committed teachers. One of the teachers who has meant the most to me is Tim Foster. He was instrumental in getting me into the media agency world and getting a job there. I have kept in touch with him over the years," says Liv Sandberg.

Winner of prestigious award
Philip Engström, originally from Norrtälje, Sweden, graduated in 2016 from the university's then computer graphics (now visual design) program. Since then, he has made a rapid career at the Stockholm-based company Important Looking Pirates, working on visual effects in films and TV series such as 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom', 'Lost in Space', 'Westworld' and 'The Shallows'. Earlier this year, Philip and his team were recognized at the prestigious Visual Effects Society gala in Los Angeles - an award that for the industry is as big as an Oscar statuette.
- "It was incredibly big, almost shocking. It was really a recognition for the whole team, says Philip Engström.
He looks forward to coming to Luleå and the Alumni of the Year award ceremony in Vetenskapens hus on November 5.
- Being named alumnus of the year really came as a bolt from the blue. It is very honorable to be part of the group of winners of the alumni of the year.
Philip Engström praises his education from Luleå University of Technology as creative and broad. The internship and the labor market fair - "grad show" - organized for students provided useful contacts with both Swedish and international companies. He himself got a job right after graduation.
- "We really got the chance to network and make personal contacts during the course.
The jury that appoints the Alumni of the Year includes representatives from Luleå University of Technology, Luleå Student Union, Teknologkåren at Luleå University of Technology and LTU Business.

Motivations for the 2019 winners are
"Liv Sandberg has had a very successful career after obtaining a master's degree in economics from Luleå University of Technology. Today she is an agency manager at Facebook in Sweden and Finland. Liv has also been CEO of Starcom in Sweden and Head of Nordic Research at MTV Networks. She is a very worthy representative of alumni at Luleå University of Technology."
"After graduating in computer graphics from Luleå University of Technology, Philip Engström has quickly made a career. Today he works as a Lighting Supervisor at the company Important Looking Pirates in Stockholm. The working group to which Philip Engström belongs has been recognized at the annual VES (The Visual Effects Society) gala in Los Angeles, where the industry awards the best visual effects of the year. He is a very worthy representative of alumni at Luleå University of Technology."
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