Ersta Sköndal University College is the result of co-operation between the Ersta Society for Diaconal Work and the Stora Sköndal Foundation. In 1851, the Ersta Society for Diaconal Work was founded to educate female nurses and permanent deacons and the Stora Sköndal Foundation was founded in 1898 to educate male permanent deacons. Both the Society and the Foundation are non-profit entities affiliated to the Church of Sweden and they provide education and training, medical care and church activities. The Ersta Society for Diaconical Work also undertakes research, social work and provides care of the elderly, whereas the Stora Sköndal Foundation offers accommodation for retired persons. The Ersta Church holds religious services every day.

 The education offered by the modern Ersta Sköndal University College is carried out in four departments, located on the two campuses of Sköndal and Ersta: The Department of Church Music, The Department of Diaconal Studies and Theology, The Department of Health Care Sciences,and The Department of Social Work, the Sköndal Institute, which is situated at Sköndal. The Department of Social Work at Ersta Sköndal University College offers a four-year programme in social work. The programme covers theoretical courses in social work as well as in sociology, psychology, law, ethics, social policy, political science, lay welfare work, philosophy, and statistics.

Contact Details 

Address:

The Sköndal Institute Research Dep.

Ersta Sköndal University College

Herbert Widmansväg 12

S-128 85  Sköndal

SWEDEN

Tel.:

+46 (0)8 555 051 37

Fax.:

+46 (0)8 555 051 65

E-mail:

skondal.institute@sssd.se

Web-page:

http://www.esh.se/

About Lars Svedberg

From Ersta Sköndal University College

Professor Lars Svedberg PhD, is Head of Research and Deputy Head of Department Social Work. Lars Svedberg heads a group of researchers at Ersta Sköndal University College, which primarily deals with issues around citizen’s activities and volunteering as well as the relations between the voluntary associations and state or municipality. For more than ten years, this group of researchers has been a leading institution in Swedish research on civil society.

Lars Svedberg has co-authored articles and contributed to books on civil society, voluntary associations, civic participation and the welfare state with emphasis on the Swedish welfare state.