Last week 16 students from different colleges around Sweden gathered for the start of this year’s Diversify Finance programme. The programme aims to inspire, encourage and support students from groups that are underrepresented in different ways in the sector to apply to SEB.
The programme, which runs for two days, was held in one of the bank’s traditional conference rooms at Kungsträdgårdsgatan in Stockholm. The participants were welcomed by Kristian Skovmand, Head of Investment Banking at SEB. He is Danish but has spent most of his career abroad in London, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Stockholm, for example.
Kristian Skovmand stated that he is firmly convinced that a diversified workforce performs better. A diversity of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds promotes creativity and provides the conditions to give customers the best advice. Diversify Finance is a way to broaden the recruitment path in line with this.
Different fields of study
This year's programme consists of five women and eleven men. They come from different universities and colleges around the country and have different fields of study.
“This programme is a great way to bring together people from different backgrounds, cultures and learning pathways so that we can learn more about investment banking and gain an understanding of the financial market,” says Lano Mahmood, who is in her second year at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Erik Hu, who is reading for a Masters in industrial economics at Lund University, is curious about what job opportunities there are.
“I am curious about the opportunities available within Investment Banking. This programme provides a good overview. I think Debt Capital Markets looks interesting”, he says.
During the introductory days the participants met some twenty managers and specialists who explained about the different parts of Investment Banking. They also received coaching on recruitment and job interviews. Each participant was allocated a mentor and will have the opportunity to apply for an internship within Investment Banking.
This is the third year that Diversify Finance has been arranged and several of the participants from the previous programmes have been offered internships at SEB. Some of the participants from the first run of the programme have taken a full-time position at the bank on completion of their studies.