Sustainability prize to student thesis from Halmstad University

Simon Sandahl

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In his thesis, Simon Sandahl identifies the connections between the choice of different electrification technologies and the transportation actors' business models for different local and regional heavy truck applications in Sweden. The study provides unique and important insights into the energy transition in the context of Swedish transportation industry that affects many sectors of society and the everyday lives of millions of consumers. Simon hopes that his work can provide a better understanding for the challenges that electrification creates for transportation companies and their business ecosystems.

– It is an honor to receive the prize considering its significance for future challenges. It feels like a good proof that one’s thesis delivered something useful that someone else also recognizes as important and that might even inspire future students to write about similar issues says Simon.

While electric cars are widely discussed today, much less attention is given to electric trucks with their many applications including regional-, construction-, and waste collecting transports. Simon’s interest for the topic was born during his studies when he had a chance to work on hands-on cases on sustainable business models and business model innovation in collaboration with the industry.

Comment from Simon:

– I am thankful to our fantastic professors and teachers at Halmstad University who awakened the interest in sustainability and innovation management. As students, we were included in cutting-edge research projects and got an opportunity to contribute with our insights, which felt really inspiring. The cases showed how easy it can be for a company to make a difference, and at the same time how fast this can become into a complex and challenging task that requires major transformations.

Right after graduation, Simon went on to work for Saab Kockums as Design Engineer.

– We are doing tremendously important work for national security, especially in these uncertain times. Saab Kockums also aspires to become more sustainable on different levels, which can be a challenge in the defense industry. But it is exciting to be a part of this journey Simon concludes.

Honourable mention

Honourable mention goes to Nicole Fleming, Stockholm University, for the thesis “The Future We Want To Want - Temporal Equity Within Sustainable Development Discourse”. The jury commends the thesis for its refreshing and critical perspective on sustainable development.

Sanja Janevska and Stephanie Bedin, Linnaeus University, also receive honourable mention for their high-quality thesis “Exploration of the current state of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports the transition to a circular economy in Sweden”.

Important collaboration

The prize, which is handed out as a scholarship worth 25,000 SEK, has been made financially possible through collaboration with Umeå Energy.

– Umeå Energy wants to be a positive force in sustainable development of the Umeå region. With this scholarship, we want to encourage students in business administration to deeply engage in sustainability.

The jury

ROBUST expresses sincere gratitude to this year’s jury that consisted of Professor Thomas Lennerfors (Uppsala University), Susanne Sweet (Stockholm School of Economics), and Zeinab Rezvani (Örebro University School of Business).

Read more about the thesis prize and the criteria underpinning the jury’s decision on our webpage.