The Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship (SSES) is an intriguing invention from Sweden’s capital. Much like Stockholm—a city comprised of several islands, each with its distinct character, yet contributing to a cohesive whole—SSES unites six leading universities to create a globally-unique nexus of entrepreneurial education.
Established in 1999 with the support of the Erling Persson Foundation, SSES represents a pioneering partnership between Karolinska Institutet (KI), Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Konstfack: University of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), Stockholm University (SU), and the Royal College of Music (KMH).
Each institution contributes unique strengths—from medicine and technology to arts, economics, humanities, and music—forming the interdisciplinary foundation on which SSES stands.
SSES is a sandbox where students, scholars, and faculty from its member universities are empowered and enriched through entrepreneurship. Over the past two decades, more than 30,000 participants have benefitted from SSES’s programs, fostering a generation of innovative and entrepreneurially-minded individuals across academic, public, and private sectors both within Sweden and internationally.
“Our member universities are central to our mission; their diverse environments empower us to offer interdisciplinary activities found nowhere else, globally. Standing on the shoulders of these leading institutions, the remarkably diligent team at SSES has long worked dynamically and sustainably in continuously adapting to conceive and achieve what others could not,” remarks Marwan Ayache, Head of Operations at SSES.
Today, entrepreneurship is not solely for venture creation. SSES envisions entrepreneurship as a holistic methodology for enacting meaningful change and creating enduring value in the world. By leveraging the collective resources and knowledge of its members and partners, SSES champions entrepreneurship as a universal instrument for students, scholars and faculty to improve the world through any field.
Marwan Ayache adds, “As a scientist at heart, I rarely speak in absolutes, yet I firmly believe that education can solve everything, and entrepreneurship is just a fun, innovative, and extremely effective way to do that.”
