Next Up Ericsson visit Jan -15

Next Up 2015: Kick-offs in Umeå, Gothenburg and Stockholm

Digitization Gender equality Skills supply Education and training

Over the past six days, we have kicked off our Next Up school competition - the hunt for the digital talents of the future - in our three regions Stockholm, West and Umeå. In total, almost 1,000 eighth graders are discovering what it can really be like to work with IT!

First out was Umeå on January 8th with a kick-off for all "adults" in the project: Partner companies, teachers and principals of the participating schools as well as our team leaders: IT students from the DataTjej network.

The kick-off started with a personal and much appreciated presentation by technical computer student Anna Henningsson who, speaking of the lack of girls in IT education, emphasized the importance of "sowing seeds" among younger girls that IT is something for them. You can read a shorter report from the Umeå kick-off here.

Next, Next Up West followed up with a corresponding kick-off at IT&Telecom companies' partners Universeum in Gothenburg on January 13. The kick-off was preceded by a speed dating between Next Up West partners and DataTjej team leaders. At the kick-off, among other things, the gold partner Hogia's communications director Emma Soovik (pictured below) emphasized how central collaboration with the school is to ensure Hogia's and the rest of the IT industry's need for sharp guys and girls.

Next Up West kickoff Jan -15

Finally in Stockholm, yesterday January 15, our gold partner Ericsson invited all students from the four schools competing with the Ericsson case - a total of 175 students - to a whole afternoon where they got to visit Ericsson Studio and get presentations about the future of IT and telecom. At the same time, the schools were introduced to the Next Up competition and the cases they will be working on by their four team leaders Emma, Jana, Maja and Alfrida.

Now the work begins with the cases and the rush towards the final days in each region: March 17 in Umeå, March 19 in Stockholm and March 24 in West.

More information about partners, team leaders, schools and the cases the schools compete with can be found under the respective region link above, or by going directly to nextup.se.

Follow us at @nextupsverige and #nextupsverige!