JTH students Tove Söderberg and Carl Holmqvist met Anders Bengtsson and Joakim Andersson from SKF in Landskrona at their stand at Elmia Subcontractor and told them about the Husqvarna course

Students in focus at Elmia Subcontractor

The School of Engineering (JTH) at Jönköping University has put their students and the Husqvarna course in focus during the Elmia Subcontractor fair, 12-14 November.

"It is a fun course and you get very involved when you work as close to a company as we do during the Husqvarna course," says JTH student Carl Holmqvist.

Many visitors stopped to talk to the JU Solar Team members and see their solar car.

There are around 1,000 exhibitors at Elmia Subcontractor, and 12,500 visitors spread over the three days of the fair. JTH has its stand at the Competence Market along the Fair Street, which is staffed by students studying the Product Development and Industrial Design programme. There they talk about the Husqvarna course they are taking, which is about further developing Husqvarna products together with the company.

"Close contact with the business community"

"A big advantage of studying at JTH is that we have close contact with the business community and being able to work as closely with a company as we do with Husqvarna during the Husqvarna course is very rewarding. It prepares us for professional life and what it's like to run real projects in a company," says Tove Söderberg.

Anders Bengtsson and Joakim Andersson from SKF in Landskrona, were two of the fair visitors who stopped by the JTH stand.

"This is a good way for students to show their skills and make contacts with companies. It is also useful for us from the business side to hear how students think about internships, thesis and employment, says Joakim Andersson.

The Higher Vocational educations at JTH and Campus Värnamo are also present at the Competence Market.

JU Solar Team is a big draw

A big attraction at the fair is JU Solar Team and their solar car is set up in the middle of the Fair Street at the Competence Market.

"A really fun and cool project. I like the whole concept, that the students do everything themselves with the solar car and then compete in Australia. A colleague of mine has a daughter in the team, so we will follow the competition closely, says Jennie Lindqvist from Kvistberga Group.

Even the long-distance guest David Geng, General Manager of Dalian HYA Industries in China, caught the eye of the solar car.

"Really cool! I've never seen anything like it and I like the modern design," he says.

Maja Nyström of JU Solar Team (second from left) talking about the solar car with her father Peter Nyström and his colleague Jennie Lindkvist (far right) from Kvistberga Group and Johanna Bastman from Marab.

Lesson with 120 students on the exhibition floor

Anette Johansson, Project Manager for the collaborative project KOMPET at JTH, participated on 12 November in a panel discussion at Elmia Subcontractor on the theme: "How can the metal industry secure its skills supply?"

"My message was that you have to see skills supply as something bigger than just recruitment and training. There is a lot you can do to become an attractive workplace and industry and you can not just wait for someone else to do the job," she says.

On the morning of 14 November, 120 of JTH's engineering students will have a lesson on the exhibition floor in the course "Industrial Economics", led by their teacher Magnus Vårbrant.
"Elmia Subcontractor offers a fantastic environment for our students and this is a concrete example of successful collaboration between the university and the business community, he says.

Click here to read more about this year's Elmia Subcontractor

The panel discussion on how the metal industry can secure its skills supply included, from the left: Lars-Inge Arwidson, Svenskt Aluminium, Jonas Eriksson, Lundbergs Pressgjuteri, Tove Frisk, Bruzaholms Bruk and Anette Johansson, JTH. The discussion was chaired by Linda Bergqvist, JTH.