16 October 2023
Alumni of the year 2023: Mattias Perjos and Nike Sellmar
After graduating from Luleå University of Technology, Mattias Perjos has had a long and successful career and now works with innovative products that improve people's quality of life - and save lives. Nike Sellmar won the TV show Idol 2022 and has since been a successful ambassador for the Academy of Music in Piteå. Now the two former students have been named Alumni of the Year at Luleå University of Technology.
Mattias Perjos, civil engineer and company manager
"I feel very happy and honored by the appointment! LTU is very close to my heart, I had a fantastically fun time as a student. And it's fun to be remembered by your old university! I generally think that alumni and universities can do better at keeping in touch after completing their education, as there is good potential for continued learning in both directions."
Mattias currently works as managing director and CEO of Getinge. He was born in 1972 in Hudiksvall and grew up with two younger brothers, a mother who was a primary and middle school teacher and a father who was a sea captain and pilot. Growing up was marked by a lot of sports and outdoor life. You can probably call it a fairly common Swedish small-town upbringing, he says.
"As far back as I can remember, I have always been curious about and interested in scientific subjects and technology. It has also guided my choices both for high school and for education at LTU."
The education became the entry ticket to professional life
During military service and reserve officer training, he became interested in economics and when it came time to choose a major for further education, he found the Industrial Economics program which offered the perfect subject combination. And with Luleå's geographical location with severe winters, the choice was easy to complete the studies at Luleå University of Technology.
The education at Luleå University of Technology has been the foundation and entry ticket to professional life, and he has had great practical benefit from the courses. But the most important thing of all, he emphasizes, has been that the university education develops one's ability to solve problems and collaborate.
Mattias has always been driven by curiosity and learning new things and that still applies. He also thinks it's a lot of fun to work in a team and feels a strong drive to see other people grow. It also feels fantastic to be in an industry and a company that is about saving lives, he says about his work at Getinge. It is an indescribable feeling to meet a patient or parents of a small baby who lives thanks to our life-saving products.
Nike Sellmar, artist
"But so much fun! It feels very honored and fun to receive such an award, I am both happy and surprised! I really couldn't have imagined that, especially since I studied music, which is perhaps not the first subject you associate with Luleå University of Technology."
Nike Sellmar, born in 1995, today works as a full-time artist - she gigs, records music, writes music, tours and has several new albums in the works. She grew up in Stockholm under, as she puts it, tumultuous conditions and has had to fend for herself quite a lot. Her mother moved to Spain when she was fourteen and her father was perhaps not the best at shopping for food or cleaning, although he has been a great support in music. She learned to stand on her own two feet early and moved away from home already when she was seventeen.
Nike's father was a musician and he encouraged her singing by writing musicals and songs for his children. For Nike, music is a pure emotional joy that drives her forward, a feeling of having a purpose and having a task. It is so important to feel that you are good at something and to have that confidence.
"My father is a free spirit, he is a musician but has also written musicals and songs for his children and he has always encouraged me and said "Sing Nike, sing!". I've always been good at it and from there the joy has gradually grown."
The education at the Academy of Music became a stable foundation
When the time came to decide on higher studies, the choice was very simple - the Academy of Music in Piteå, which has the only education of its kind specializing in studio music in Sweden. There was no doubt that this was the education she wanted to attend. For Nike, there was a big difference between the calm, personal and more intimate environment at the Academy of Music at the Piteå campus and Luleå University of Technology's significantly larger campus in Luleå. A calm environment with accessible teachers suited her perfectly and provided good conditions for being creative, she believes. She also took the chance and went on supplementary educational training.
"I've just had incredible fun throughout my studies, it doesn't really feel like I studied. If I hadn't gone through the training, I wouldn't have wanted to be an artist, it means everything! I actually had no artistic ambitions at all before I started at the Academy of Music."
Although she attended a musician's training, she felt early on that it was not a freelance musician she wanted to be.She was more attracted by being able to write her own music and produce through the opportunities offered during the training in the form of collaboration with sound engineers, contact with producers and the many courses we offered in, for example, songwriting. The broad education means that today she can take a greater role as an artist in her creation. It is unusual that an Idol winner gets the opportunity to decide so much in her creation, she is happy about that and will make sure to take advantage of it.
For now, she's trying to trust the process and see where life takes her. The goal a few years ahead is mainly to write more songs, release an album, go on tour and make sure to collaborate with good people. But she has previously also taught at Framnäs Folkhögskola, which added flavor, and she thinks that in the long run it could be fun to perhaps also develop her dream of becoming a teacher.
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