Emmy and Mandelina win WorldSkills Sweden

On May 6, students Emmy Mörk Lundberg and Mandelina Dalsfelt won gold at the WorldSkills Sweden in the business development category. They are now preparing for the European Skills Competition, which will be held in Düsseldorf in September 2027.

In total, there are 40 different professions competing in the WorldSkills Sweden Championships, ranging from childcare workers to elevator technicians and bricklayers. The fact that the professions are so diverse naturally means that the competition formats vary significantly from one event to another. In the business development category, participants are assigned a randomly selected global goal from five pre-selected goals out of the total of 17 global goals that exist. Based on the global goal, the team, consisting of two people, must develop a business idea. In the business development category, a total of three teams competed, having qualified for the finals by participating in the Retail and Wholesale Challenge, a competition organised by the Swedish Trade Council in collaboration with universities across the country.

Emmy Mörk Lundberg and Mandelina Dalsfelt were assigned Goal No. 8—Decent Work and Economic Growth. The contestants have only three days to develop a business plan. But the two contestants from Luleå University of Technology were well prepared for the task. Emmy Mörk Lundberg already runs her own company. Mandelina Dalsfelt has participated in similar competitions before.

Changed course

“We came up with a good idea, but we realized pretty quickly that we wouldn’t have time to develop a business plan around it in such a short time, so we changed course,” says Mandelina Dalsfelt.

“The pace is insanely fast during the competition days. In just one hour, we created a graphic profile for the company. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s not to underestimate my ability to be creative despite the time pressure,” says Emmy Mörk Lundberg.

Mandelina Dalsfelt agrees.

“It’s interesting that it’s actually possible to validate an idea in such a short time.”

They call their winning idea Next Kitchen. It’s about giving young entrepreneurs—who lack their own capital and in-depth knowledge of how to run a business—the opportunity to start a café or restaurant. Next Kitchen helps with things like permits, purchasing, and other tasks that can be complicated for a young person who has recently graduated from high school. Next Kitchen is based on a commission model where the young entrepreneurs can earn up to 20 percent of the profits. The rest goes to Next Kitchen, which bears the risk in the form of rent, equipment, and other expenses.

“We believe this kind of commission model suits young people. It’s a good way to push yourself. Plus, it’s only your own hard work that counts. It doesn’t matter what connections you happen to have,” says Emmy Mörk Lundberg.

“In the competition, we chose to focus on the restaurant industry, but we believe this model can work in other industries as well,” adds Mandelina Dalsfelt.

Complementing each other

The two winners got to know each other through their involvement in the organisations Ung Företagsamhet and Young in Business. Mandelina Dalsfelt is studying Industrial Engineering and Management, while Emmy Mörk Lundberg is pursuing a Master of Science in Business and Economics. They feel they complement each other well, both in terms of education and personality.

“Emmy is better at the financial aspects. I’m more of an idea generator, while Emmy wants a clear structure from the very beginning,” says Mandelina Dalsfelt.

At the European Skills Championships in Düsseldorf, the competition will also be based on the global goals. But there, the difficulty level is ramped up a notch, as any one of the 17 goals can be randomly selected as a competition task. They therefore believe it will be difficult to prepare for the goals themselves. Instead, they are focusing on becoming even more united as a team. They are looking forward to being coached by previous European Championship competitors and being part of the Swedish team.

Education as a solid foundation

Both feel that their respective education programmes have prepared them well for their future careers.

“I constantly find practical use for the models and theories I’ve learned in my programme, both in my company and in the job I have alongside my studies,” says Emmy Mörk Lundberg.

“I think the programme gives me the tools to understand a company’s culture and to help people work well together and perform at their best,” adds Mandelina Dalsfelt.

The WorldSkills Sweden Championship was held in Stockholm. During an awards ceremony at Stockholmsmässan, all winners received a medal. The competition attracted over 31,000 visitors. The WorldSkills Sweden Championship was inaugurated by Prince Daniel and attended by several politicians, including Minister for Upper Secondary Education, Higher Education, and Research Lotta Edholm, Chair of the EU High-Level Group on Skills Ylva Johansson, and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The The WorldSkills Sweden Championship is organised by WordSkills Sweden, a collaboration between the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO), and the government through the National Agency for Education, the Ministry of Education, and the Swedish Higher Vocational Education Authority.

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