Alumnus of the Year 2022: "My heart is in Luleå University of Technology"

Eva Nordmark was appointed Minister for Employment under Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, a position she continued to hold under Magdalena Andersson. In Magdalena Andersson's government, she also became Minister for Gender Equality. Breaking the social imbalance in recruitment to higher education, both for reasons of fairness and socio-economic reasons, is something she cherishes. Now she has been named Alumni of the Year at Luleå University of Technology.

The title of Alumni of the Year is awarded to someone who has been a student at Luleå University of Technology and then achieved particularly great success in their career. Eva Nordmark feels honoured that her lifelong and warm relationship with Luleå University of Technology is now crowned with her being named Alumni of the Year.

- Luleå University of Technology has every opportunity to be a pioneer and lead by example, in the green transition and the broadened recruitment. The universities have an important role in democracy, by educating, researching and disseminating facts and science. This is also how our society develops. I am proud that Luleå University of Technology has always been good at making its results visible and sharing new knowledge, says Eva Nordmark.

Lifelong relationship with the university

Former Labor Minister Eva Nordmark has a literally lifelong relationship with Luleå University of Technology. She is a child of the university and grew up a stone's throw from the university area. Later, she would study political science and sit on the board three times, the last time as chairman.

No family of academics

At the age of five, Eva Nordmark moved to Porsöberget, less than a kilometer from the university campus in Luleå. When she got a little older, her mother worked as a cleaner at the university and she herself worked one summer in her teens doing gardening there. So the physical environment there was not alien to Eva Nordmark. However, the university as an educational institution was uncharted territory.

- No one in my family had a university education, so it wasn't obvious for me to go to university. In SSU I made friends who were studying at university. Through them, that world was de-dramatized for me.

The politically committed Eva Nordmark decided to study political science. Although SSU was a political school in itself and although there is room for different opinions in a youth union, studying political science added a new dimension to her political development.

- 'At university, I met students with different political views than mine. This gave me a deeper understanding of different ideologies. We had a lot of fun together, we learned a lot from each other and I made friends that have stayed with me throughout my life.

From college to university

During the years 1995-2000, Eva Nordmark was a member of what was still called Luleå University of Technology's board. An important part of the board's work was about the college getting university status.

- I remember how proud we were to represent a relatively young higher education institution in rapid growth that dared to take turns and think new. It was time for us to take the next step in our development and become a university.

The second time Eva Nordmark took a seat on the board was as chairman, 2013 - 2019, which coincided with her presidency of TCO, 2011 - 2019.

- I have my heart in Luleå University of Technology so it felt natural for me to accept the honorable assignment as chairman. It was a privilege to lead a group of people with so many different skills.

Fighting social mis recruitment

In 2019, she was appointed Minister for Employment under Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, a position she continued to hold under Magdalena Andersson. In this role, gender equality and the establishment of new arrivals were on her desk. Breaking the social imbalance in recruitment to higher education, for whatever reason, is important both for reasons of fairness and socio-economic reasons, according to Eva Nordmark. The ongoing transition to fossil-free production in Norrbotten and Västerbotten entails a huge demand for educated labor, not only for the new industries, but also for the service sector, which is necessary for the region to be attractive to live and work in.

- Luleå University of Technology is an international window to the outside world. It is a knowledge hub in the middle of the green transition. We can show the outside world that climate ambitions are not in conflict with jobs, but rather that they are each other's prerequisites.

She highlights the various fast tracks as a way to take advantage of foreign skills coming to Sweden. A gender-equal labor market is also necessary to meet labor needs. Eva Nordmark feels that the new companies in the green industry are working actively to create workplaces that attract both men and women. But the gender-segregated labor market remains. The gap between foreign-born women and the rest of the workforce is particularly large.

- They must have the same opportunities to make the journey that many women made in Sweden in the 1970s and 80s.

Gender equality - not just a women's issue

Eva Nordmark stresses that gender equality is not just a women's issue. During her time as chair of the university board, she was struck by the difference between the proportion of women and men who went on to higher education in some parts of Norrbotten and Västerbotten. Eva Nordmark hopes that the new transition study support that entered into force on October 1, 2022, which is part of the major LAS reform, can contribute to more people of working age continuing their studies. The transition study support means that anyone who has turned 27 and has worked for at least eight years is entitled to a grant for studies for up to one year.

- I believe in lifelong learning. If you are a 43-year-old mechanic who is starting to feel the years of manual labor in your back, both you and society will benefit from the opportunity to retrain as a secondary school teacher.