From the Department of Scandinavian Studies:
Applications are now open for the 2026 Nordic Scholars Leadership Institute (NSLI) in Sweden, September 1–13, 2026
Deadline: March 10
The 2025 Nordic Scholar biographies, 2026 program details and the application link are available on the website: www.nordicscholars.org.
Program Overview
NSLI prepares future American leaders to navigate complex challenges by engaging deeply with Nordic approaches to trust-based governance, cross-sector collaboration, innovation, entrepreneurship, and institutional design.
The program is immersive and participatory. Scholars:
- Engage directly with senior Nordic leaders across government, industry, academia, and civil society
- Participate in expert-led workshops on leadership judgment, values-based and self-leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship systems, and institutional collaboration
- Visit universities, companies, public agencies, and cultural institutions
- Work as a structured cohort in facilitated leadership development sessions
Rather than centering on coursework, the program emphasizes immersive engagement and guided leadership development, inviting students to examine complex institutional questions through structured reflection and direct interaction with senior leaders.
Investment in Talent
NSLI invests in participants it identifies as highly capable emerging leaders with the maturity, skill, and potential to benefit from advanced leadership development. Full funding reflects their commitment to removing financial barriers while holding scholars to high standards of preparation, engagement, and follow-through. Alumni programming follows the Program Journey with regular workshops, meet ups and engagements to support the scholars' life-long leadership learning.
NSLI seeks mature undergraduates (primarily juniors and seniors), recent graduates, and current or recently graduated MA and PhD students from a wide range of disciplines. The 2025 cohort’s interdisciplinarity was one of its defining strengths; scholars learned as much from one another as from the formal program.