Swedish Institute Academy for Young Professionals

Lund University has carried out training programmes within the framework of the Swedish Institute Academy for Young Professionals (SAYP) since 2014. The programmes are aimed at young policymakers, public servants and civil society actors from selected countries in the Baltic Sea Region, the EU’s Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans and serve as a platform for sharing experiences, building knowledge and networking on public governance issues.

Course participants standing outside talking. Photo. — Participants at the Swedish Institute Academy for Young Professionals (SAYP). Photo: Johan Persson.

Programmes given during 2023

The programmes given during 2023 are carried out by Lund University School of Economics and Management and The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, in cooperation with Lund University Department of Commissioned Education (LUCE).

About the programmes

The programmes that are offered share the same theme – “Perspectives on Multi-level governance, Decentralisation and Human Rights”. They do, however, have different target groups as one programme is for the Western Balkans, and one for the Baltic Sea Region and EU Eastern Partnership countries. The programmes focus on what role decentralisation plays in democratic processes and power distribution in society. The objective of the programmes is to support young professionals by creating a forum, led by experienced and knowledgeable lecturers, where these issues are discussed and linked to the participant's own context by drawing on experiences from different participating countries both within and outside the EU. You will find more information about each programme below.

Western Balkans

Please note that the 2023 application round is closed.

Dates:

Premodule (independent studies online): 6 May–15 June 2023
On-site in Lund: 19–29 June 2023
Follow-up workshop in Tirana, Albania: 25–26 October 2023

Target countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia

Baltic Sea Region/EU Eastern Partnership

Please note that the 2023 application round is closed.

Dates:

Premodule (independent studies online): 14 August–15 September 2023
On-site in Lund: 25 September –5 October 2023
Follow-up workshop (location TBD): 5–6 March 2024

Target countries: Armenia, *Belarus (more information below), Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Sweden and **Ukraine (more information below)

*Due to the current situation in Belarus, SI took the decision that, as of 1 October 2020, financial support will not be provided to Belarusian state employees for on-site activities within SAYP. As a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ active cooperation in it, it is no longer possible for state employees from Belarus to participate in the online activities within SAYP either.

**Applicants from Ukraine do not need to currently reside in Ukraine in order to apply to the programme.

You can only be admitted to one programme within SAYP

Please note, that there are different programmes at different universities within SAYP. You can apply to more than one. However, it is recommended that you apply to a maximum of two programmes/universities. You can only be admitted to one. Read more about this on the Swedish Institute’s website – links will be published below soon.

Student and staff testimonials

The Swedish Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute have conducted interviews with some participants and staff of the SAYP programmes. You can choose to watch video clips on youtube.com or read the testimonials on si.se:

Videos with participants and staff (youtube.com)

Interview articles with participants (si.se)