The Insider

INSIDER SPECIAL
ss
The Swedishne
of SSE Riga
PARTNERS
GENERAL PARTNER
GENERAL PRINTING PARTNER
INSIDE SSE RIGA

Examining the Exam System
PAGE 5
News from Investment Fund
PAGE 6
Diana Lace: The Profile of a President
PAGE 7
Onboard with the 21st SA Board
PAGE 10
Interview with Nicolas Gavoille
PAGE 13
Re-exam Policy at SSE Riga
PAGE 15
Gossip Page
PAGE 30
INSIDER SPECIAL
Interview with Gunnar Ljungdahl
PAGE 16
OUTSIDE THE STUDY ZONE

Life in Riga through Different Eyes
PAGE 12
Get to Know Swedish House Latvia
PAGE 14
Christmas Santa: Top Secret

PAGE 31
THE ELECTIONS
Presidential Couples
PAGE 8
Election Schedule & Event Committee
PAGE 19
Business, PR & Information Committees

PAGES 22-25
20 15
Sports, IT & Education Committees

PAGES 26-29
EDITORS PAGE
by Violeta oncu
The Power of Choices

/SSERigaInsider
@SSERigaInsider
Special thanks:
Gunnar Ljungdahl, Morten Hansen,
Dina Lce, Vlad Dobrovan,
Valters Vestmanis, Uis Kampars,
Ernests Bordns, Arnold Kommel,
Karl-Alexander Sepp,
Anastasia Kazhar
Dear Readers,
The time has come to look back at
the beginning of the road that weve
traveled together, and it wasnt an
easy one, I must admit. We should
be thankful for that, I think for
the chance to travel roads less traveled by. Today we want to share
with you one of the most important
things we learned throughout this
unforgettable year.
This issue portrays a major concept in our lives elections! And
some will say, I can totally live
without them, which we agree with
as its a matter of choice to express
your opinion. But lets be clear on
something; a more intelligent choice
would actually be to make smart
decisions. After all, we learned that
everything that we do can be narrowed down to our choices. It was
my choice to run as a candidate for
the Chief Editor position, and Ive
loved it every day. Ultimately, we
are shaped by our choices because
Ieva Pecukeviit
Alexandra Lapitskaya
Violeta oncu
Editor
Vice Chief Editor
Chief Editor
they define what we love, what we

care about, and what we aspire to
become. Its hard to make choices,
isnt it? From my experience, I can
tell you that making a choice for a
group of people is even harder, and
peoples feelings or opinions should
be taken into account, although
its challenging to fulfill. There is a
somewhat magic bond in the Insider, one that weve created through
planning, making decisions, chatting long after midnight, fighting
at times, and always remembering
the common interest that actually brought us together: passion for
writing. We learned to write without fear, to unleash our creativity,
jot down catchy headlines, and cut
out boring articles so that in the
end the focus is on you, our reader and our judge! Many thanks for
being part of our fantastic journey!
Be brave and make choices you can
justify and will never be ashamed of!
Reinholds R. Razums Jekaterina Gornostajeva

Graphic Designer
Editor
Nika Firgere
Mra Deksne
Maksis Gauja
Krista Kaaver
Junior Editor
Junior Editor
Junior Editor
Junior Graphic Designer
INSIDE SSE RIGA

by Morten Hansen
Mortens Column:
Examining the
Exam System
Are exams a good way of testing the
knowledge of students, the Insider
asks me (possibly in the vain hope
that my answer will be no).
Some economics at first: think of
a government that should increase
interest rates to dampen economic
activity and lower inflation. It may,
however, choose to renege on this
promise in order to keep high economic activity and high employment
and thus retain its popularity. Later,
high inflation will appear but it is
treated as tomorrows problem. This
is not optimal and in the literature
we call it time inconsistency. The
question then is how to avoid such
a problem and in the case of monetary policy it is to let an independent
central bank run the policy; a bank
that does not need to be reelected
and thus does not need to please the
public.
In terms of testing the knowledge
of students, time inconsistency also
shows up. Students dont like exams

and the lecturer (certainly I) does
not look forward to grading them.
So why not agree with students that
they promise to study hard and after the course they give themselves
the grade they deserve, based on
how hard they have studied? Hmmmm. No offense, but I think we
all know this would lead to very high
grades with not so much studying.
And therefore we have exams, even
though neither students nor lecturers
really love them We must avoid
the time inconsistency problem.
Exams are most likely not the ideal way of testing students, but I still
havent seen a better way. A combination of exams and reports (as I do in
micro and macro) works quite well
and represents reality quite well, too:
at times we have to make reports/
presentations in real life and we often
do have to perform under the pressure of deadlines.
Oral exams instead of written exams? No, only for report presentations. Written exams can be more
general and can check a broader
range of topics covered than oral exams.
Multiple choice exams? Sometimes, but mostly to check facts that
should be known. They are wonderful to check (= fast) but take time to
make.
Open book exams? Very fine with
me for subjects like math, statistics
etc. Could actually be used in more
subjects but they are much less useful
for students than students think. If
you dont know the material, an open
book exam does not help you at all.
So, dont expect revolutionary
developments from me in terms
of exams the time inconsistency
problem still exists and we can only
solve it by continuing with exams.
To the displeasure of students as
well as lecturers
The More You Know:
by Violeta oncu
Sleeping Habits of Successful People

Churchill used to take regular
naps throughout the day and he
even kept a bed in the House of Parliament. A bed in Soros wouldnt
be such a bad idea after all.
Richard Branson sleeps no more
than 6 hours per night, and is up at
5:45 every morning. Maybe he could
have used extra time for sleeping instead of generating of business ideas.
Or maybe not? A fact is that his Virgin brought him a fortune, and who
cares about sleep when youre so
caught up in your business.

If you dont want to have a mental
breakdown like Nicola Tesla who
slept only 2 hours per night, then get
a good night sleep as to restore your
mind for the day ahead. At least for
the sake of your mental health!
Ben Franklins advice on sleep
Early to bed, early to rise, makes
a man healthy, wealthy and wise
proves to be the best technique for
achieving the most. But the question is how tempting that chat on
Facebook with our friends is, or

how willing are you to stop writing
that paper and wake up early the
next day to finish it ?
Warren Buffett tells us to choose
sleep over extra profit, but should
we trust the most successful investor of the 20th century? After
all, its a matter of discipline and
choice that you have to make for
yourself and be happy with it! Stay
strong, choose wisely and most importantly sleep well!
THE INSIDER DECEMBER 2015
INSIDE SSE RIGA

by iFund Board
Newsletter from the iFund

With this busy semester entering
its final phase, we are thrilled to
share with you the return of one of
our greatest ventures: the Investment Fund Newsletters. We will be
bringing to you recent financial and
economic news on a weekly basis,
focusing on decisions and changes
that are shaping the world around
you right now. Visit our amazing
renovated website IFund.lv and go
to section Newsletters for recent
news and analytics available for you
every Tuesday.
Having dozens of financial websites at our disposal, one might
wonder why we even need Newsletters? Our goal is to give you a
quick look at what is happening in
the world and let you see how the
knowledge obtained at SSE can be
applied to analyzing real-world issues. Moreover, we welcome each
and every one of you to try yourself in the role of an author: take a
unique chance to learn what is happening in the world and apply your
knowledge to share with us your
view of the most pressing challenges facing the world.
One could ask why bother about
financial news at all? Today we find
ourselves in a world that is extremely interconnected. No matter what
industry we aspire to pursue a career in, we will always be affected
by political, economic and financial
decisions around the world. Understanding the logic behind those
decisions and their implications for
our countries and our businesses

is crucial to the success of a modern-day leader.
To see just how interconnected
our world is, let us consider the
case of China and the challenges
it is facing these days. This summer the Chinese economy presented the world with an unpleasant
surprise. After decades of a rapid
growth fueled by ever-increasing
industrial output and exports, the
economy grew by a meagre 6.9 per
cent in the third quarter. The government commented on this, saying that China was shifting towards
a more demand-oriented model
of development. This caused havoc in the Chinese equity markets,
with investors selling the shares of
Chinese companies, attempting
to rescue their funds. After selling
shares, investors were obviously exchanging Yuan as well, forcing the
Bank of China to tap into its massive foreign reserves to support the
currency. Shares on other markets
nosedived too, as investors were
concerned that a turnaround in
Chinese growth would slow down
the whole worlds economy.
Since China has long been the
largest consumer of commodities
in the world, the waning growth
in China immediately resulted
in plunging commodities prices,
with oil prices sinking nearly by
50%. This was a dramatic hit
to other emerging markets,
whose main sources of ex-
ports income were concentrated

in commodities. Their currencies
depreciated massively over 2015,
even despite the large amounts of
central banks reserves spent on
bolstering them.
Lastly, low oil prices dragged
some European economies and Japan back in deflation, depressing
GDP forecasts and forcing policymakers to intensify their efforts to
revive growth. ECB is now vowing
to expand their asset-repurchase
program, attempting to reach their
inflation target of around 2%. After months of intense work, inflation and a sound GDP growth are
still nowhere to be seen.
Clearly, there is a long chain of
events that has to take place before
a change in the growth of the Chinese economy affects the sales of a
start-up in Latvia. Understanding
that chain is, nonetheless, crucial.
Fortunately for us, SSE Riga provides us with all the necessary tools
to do so. With Newsletters, our goal
is to help you make the first steps
towards discovering the markets
yourself. If you aspire to change the
world tomorrow, you have to know
where it stands today!
Financially Yours,
Investment Fund
INSIDE SSE RIGA

by Violeta oncu
The Profile of a President

Dina Lce was born in Riga on a sunny day of May 21, 1995. She doesnt have any siblings, but shes an interesting person who brightens peoples lives every day. Bad news for the boys who might have a crush on her Dina
is taken, she has a boyfriend.
Being in such a leadership position
one has to do something for fun in
order to relax, of course besides managing people, which she enjoys. Well,
Dina is much of an artistic soul;
she has always loved photography,
even though she narrowed it down
to Instagram lately. She adores seafood, sushi, and coffee. You can often
meet her in stand-ups, exhibitions,
virtually anything connected with
culture except ballet, which she cannot stand. At SSE Riga, her favorite
subjects were Marketing and Human
Resource Management, no surprise
about that!
As you might have noticed, Dina
wears mostly black, grey and white
most of the time. Also she wears
only skirts and dresses and
says No rationality - I
just like them way better
than pants. A woman
in power has to look
sharp and elegant all
the time, and Dina
thinks that it does
not account only
for woman in power but in general for
anyone with a somewhat public position.
One should look representable and sharp, and
if it is a woman in position, it
is twice as true. If you are a girl,
you might spend a decent amount of
time in front of a mirror, well it applies for boys these days too. But do
you know how a busy person is saving
time? She just doesnt like too much
patterns on her clothes and also does
not like spending too much effort on
combining crazy colors. As she states,
Simplicity is always the key, and not
only in appearance.
What is power to the woman in
power? She says that that SA Presidents position is a mixture of influence, decision-making and responsibility. Through having a balance of
those, she manages to properly do her
job. She always makes sure to double
check everything, do regular meetings, and organize individual briefings. In her opinion, the winning
strategy is having mutual respect,
trust and control between the leader
and the team.
Dina is definitely a strong leader,
and lets wish her best of luck with
her future start-ups. Yes, she plans
to either go into policy making &
government, or start something on
her own. Both scenarios actually
seem exciting, but
I guess I would rather try my hand

in start-ups first. In some years or
so, you might see her on TV giving
speeches at government meetings. So
take your chance and make friends
with her while she is still in school.
You might be impressed when you
discover how friendly, humble and
open minded Dina is.
When asked about her future
plans, she shared that she wants to
see the world. Another travel buddy found, who else comes on board?
Who knows, you ask me, only you
know what you want to do with your
time. So, be mindful on choosing
not the easiest things, but the most
challenging ones. Dare to try and believe because, as Hellen Keller said,
Life is either a daring adventure or
nothing at all.
ELECTIONS 2015
20 15
PRESIDENTIAL COUPLES
Raivis Bondars &
Maksims ics
Study hard, party hard This wellknown SAs slogan seems to be loosing its meaning over time. Academic
development seems to have fallen out
of students goals list, but parties are
becoming not so exciting either. That
is why we, Raivis and Max, are feeling obligated to change the situation,
and thus help SSE Rigans to improve
their academic and social skills. Although, the SA is not just a Student
Organization, it is a company, it is a
name, and it is a brand, which, we
strongly believe, has a huge potential
of becoming even more advanced and
well-known in the near future. This is
the goal we are aiming at, and in order to reach it we would like to be the
22nd presidential couple of the SA.
Raivis is outgoing, persuasive, broad
minded, and has a large network of
contacts. He is not here straight from
high-school: he has worked as a salesman in a Southwestern company in
The U.S. where he experienced a wide
variety of adventures, and faced many
challenges. Also, one of the most
valuable experiences he has gained
was his work in an international company called Inchcape, which proves
that Raivis is mature and experienced
enough to handle the job. Additionally, he is a fun and interesting person
to communicate with.
Max managed his own chess club
for 3 years during which he gained
knowledge in psychology and human behavior. During his studies
before university he took part in
different activities, which included
performing on stage, organizing numerous events, and other projects
(for instance, POP iela event with
more than 100 participants), which
improved strategic planning, critical
thinking, and communication skills.
Furthermore, he worked in a startup called Sunway, where he was
responsible for finding new partners.
We are aiming to work in three
main fields overall academic performance and the partying experience;
fundraising - the artery of further
success; and last but not least, the development of the SA brand. Together,
we believe that our former experience, skills, and mindset will be just
what the SA needs to develop as well
as to continue the previous boards
successes.
Finally, we are not running for
prestige, we are doing it in order to
improve the SA; however, we cant
achieve it without you. So, lets become better in every aspect of our
lives - lets do it together!
Kind regards,
Raivis, running for President position
Max, running for Vice President position
The editorial team is not responsible for the punctuation and orthography of candidates letters. The Insider publishes the original text of the authors.
Ingus Zeenkovs &

Gaile Andriukeviit
Dear SSE Rigans,
With this letter, we would like to express our motivation and capability
of becoming the next SA presidential
couple. As we find SSE Riga community truly exceptional, both in terms
of high academic level and close community of goal-orientated and motivated people, we are willing to dedicate our time and effort in order to
continue its development. We cherish
the value that has been added to the
universitys community by determination of the previous SA boards, and
we are ready to continue building
where they have left the foundation.
Our backgrounds consist of many
versatile activities and experience that
hasallowed us to gain knowledge and
qualities needed to be suitable for
the position. Inguss acquisition of a
scholarship for Leadership Academy
in the US has contributed extensively
to his skills and qualities of being a
good and effective leader. Moreover,
his year-long work experience in a
non-profit organization contributes
thoroughly to his understanding of
how NPOs operate and plan strategically thus giving a strong basis for
presidents position in the SA. Gails
two years working experience as an
advertising manager taught her the
value of time management as she
was required to balance her work
commitments with her academic
pursuits. Throughout the years representing the company for an international community, interpersonal and
negotiation skills have been gained
which later were improved by managing Public Relations department in
the European Youth Parliament. The
gained knowledge and experience
will contribute significantly to buildinga strong and united team of the
next SA board.
From the very beginning, we will set
a clear vision regarding the structure
of the SA that supports execution, and
exhilarate the board to be goal-oriented and deliver positive results. We
believe in a strong and united team
as a means of achieving the highest
possible efficiency; therefore, for us it
is of crucial importance to motivate
our board by showing an example of
passion and determination. Our decisions will persistently follow the mission, vision and values of the SSER
community. Through these months
of observation as well as preparation,
we have already identified places for
development and found tools how
to increase the quality of fundraising,
improve inner communication and
improve the distinguishability of the
SA both locally and internationally,
and provide both, the best studying
and the best partying experience one
could wish for.
Yours truly,
Ingus and Gail
THE INSIDER ELECTIONS 2015
INSIDE SSE RIGA

by Maksis Gauja
Onboard with the

Old Board
As the year comes to an end, it is time for the 21st board to reflect on the ups and downs of their work in the
Student Association and pass on the duties to the Y1s.
What, to you, was the best moment of the year?

Reinholds: Cliche, but obviously the best moments are those that
make you truly happy, when you
cannot stop smiling like an idiot.
And there have been a lot of those.
From PR Committee perspective I
have had a lot of smiles when people liked some of the designs for
events, the SA in general, our Fashion collection, and Instagram.
Andrejs: My first event, the Winter Symposium. It may have not
been the greatest event, but it felt
great when everything turned out
as it was planned.
Toms: The Newcomers Camp.
We had spent 3 months organizing
it, so when it finally came together, the place was good, the weather
was good, and the feeling of accomplishment was amazing.
Danylo: Around graduation we

had already accomplished quite a
few things and since June in general is a more relaxed time, you really
felt the unity of the team and it all
felt like rest well deserved which I
enjoyed to the fullest.
Nicoleta: For me the making
and the success of the Newcomers
Guide stands out as the best. The
International Evening also turned
out quite well.
Dmitrii: During my summer in
the U.S. I was missing everything
that happened here and I felt like I
was not contributing, so when I saw
all these people, to whom I had become attached to, I felt really happy.
Riards: In the end of August,
when we all rejoined after the summer, it was amazing to see that all of
the associates were active and ready

to work and that they hadnt lost
any motivation.
Sintija: Best moments of this remarkable year in the SA have been,
of course, our successes. Once small
ideas, which were expressed during
meetings with other 9 incredible
personalities, blossomed into new
student opportunities or gave additional sprinkles of joie de vivre from
Newcomers Camp up until Graduation, I knew I am in the right place
among the right people.
Dina: We recently had a very
spontaneous get-together and it
was one of those occasions when
you realize that the whole board are
your teammates, your friends and
that everything youve done together has been superb.
And the worst moment of the year?

Sintija: Failures. Failures to accomplish ambitious goals. Although there have not been so many
false steps this year, for me personally each small failure within the
SA means more than in personal
endeavors.
Riards: The disciplinary meetings, where the rector, pro-rector,
the schools lawyer are meeting
Dina and me about a student that
has been caught cheating or doing
other equally bad thing. It was emotionally very tough defending the
student and trying to not get him/
her expelled in these meetings.
Dmitrii: I felt pressure at the end
of the spring semester, because I
was about to go to the U.S. and there
10
was a lot of preparation that had to

be done. I felt like I had no life.
Nicoleta: The times when exam
preparations and the SA work had
to happen simultaneously. Pushy
timing never helps.
Reinholds: There were some fails
within the PR Committee; one
to mention the delay of Fashion
Collection, as well as the demand
(therefore, promotion) could have
been better. Also some parties
should have been promoted way
more actively.
Toms: The second day of Graduation was painful as we were working for 48 hours straight and it felt
like we were dying.
Andrejs: At one point during the
Summer Symposium it felt like everything went wrong. I had let the
control slip out of my hands, but
with a bit of help everything was
brought back to order.
Dina: The first few months
were really hard. There was a lot
of pressure from the outside about
us not doing things the way they
should be done. In these conditions it was tough to keep everyone motivated.
Danylo: The month of March
definitely seemed like the month of
bad decisions. I dont know whether
the stars had aligned in a bad way
or there was some other reason, but
people were not happy with what
we were doing.
If you had the chance, what would you have done differently?
Dina: I wouldve communicated with the people more, let them
know what we were doing.
Dmitrii: Understand how the SA
works a bit sooner, so there would
be less of a transitional period.
Nicoleta: I wouldve liked to take
on more projects.
Danylo: It wouldve been possible to do more projects in the
spring semester.
Reinholds: I would for sure do a

lot of things way earlier. Although
public should not have felt this,
but I made a lot of stressful and
over-scheduled days for myself.
Andrejs: If I had the chance, I
would try to improve all of the
events prepare better, attract
more people, etc.
Toms: There, maybe, shouldve
been some different activities in
each party as they tend to be more

or less the same. Some diversification wouldve been nice.
Sintija: I would find ways of appreciating the people in the Business Committee more.
Riards: In terms of defending
the students interests, I wish I
was more passionate about the 3
hour rule.
What has the work in the SA taught you?

Toms: Time management. Doing
everything on time is extremely
crucial, especially in my position.
Danylo: Strategic thinking. Collaborating with other organizations
and staying true to my own vision.
Nicoleta: Believing in myself.
Riards: The work in the SA
helped me to better understand myself, what motivates me, and what I
want to do in life.
Dina: There have been a lot of
times when the work has been pushing me to the limits. And thanks to
those moments Ive realized what

Im capable of accomplishing.
Reinholds: I learnt that being in
the Board kind of makes you a public figure (in the SSE Riga at least),
and you need to act respectively. I
believe that we all learnt that sharing is a key and we kind of became
better as a team each day.
Andrejs: Being able to survive
criticism. There is always someone who is not satisfied and who
makes bad comments about the
things youve done. You learn to
not take it personally.

Dmitrii: Understanding of team
dynamics, understanding how people think, being in an environment
where everybody thrives for excellence.
Sintija: Take care of your people,
and they will take care of your business. Another lesson is to always
stay focused on the long-term goal,
be it personal or organizational.
Better yet, they are in line with each
other. The right motivation is foundation of success.
What do you wish for the next SA Board and the members of it?
Dina: It seems as if the people
of SSE Riga have changed, so I
wish the next SA board to change
with them. Also, dont be afraid of
what the people say and focus on
the long run vision.
Dmitrii: Follow the vision. Put

more emphasis on building a
great team at the very start. It is
massively helpful in the long run.
Riards: I would like the next
Education Committee chairperson to understand the potential of
the Education Committee in this
school and to fulfill this potential. To the whole board
I wish strong initiative,
amazing team spirit
and grand successes.
Danylo: Understand what you
want to do as
soon as possible.
Andrejs: Take
the projects and
events seriously,
start preparing
as early as possible and dont be
afraid of starting new projects,

bring new ideas to life.
Reinholds: I wish the next SA
Board to continue the development of the SA as a respectable
and serious organization. The SA
should never stop growing!
Nicoleta: I want the next SA
Board to have such a strong team
as we did. A team that you can always trust, and which will support
and give a helping hand whenever
you ask for it.
Toms: Be as united as we were.
In terms of Event Committee, just
dont mess it up and dont ruin the
school!
Sintija: Stay strong. Stay humble.
Stay ambitious. And, most of all,
make us proud.
11

by Chan Tsy Zing
Something about
Living in Riga
It's been three months since I came
to SSE Riga as an exchange student.
Everything changes after a 10 h
our
flight to the continent I have never
been to before. There are quite a lot
of differences of how Latvians (or
Europeans I would say) and Hong
Kong people behave, which are
quite surprising and yet interesting
to me.
The most frustrating thing I have
encountered here is the way people
greet each other. 'How are you?' is
the most common way people greet
others, but to us, it is sometimes
confusing as we don't do the same.
Everyday I am asked 'How are you?'
for many times and I take it very serious. But then I can feel that people
12
don't really show such great interest

on my well-being as the way my culture does, which makes me feel insincere. Later on, I figured out that
it is just a social greeting, like saying
hi instead of showing real care.
The second thing is the way people get a waiter's attention in a
restaurant. In Hong Kong, it is so
common for people to raise or wave
their hands to seek the attention
from a waiter. But when I tried to
do that here, I was told not to raise
my hands as it is too 'Chinese'. Instead, I was taught to use eye contacts to call waiters. But sometimes
when waiters are busy, it really exhausts me to make them notice me
solely by eye contacts.
While the last one I would comment on is that I am so surprised

by the high frequency of cars giving
way to pedestrians, which is not so
common in my hometown. We, being pedestrians, are treated poorly
and we can only cross the road until
all the cars have passed. In Latvia
and also other European countries,
I can feel how well each pedestrian
is being treated by the fact that most
of the cars will give way to them.
Living in another culture is funny
yet challenging. Above only shows a
few of the cultural differences I have
faced. If you want to understand
more about yourself and also your
country, go apply for an exchange!
It is worth it!
INSIDE SSE RIGA

by Krista Kaaver
An Economist, Mathematician,
Politician, Musician
All in One
How did you come to Latvia?

The first time I came to Latvia was
in 2009, when I was working in Jelgava. I did the European Voluntary Service which is like Erasmus
but a nonprofit organization. I was
working in a music school there, and
I met a lot of friends and my wife,
and so this is why Im here now.
How do you feel about Latvia?
What I like, I would say, if we speak
about behavior of individuals, there
is no hypocrisy in relationships,
there is no fake behavior in the
way that people would pretend to
be your friend the first time you
meet them and afterwards you
will never ever see them again.
At first people might seem cold
but as soon as you really get their
trust, you will get a good friend. I
was going to talk about food, but after some investigation I found a lot
of good food here. Beer, also, wonderful beer in Latvia. I totally like it.
This you can write in bold.
third day I wanted to be a cop. But

I never really imagined what could
it be to be a footballer. I never really considered my future totally only
through my future career. I knew
that professionally its very important to love what you do, which is
the case for me, I really like doing
research, teaching, and communicating with students.
What did you study?

Basically, I studied economics all the
time. So I have a PhD in economics
that I completed last June. Just after
highschool, I didnt start directly
with economics, I stayed a couple
of months with architecture, and
it turned out rather quickly that it
was not for me. I was giving models
back covered with my own blood,
because I was cutting my fingers
when building them. Theoretical
side was very nice but practical side
was a total disaster. So I understood
that I had to quit before cutting my
whole fingers. But I didnt wait until
the end of the year, I moved directly
in the second semester to the ecoHow did you get to SSE Riga?
So I arrived in September. I was in nomic university of the city I was in
contact with the Rector, and I met that time.
him in June. I attended the BICEPS
seminars, and then he proposed What kind of a student were you?
me to work, and I was very happy There was something strange in my
to come here as it was something student behavior; I was barely nevI was interested in. So we quickly er missing any lectures, but outagreed on that, and so here I am. I side school I wasnt doing a lot of
was focusing on keeping working things. I never understood how
in academics, and as there are good students went
the
things that are done here, it was a to
perfect match.
Who did you want to be as a child?
I change my mind very often. I
guess when I was a kid I wanted to be a firefighter, the next day
I wanted to be a teacher, and the
lectures just to sleep there and

not listen. If you felt sleepy, you
would better stay at home. I understood that if I made the effort
to go to the lecture room, I had to
make it useful, I had to follow
actively and so on. When you
make some effort of following
the lecture, listen actively, and
really try to understand, then
you dont have to do it afterwards
at home.
What are your future plans? Do
you have any dreams?
If Id have to pick only one dream, it
would be to go in space. So Im following quite closely the advantages
of a private trip in space. There are
actually two things I would consider big achievements outside the
professional field, because in the
professional field a good achievement would be to see students
becoming Nobel Prize winners or
presidents. I really would like to
publish one novel and one album.
Do you have any suggestions for
the students?
When you come to the lecture,
make your time in the classroom
worthwhile. This is something that
is really important. If you make
the effort as much as possible to
understand before getting out of
the classroom, you did 80% of the
job. Most of the time, especially for
very technical lectures, you dont
have to understand everything at the end of the
hour, but at least you
have the main idea,
and you see what
the point was,
and then you did
most of the job!
13

by Ieva Pecukeviit
Rock N Roll
by Swedish House Mafia Latvia
How you are going to celebrate
your next Birthday party?
Arnold: I dont know yet but what
I do know is that Hans (the party
animal) would definitely be invited.
Valters: Since its after graduation,
I will gather all the closest friends
for a sort of last supper before everyone goes on with their after-SSE
lives to pretend to be grown-ups; it
will be a chill summer BBQ at my
place, as always.
Karl-Alexander: Lets keep it simWhat is the perfect woman (or ple with some cake and the band
on the road while were on our
man) for you?
Valters: Yeah, I prefer girls (sorry, world tour.
guys). Perfect girl would definitely
have a good sense of humor, love What was the funniest thing you
dogs and raccoons, dont get jealous have ever done on the stage?
Karl-Alexander: Wearing a king
when I hang out with the guys, and
she would laugh at my dumb jokes costume.
Valters: Back in highschool when
when no one else does.
Uis: The perfect woman has got I was playing in a punk band I used
to have love for the kebab and at to inappropriately dance on the
least a passing grade in mathemat- stage while singing Blink182 Another Girl, Another Planet (Im a
ics.
Karl-Alexander: She is easy on really terrible singer, by the way). I
the eyes and the perfect inspiration guess thats why I dont feel uncomfortable to present in front of an aufor songwriting.
Ernests: Alex is my perfect man. dience anymore.
Uis: Once during the gig I got
Not sure about the ladies.
so thirsty I asked someone in the
first row for a glass of water.
They handed me a full cup
of transparent liquid. I
immediately drank it all
and realized that it was
pure vodka. Needless
to say, I was not far
from throwing up.
Arnold: Throwing my
bass into the crowd instead of the pick.
Ernests: Looked at
Uis face when he
was playing.
How would a rock star spend his

craziest night ever?
Karl-Alexander: It would have to
be the one involving stage diving.
Uis: Based on the experience of
Mr. Osbourne or Keith Richards, a
night has not been crazy if you did
not set yourself on fire or snorted
your grandfathers remains.
Valters: The ones started with an
innocent thought, lets grab only
1-2 beers and go home early.
14
How you are going to spend your

first earned million EUR?
Uis: Charity obviously Hektors
for everyone!
Arnold: I would buy a house on
the Estonian countryside and a nice
old Vespa scooter, and live happily
ever after while doing some gardening and travelling.
Valters: Give a lot of it to my parents and build a nice cabin in the
mountains of Norway, far away
from people. I will spend my days
there thinking I should have invested it somewhere else instead.
What was your favorite trip ever
and why do you find it the best?
Arnold: I once went to Kaunas. It
was very nice. The streets are filled
with happy people. There is this
mall called Akropolis and there you
have a really nice ili Pica restaurant; best pizza that Ive ever had.
Valters: Spending 6 weeks in Colombia teaching English to kids. I
had never been in such a different
environment before where pretty
much everything just seems weird
and illogical at times. In trips like
this you slowly start to realize what
you are made of and what you
should or shouldnt be doing in life.
Uis: A year ago, just before the
statistics exam, we played in Narva, Estonia. It was funny because
the club premises were made to
host no more than 30 people at the
same time and the owner himself
was drunk-driving back and forth
to grab more beer. Also the fact
that the Russian Federation was
just across the river from the club,
made alcohol consumption in large
amounts seem more acceptable.
Karl-Alexander: They say it was
the one from Miami to Ibiza.
Ernests: I dont do LSD or other
acids, sorry
INSIDE SSE RIGA

by Vlad Dobrovan
Re-exams at SSE Riga

If you are studying in SSE Riga, you are not a stranger to the bane which is the fear of failing and having to take a
re-exam (if you dont agree with it, just wait till FE). And if you are an above-average student who studied really
hard for an exam, got a good score, and found out that some people got 20-30 points more than you at the re-exam
because of some adjustments or an easier exam, wouldnt you feel a bit cheated? Or lets put it that way, how would
you feel after seeing a lower grade in your transcript because of adjustments made to it after re-exams?
Re-exams at SSE Riga are a lifeline for a good amount of students here, but they can also be
used as a strategy in order to
get a better grade in a subject
you did not have enough time
to fully grasp (FE being a prime
example). And this is because
re-exams have essentially no effect on your transcript. They say
that the transcript represents
academic excellence, not discipline, but realistically, academic
excellence is not the only thing
that matters, especially for po-
tential employers. For many of

them, discipline might matter
even more. This somewhat liberal approach to re-exams also
goes in contradiction with a fundamental difference between SSE
Riga and other universities in the
region constant academic pressure. Re-exams, which are usually done in winter/summer, give
students more time to prepare,
and they already have the experience of the past exam. If you are
aiming at the highest score, you
might consider going to re-exam
straight away for some courses,

since the only thing that you are
losing is your free time. Some
solutions to this could be different score ceilings, limits on the
number of available reexams etc.
Re-exams should be seen as
a second chance for the people
who failed, while respecting the
students which passed at the first
time. However, it should not be a
good and straightforward strategy for getting a higher score compared to the original exam.
INSIDER SPECIAL
by Violeta oncu
The Swedishness of SSE Riga:
Rediscovering Our Beauty

Gunnar Ljungdahl is the Vice President of SSE Riga, which doesnt actually mean much, like he humbly stated
when I had the privilege to conduct an interview with him. His job is to maintain contacts with important businesses and people that support our school. Having been at SSE Riga since 1999 he knows pretty much about our
school and its history. A Swede who enjoyed seeing Latvia transform from the Soviet times through European ones.
In search for the Swedishness of SSE Riga and its roots we found Gunnar at his office in the second floor. I chatted with an experienced banker and a skillful fundraiser, and you know what I discovered? I found out why SSE
Riga was build, how back then, already 21 years ago, and how the school is addressing the challenges of losing its
Swedishness in terms of education.
What were the reasons for founding SSE Riga? Why in Latvia?
The initiative came from students
who were from the Baltic States.
Just in the wake of independence,
they had been given scholarships
to study at SSE in Stockholm. A
group of them went to the Rector, at that time Staffan Burenstam-Linder, and said that it was a
fantastic education which people
needed indeed. They said, Since
its not possible to bring everyone
to Sweden, wouldnt it be better if
you start something in the Baltic
States? He, like most of the people
in our generation, had a terribly
bad conscience for the way Swedish people treated the Baltic States
at the end of the war. It was a way
for Staffan to pay back by creating
this school.
16
where we worked very closely with

family members. Most of the time
I was travelling abroad. In 1992
there was a bank setup in Riga
called the Investment Bank of
Latvia. When the bank was about
to go bankrupt, due to bad management in 1993, I was offered the
position of an advisor to the newly
appointed president. I stayed in the
position for 2 years and had a lovely time in the soviet city of Riga.
Afterwards, I went to Sweden and
then came back in 97 to work for
Norwegians.
Back in 1994 the school had an
initial 10 year budget of 400m
Swedish kronor. However, in 1999
Mr. Gunnar, how did you end up school was getting less and less
money for the remaining 4-5 years.
here?
I am an old banker. I worked for 20 Then the foreign office in Sweden
years in SEB, a fantastic institution decided to check whether it was
It was started in Latvia because
it was the only country that really
caught on the idea after investigating all the Baltic States. When they
had to find the proper premises,
they were looking at a lot of places
including this one, which was then
in a terrible state. Eventually, this
building became the gift of Latvian
Government; it was their contribution to the share capital of the nonfor-profit SIA SSE Riga, founded in
1994. Establishing this school was
a tremendous initiative. I think it
has really paid off, and with time
passing by, it becomes more and
more brilliant!
worthwhile to continue or is it better to close the school. I won the

competition to analyse that. I had
endowed the whole thing and said
this is the best thing that Sweden
has ever done, and whatever you
do, you have to continue! The idea
was that after 10 years Latvia was
supposed to take over the school
and I said that they were not prepared for that. At that time they
neither did have resources nor the
understanding yet. Afterwards,
SSE Riga employed me to make
sure that we succeeded with the
whole thing, and we did! We got
the necessary money from Sweden
and from Latvia. The other Baltic countries were not interested.
However, they were interested in
having their students study here,
but not in paying bills.
What is your education?
I am a lawyer, actually. My father
had always wished to become a
doctor. However, he ended up
studying religious history. So he
never became a medical doctor
and he wished I would become
one. I studied hard to get accepted for medical studies, and when I
finally got in I said but no, thank
you! I then realized that it is funnier to study law because then you
can do whatever you like. And
then I ended up in a bank.
You are pretty good with fundraising, what should one do in
order to hold all the aces in the
fundraising?
Most of the time is that you just
stumble onto an opportunity that
you should pay attention to. Talk
beautifully, and, if you write the
right lines, you get it. There are
lots of schemes and lectures about
fundraising, but I dont believe
they work. It is very much a matter
of personal derivations with people who take the decisions in companies and institutions. Just try to
raise their attention to the beauty
of SSE Riga. It is not difficult if you
meet the right people. We are pretty extraordinary and the interna-
the Russians away.

However, the initial intention
of the school was that students go
back to their countries after finishing their education. One of the
strongest opponents of this idea
What does your title mean, Se- was Peter Wallenberg who said:
nior Vice President of SSE Riga, You are selecting the absolutely
best students, you treat them like
pretty fancy?
Its a beautiful title but it doesnt broilers, and when they come out,
mean a lot. I said I come from they go to London and The United
the banking world and there they States to become the investment
excel at fantastic titles. The best I bankers. That was his view, but it
have heard was the title of a Japa- was wrong. It turned out that very
nese guy who was First Senior Ex- few had left their countries, on the
ecutive Vice President. President is contrary, they stayed in the area
nothing compared to First Senior and started businesses in there.
Executive Vice President.
I try to influence what I can, but How does SSE Riga connect and
I have no power. My main function keep in touch with SSE?
is to keep contacts with businesses We have had too little contact for a
in Latvia and elsewhere, especially long time, but it has increased rein Sweden. I used to do a lot to- cently. At Executive MBA, they do
gether with the grand man of SEB part of their training in Stockholm,
Peter Wallenberg, who was a son for example, and part of Swedish
of the chairman when I worked students do their Executive MBA
in the bank. He was very much here. We had come that far at least.
involved with the school and sup- However, we have less exchange
ported it. Actually, he supported students than we should, I think.
more RGSL, because he had a le- It is a difficult issue to tackle, as
gal training and he thought it was SSE is a big school and is slightly
more bureaucratic than our school
more of interest than economics.
which is why its difficult to interWhy is the Swedish government vene with them.
giving scholarships to students
from Eastern Partnership coun- Some of the students have complained that our school is losing
tries?
The initiative to give scholarships its Swedishness meaning that
was taken by Donald Tusk from its becoming less Swedish in
Poland and Carl Bildt from Swe- terms of education? What do you
den. According to the EU rules, have to say about that?
as Latvia became a member of the I dont follow the education proEU, it was no longer possible to cesses closely, but still, when you
support the school financially. 20 look at the ending result, it is easy
scholarships per year for students for us to make a comparison with
from Eastern partnership coun- SSE. I am sure that the quality of
tries have started to be given then. our students surpasses by far the
Actually, Swedish government is quality of students in SSE Stockgiving grants to help the initiative holm, there is no doubt about that!
that was taken by Sweden and Po- Swedes are very impressed by the
land. I think that Sweden has always knowledge and capabilities of the
been sort of an alien to Russia, and people here. It has lot to do to a
we have fought so many wars, most large extent with the system of secof them started by Swedes. So, if we ondary school in Sweden, which
are discussing the value of that ini- is not very adequate. There had
tiative, part of the thinking is that been some Swedes who applied to
you should build a corridor to keep SSE Riga and they all failed; their
tional aspect of the school is very
important. The more nationalities
we have here the better it is. And,
again, the quality of the students is
amazing!
17
INSIDER SPECIAL
by Violeta oncu
knowledge in mathematics was too

lousy. Their spoken English might
be great, but they dont have a clue
how to properly write in English,
which is pretty embarrassing. On
the other hand, those could easily get accepted to SSE. If you, by
Swedishness mean the quality
and level, then it is higher here
than in Stockholm. When I joined
the school in 2000, it was very Latvian. Our ambition was to be international and we had to choose
either English or Russian language.
We found English more suitable
for the area and I think that Swedishness here has increased in the
last 10-15 years.
At SSE Riga we are getting more
and more local professors, is the
trend going to continue?
In the beginning of SSE Riga, there
were mainly so-called Lufthansa professors, who flew in, gave
lectures and flew back to Sweden.
Throughout the years, we have
tried to replace them with local
people or people from other countries, for example, Morten Hansen,
who is Danish but still a local professor. But we are anxious not to
let that part to be too big, because
18
it is important to bring fresh

blood and guest professors
from other parts of the world.
Some years ago, 75 per cent of lecturing and education was done by
local people, whereas the rest was
done by the visitors. It is a pretty
fair share as you need different impulses and a varied range of ideas
not to stagnate.
What are the Center for Sustainable Business and the Center for
Media Studies at SSE Riga?
They are very modern centers that
operate based on donations. The
centers make it possible to do research and publish papers on various aspects and themes. They are
part of SSE Riga and provide resources for scholars and researchers to conduct high quality work.
The Centre for Media Studies at
SSE Riga provides further education for journalists in the fields of
investigative reporting, business
reporting and journalistic ethics.
There is a family in West Sweden,
in the city of Karlstad, who have
been publishers for 100-150 years.
Everybody says that paper and
newspaper is a loss business, but
they earn money on it and thats
very clever. They have been strong

supporters of the school, made
substantial donations and suggested to build a media center for
journalists, especially investigative journalists. Seminars are often
organized in the Baltic States and
journalists from Scandinavia are
invited to share their experience.
Why should students come to
study at SSE Riga?
In my opinion, SSE Riga is the
best business school in Eastern
and Central Europe. It is a small
school, which is good and it has
a lot of ambitions. The only thing
that is missing (and we are still
working on it and trying to arrange it) is the introduction of the
Masters programme . We have
plans for it, but its a matter of
funding and resourcing. We aim
to build the Masters programme
so that people are not forced to go
to Finland, Sweden, England, or
Denmark for that.
ELECTIONS 2015
election schedule
20 15
December 10, 17:15

election day 2 December 14, 17:15
sa general meeting December 17, 17:15
election day 3 December 17, 18:00
election results December 22, 23:59
election day 1
follow the elections on
@SSERigaSAelections
20 15
event committee
Karlna Brtulsone
Dear all,
Event.com is the one that brings out
the true spirit of the SSE community.
Starting with Newcomers Camp and
ending with Graduation - these are
the parties that let you take a break
from the demanding studies and behave in a manner that would make
it impossible for us to ever run for a
president.
I am putting forward my candidature for Event.com chairperson holding the qualities that are needed for
this position. I obtained experience
in event management while working
in Palladium concert hall and in a PR
company, helped organizing different

international events and concerts.
What is more, I have developed time
management, problem solving, teamwork and leadership skills through
various programs.
Not only do we have experience, but
also a superb team. THE DREAMTEAM. We are 10 remarkable, hilarious, hardworking and creative people
who are ready to take the SSE parties
to a whole new level. I am blessed to
have 7 extraordinary guys and 2 fabulous girls in my team who are dedicated to create the best possible party ex-
perience for you SSE Rigans, because

we live to party, we love to party and
most importantly - we are the party.
The goal is to make every party
unique and outstanding by putting
more emphasizes on the entertainment, while keeping the standards
incredibly high for the technical side.
So Study Hard. We will think about
the rest,
Karlna Brtulsone,
Agate S., Ieva R., Egls B.,
Toms B., Riards G., Pauls R.,
E. Seilis, Artrs ., Mrti V.
19
ELECTIONS 2015
20 15
business committee
Aleksandrs Vasijevs
Hello, Dear Readers!

I am happy to candidate to the position of the Business Committee Chairperson. Each day I develop myself step
by step and now I am who I am. I believe that my skills and life experience
would be fully applied at this position.
I took up a leadership role for preparing documents and all expenses for
whole Latvian team to become a part
of the international project Open
your Ears organized by the programme Youth in Action, Erasmus.
I have gained and practiced my communication skills through Shadow

Day in Latvian Parliament- Saeima,
where I participated in negotiations
and have shared my ideas with Latvian
leaders in sphere of public relations.
Business Committee is a great opportunity for me to apply my knowledge into practice. Moreover, I have
joined the real life of Business.com. By
now I have helped Charity Club with
200 pieces of Krums yogurt and 40
bottles of Danone yogurt. Then I

have provided Junior Peak Time with
40 litres of drinking yogurt and sour
cream. Also I have renewed cooperation with Tymbark.
I believe that not only my achievements, but that is more important my
personality will make me a suitable
candidate for this position. I will do
my best to Business.com and will develop it as much as possible for now.
toms talo
Enthusiasm, ambitiousness, flexibility,
capability of solving tricky situations
these are the main characteristics what
Business Committee and its team are
made of. Accomplishing all the must be
done tasks are the benchmark there
can be no excuses. Attracting new partner companies is one of the ultimate
goals, a way to raise the benchmark. Improving existing proposal by making it
easily personalized and more catchy for
each company is the first part of success;
feedback, gratitude, close cooperation,
20
and initiative from our side on a daily

basis a step towards sustainable and
worthwhile relationships.
I believe that friendly and sincere
attitude is crucial to get on well with
people in everyday life as well as in corporate culture. Working as a vice-president in high schools Student Council
has given me a great insight on how
such kind of organizations should operate. Running the organization made
a strong belief that team is the key to
success; effort and crave for the best
outcome are always rewarded with results that satisfy.

Taking actions that are beneficial for
SSE Riga and SA, improving the quality of Business Committees work and its
brand is my only intent. I believe in my
motivation and ability to take the action
as well as the fact that we have all the
necessary human resources to build the
best possible team.
A famous Latvian poet once said:
Those who change - survive. I am ready
to take the action.
Malika Yousupova
Dear SSE Rigans,
I would like to address you all and reveal my vision and my incentives for
applying to the position of Business
Committee Chairperson.
I believe it is familiar to all of us that
SSER students are not only provided
an opportunity to obtain high-level
education, but they also have a chance
to enjoy the diversity of non-academic
events organized by the SA. And most
of them financed due to fundraising of
the BC.
In the position of BC Chairperson I
would like to continue the implemen-
tation and development of sponsors

database - HubSpot - which has been
initiated by the BC team 2015. It is
crucial for even more efficient functioning of the committee and cooperating student organizations. I would also
like to expand the list of our financial
sponsors. Beyond any doubt, additional financial aid would be helpful
for increasing the scale of SSER events
and enabling the student body to enjoy
them even more.
Moreover, I see necessity in enhancement of sustaining further communi-
cation with cooperating companies and

institutions. It would make a considerable input in prospective partnership
with them.
One American footballer and executive, Vince Lombardi, once said:
Leaders arent born, they are made.
Im convinced it is true. I am eager to
undertake this challenge. I am full of
enthusiasm and commitment to become better and stronger, helping to
make the life of the SSE Riga community even more engrossing! Let us make
our choices together!
Artis Sakss
Art is making something out of nothing, and selling it. Frank Zappa
Sometimes people do not realise that
behind every event, every organization
and every benefit that we take for granted in SSE Riga, myself including, stands
a person who took the courage to pick
up the phone, dial in the number and
call someone who he does not know
and ask for money or the good they are
produce ready for every outcome. Seems

challenging, and that is what I like the
most about this business committee it
is never easy. As I see it selling is not
just making a transaction of money for
x amount of goods or services. Especially in business committee where the goal
is not to make one time deals but long
term partners and also the goods sold
are not physical. About why I think I
am suitable for this position. First of all
I like to invest myself to the maximum

into things I do. In high school I have
organised many events and I have directed a team. Also I have working experience in big Latvian firms selling their
production and calculating optimal way
to store them, but that is all secondary.
The main reason why I should be the
next chairperson for business committee
is that I have the drive to see how much
of an impact I can make.
21
ELECTIONS 2015
20 15
pr committee
Irna Galia
Dear SSE Rigans!

I am glad to be here now as a part of a
huge SSE Riga community! These three
month passed by really fast, all of us
made it so far, but the time of elections
is approaching.
Up to this moment I have been worked
in public relations for SSE Riga, like On
The Spot project or several advertisement videos for the Insider and the SA.
Besides that I have been working for PR
Committee as a photographer and was
always ready to catch up tasks appeared
at the very last moment.
I am ambitious, hard-working, patient
and tolerant person. I will not get scared
facing unsolvable problems. And I believe

this features will also help me leading the
PR Committee for the upcoming year.
I have gathered some experience taking Marketing and Design courses in
Oxford, attended few video filming
masterclasses and arranged individual
photoshoots. Apart from that I was involved in Presidents council and was
dealing with event photography in previous school.
One of my goals for future is establishing our schools promotion outside:
making advertisements, providing more
fascinating informal knowledge about
SSE Riga everyday life to outsiders,

making SSE Riga more attractive for
new potential students and for our internal environment.
Looking through the work already
made, I concluded that it will be challenging to overcome the level set for us.
But I believe that strength is behind unity and together with our great team we
can achieve everything! I am sure that I
could become a good chairperson and be
useful for SSE Riga, as it is for me now.
Best wishes,
Irna Galia
Anna Ostaenko
Dear SSE Rigans,
Let me remind you of the good old
days, when you were light-hearted
pupils of the last grade choosing your
future universities. Have many options
were there for you? Why youve chosen
this exact one?
The SA is the heart of our school
and it is doing everything for people to
understand what their best choice in
terms of education is. PR Committee is
the main reflection of all the activities
that are done to prove it. Advertisement
22
of SSE Riga, which is not only brighthead students, but the more recognizable things that have schools logo on
it are always carried being proud and
inspired.
I want to be a part of the hard work
which is done there for people to know
SSE Riga. I want to be the person who
does inspire to join SSE Riga. I want to
present the face of our school to public
as good as it can be done and even better.
Ideas not coupled with action never
become bigger than the brain cells they

occupied. The best prove that ideas are
more than leaves without figs is an experience. Dealing with design programs
more than a half of my life I am eager
to continue. Working as an associate
helped me to understand that creative
nature could break all the rules on the
way to success. That is how M.Jackson
suddenly appeared in the Karaoke Diplomas and the Insider cover was set on
fire. It is time to set the elections on fire!
Sofija Pivuka
Dear SSE Rigans,
My desire to run PR Committee stems
from a wish to continue developing design strategies of previous Chairpersons.
Yet design which is focused on creating
objects of beauty is only the tip of the
iceberg. However, I feel that new ideas
should become popular not only for the
inner community of SSE Riga, but also
for the outside.
During the last four years filming and
editing have become my hobbies. I made
videos not only for myself, but also for
my previous schools projects. While being a Junior Associate of the PR Com-
mittee, I have got understanding of its

work and I had a chance to contribute
while filming and editing one of the On
The Spot episodes, capturing Internship
Experience Sharing and other smaller
events.
I would like to continue previous
Chairpersons work by cooperating with
student organizations and committees in
order to take care of them by providing
various visualisations. I am going to continue working with On The Spot project
in order to make episodes even more entertaining and popular among SSE Riga
community. Additionally, my aim is to

improve SSE Riga fashion collection and
to create the special one for the SA.
I realize the importance of designs
emotional impact and I strongly believe
that to deliver a message to the audience,
the visual message must be parallel to the
content in order to have a resonance. So
I believe that having experience in photography, filming, as well as in editing
will help to transform ideas into reality.
Yours,
Sofija Pivuka
Krista Bulderberga
Dear all,
As someone who has always sought for
creativity even in the most conventional environment, I am confident that the
PR Committee is a place for me. Along
with the opportunity to do what I like,
I feel that I can bring new perspective
to this committee. My vision is to spice
up social media sites, like Instagram
profile and eventually finish the project
that is in the draft stage for a long time
already the SSE Riga Student Association Wikipedia page.
Fields that I feel most comfortable
in are photography and video, but it is

worth to mention that design software
is also something that I have worked
with previously.
What one does is more important
than what one says, therefore I am
firmly convinced that actions speak
louder than words. I have already taken a chance in various tasks created
a video for Bottomline Summer Symposium 2015, took photos for Global
Entrepreneurship Week, Junior Peak
Time and the Business Committee, as
well as designed additional posters for

Internship Experience Sharing event
and I continue to challenge myself taking up new projects.
I believe that my skills and experience would bring positive contribution
to the work that previous Chairpersons
have started, thus I am willing to preserve the quality that has been achieved
and even improve it!
Yours,
Krista Bulderberga
23
ELECTIONS 2015
20 15
PR committee
Sigita Zvejniece
Dear SSE Rigans,

Ability to be proud about the way how
others see your university is truly a great
feeling. Hoping for a chance to continue
building the best first impression about
SSE Riga here I stand.
PR is not only about Twitter and Facebook, it is the overall image we create
about our school to everybody (including potential students) using all the possible media channels and methods. My
aim is to reflect the high quality studies
and the great social life our school can
offer, as well as the motivated, well-established and excellent crowd we have
around here.
I truly believe that I have the qualities
and experience needed for this position.
Having worked in a PR company, as
well as managed the PR of the European
Youth Parliament in Latvia, I have developed taste, time management and leadership skills, as well as ability to manage
a team. And as we could not imagine
our events without the greatest design, it
is important that during last years I have
developed my skills and knowledge in
this particular field.
I believe my skills, professional ex-
perience and passion about PR could

become a great addition to the SA in
2016, and, if elected, I aim to build on
the great foundations established by the
previous SAs making great posters,
embracing fabulous social media looks
and ensuring the most fashionable merchandise in this region.
One picture is worth thousand words,
so lets meet during the election presentation.
Truly yours,
Sigita Zvejniece
information committee
Dana Zueva
Hello everyone!
I would like to introduce myself as a candidate for the position of the Information
Committee chairperson.
I cant say that it was the first position
I wanted to apply But soon I realized
that it is the best opportunity for me to
make some improvements in SSER in a
sphere that I like.
Winter is coming (if you know what I
mean) and Elections are closer than they
seemed to be.
24
Elections made all of candidates to

search for an answer, why others should
choose them. Honestly, I dont have a
lot of practical experience in organizing
information flow, but I believe that for
Info.com Chairperson it is more significant to be a open, friendly and communicative person. And the most important
thing about me is that Im always happy
to make new friends and help people.
Frankly speaking, some first weeks of
studying I felt more than lost Thank

heaven that administration and SA members (mostly during parties) had enough
patience to answer all my questions. Now
Im proud of possibility to help new (and
not so new) members of SSER community to get the most essential, concrete
and just interesting information.
With believe in flower power,
Dana Zueva.
information committee
Agn Purlyt
Google knows it best? I dont think so,
at least not in terms of SSER life. Info.
com Chairperson is the one that carries
the whole information about the place
we are living in (yes, living) for 3 years
and I would be grateful if you entrusted
this duty for me.
As I already am a Junior Associate in
the Information Committee, I will be
able to complete old projects and also
bring something new: I would like to
target Info.com to a more international
direction and cooperate with international organizations ensuring a bigger
variety of exchanges, internships, and
projects abroad even with some benefits

or discounts. Moreover, as the Yearbook
is the second most important materiality
that will be taken from SSER (after BSc
degree of course), I would like to make it
more personal for each of Y3s introducing a possibility to remind each other
about all the best times they had. And
lastly, I am concerned of continuing the
Media project and introducing SSER
columns in newspapers and magazines,
spreading the idea about the events and
achievements that our university should
be proud of.
Starting from school and finishing
with an international environment,

I have been a member of the Events
Committee at school, a member of Lithuanias School Students Union, a participant in Model European Parliament and
in a few international projects organized
by AIESEC and Youth in Action. These
experiences benefit my personal skills
and ensure my ability to take responsibility of the Info.com Chairpersons position.
Just show me your trust and I will do
my best.
Sincerely,
Agn Purlyt
maksis gauja
I cannot be proud of always being gritty;
Im no Voltaire Im not as witty;
Im not even Nicoleta - Im not as pretty.
But Id still like to lead the Information
Committee.
More or less
With a lack of finesse
I will now express
And try to address the reasons
Why I dare
To solemnly swear
To take care
Of the Info.com chair.
The tight-knit community that we

have in this school seems fascinating
to me and I want to contribute to this
communitys well-being the best I can,
which is through the SA. My love for
writing and passing on and sharing information has proven to be useful in my
work in the Info.com as a junior associate.
A big goal for me is to improve the
communication between the SA and
the students. The SAs work is often
misconceived - leading to frustration in
both sides, because everyone has their
own opinion about whats happening.
And as the aforementioned Voltaire said

Opinions have caused more ills than
the plague or earthquakes on this little
globe of ours. The wall between the SA
and the students should be more transparent.
Another goal is the promotion of the
SA and its activities outside of the school.
While already somewhat prestigious, the
schools image could be improved. People who are not studying here also deserve to be welcome in our parties.
I ensure you that I will do my best to
keep you surfing on top of the information wave.
25
ELECTIONS 2015
20 15
sports committee
Tadas limas
Dear all,
How are you? Organising and sports is a
very big part of my life back in high
school I was elected as a Senator and now
I am a board member of the high schools
Alumni Association, so I have constantly
had to be in touch with the high schools
administration, alumni and students I
already have experience in being a part of
two student associations and that is what
I very much enjoy doing.
Moreover, in my free time I organize at least three sports events per
year; as the high school football team
2nd captain, I helped the team to two

straight third places in Vilniuss inter
school football competitions, organized
two interclass tournaments and four
friendly matches for the team and I
already did partly similarly at SSE Riga
by organizing two friendly matches for
the schools football team.
I really enjoy all sports; I once played
an official table tennis match against
the 1stranked player in Latvia, I enjoy
playing basketball, snooker, swimming
and I definitely very much enjoy trying
other sports. As the Sports Committee

Chairperson, I would like to keep all the
old events, retain all practices, extend
the current Olympics by adding more
schools and support new initiatives.
Being the Sports Committee Chairperson would mean much for me I
very much enjoy organizing sports and
serving the community and already
have some experience in it.
Good luck to all,
Tadas limas
Alice Kirina
Doing it better than just anybody else
In my sport career I have been per-
of the most suitable schedule of week-
I am writing to you with a huge desire

to become the next Sport Committee
Chairperson. Sport has always been a
significant part of my life: I have been
performing as a professional BMX racer
for the last 9 years and achieved considerable results as a Russian BMX Champion and a finalist at European BMX
Championship Rounds. BMX-Racing
is not my only passion; other extreme
sports such as motocross and snowboarding attract me as well.
represented two European cycling companies in my home country by running

an advertisement campaign and organizing sport events.
Becoming a Sports.com Chairperson
will be a great experience for me as I am
planning to connect my future performance with sport lifestyle industry. I
promise to maintain everything related
to sport at SSE at the great level by organizing all main events such as Summer
& Winter Symposium, SSE & RGSL
Olympics and others; and to take care
want to bring my favorite sport to SSE

by introducing a cycling event, but at
the same time I will be open to any new
ideas and try to bring them to live.
Finally, I want to say that I have always
successfully combined studies and sport,
and I believe that I will bring this ability
of main to SSE by making sport experience for students the most efficient and
positive.
Mris trombergs forming not only as an athlete, I also ly practice for students. Additionally, I
26
Yours,
Alice Kirina
Ilva Frdenberga
Fellow students,
While being in the intensive life of
SSE Riga with deadlines and exams approaching almost every week, and rushing through week in a blink of an eye, I
am glad there is sport.
There are various skills that are necessary to be a sprots.com chairperson,
some may say that it is a career in sports,
though I would say that it would be experience in organizating and planning. I
have been an organizer to an EYP session
in Latvia where a great deal is teamwork
and planning time efficiently.
Until now I have relaunched weekly

bridge practices and helped with Table football tournament. Furthermore,
my vision for the future is to arrange
the previous hall for the aerobics in the
OSC, to broaden bridge practices, and
taking in account that during breaks or
after lectures in the free time students go
to the leisure room to play table football
or card games, a better air conditioning.
If elected I would focus on maintaining the great work of the previous
Chairperson and to adapt to new ideas
and set goals as from student iniciative

for new weekly practices or events.
With me in the sports committee,
you can rely on practices that after an
overwhelmed day are going to be the
activity that clears your head and gets
you motivated.
Be active, because if bridge can be
sports, everything is possible!
Ilva Frdenberga
Artjoms Ogorodiks
Dear all,
It is my privilege to participate in the
Sports.com Chairpersons elections.
Sports play an important role in SSE
Riga students life - they develop your
passion to compete, win, and have fun,
after all!
I have been dedicated to sports my
whole life. Since early childhood I have
been doing swimming. My greatest result is the 2nd place in 2013 Latvian
championship. My achievements and
passion for athletics have helped me expand my knowledge in sports field and
develop my sense of purpose, which will
be a valuable asset for the committee.
During secondary school, I had an opportunity to conduct swimming practices and run tournaments in my schools
swimming pool for children, which
enhanced my organizational skills and
taught to be a leader in sports tournaments which is essential for the position
I am applying for.
I would consider my main mission at
Sports.com to be the development of
activities and weekly practices, which I
have already started as a Junior Associate. This includes coordinating the ongoing and creating other events, such as
bowling and pool tournaments. More-
over, I find it important to implement

new practices, according to the students
needs, for example, frisbee and dancing.
I believe that my commitment, skills
and ambition will provide a fundamental and solid perspective to the improvement of the committee. I will make sure
that sports at SSE Riga are at their highest level and that the saying A sound
mind in a sound body will define and
strengthen our community.
Sincerely,
Artjoms Ogorodiks
27
ELECTIONS 2015
20 15
sports committee
Annija Zaaiskalna
Dear SSE Rigans,

Sports committee has a big influence
on the students daily life, starting from
the weekly practices to the outstanding
major events we all know very well. To
maintain the quality of these events the
new Sports Committee Chairperson
needs to continue the long lasting traditions from the previous boards and
more importantly, introduce new activities and improvements to make Your
experience at SSE Riga remarkable.
For that to happen Sports.com
needs better organization and communication between the junior and senior
associates, as I believe the strength lies

in a team. My vision for this committee is to introduce weekly emails between the associates of the committee
describing the achievements that have
been made by the associates and me.
This way there will be no secrecy and
everyone will be up to date with the
things that need to be done. Another
thing that I would implement is the
involvement of the junior associates in
more responsible activities.
These things that I described might
seem more organizational for the com-
mittee than for the sporting events

themselves, but I do think that with
a strong team of passionate associates
who work efficiently we will organize
the best sporting events SSE Riga has
witnessed. I strongly believe that with
my experience in sports industry and
motivation to succeed I can achieve
it, so I am putting forward my candidature for Sports committee chairpersons position.
Yours,
Annija Zaaiskalna
it committee
matejs balodis
IT. We are all very familiar with this abbreviation, but what does it stand for?
Integrity, persistence, fearlessness,
tenacity!
Yes, yes, of course, but what does
IT actually stand for - the letters?
Some say they stand for Internet
Things... Thats a good guess, but no,
not really.
Fellow students, I know - the school
28
is taking a lot of energy and time from

every one of us. It does not come as
a surprise to me that we often forget
all the little IT people, who are making sure that we get to see our assignments, grades, crushs Facebook profile, cat videos, online shopping sites,
schedule for public transport, which is
usually late anyway, or Google Maps,
which is a life saver.
Therefore, I see it as my personal

commitment to make sure that every
student at SSE knows the true meaning
of IT, and that SSE Riga keeps being
represented in the vast world of wide
webs.
In conclusion I wish to keep everything up and running.
education committee
ELVA poriete
SSE Riga has always been a university
that is characterized by its top notch
education. However, it should never be
taken for granted since keeping the quality of education at a high level is a continuous work and effort from the faculty,
administration and student body. Therefore, being the Education Committee
chairperson, no doubt, is an honorable
yet responsible position to be in.
The Education Committee is trusted
by the administration, and I would also
like it to be trusted by the students not
only when filling in the course evaluation
forms, but also on a daily basis by encouraging a more open and regular communication between the associates and other
students. I would like to make the Education Committee everyones committee,
and while improving the structure within
the committee and ensuring continuity
make it more outgoing and active.
In order to keep the committee as
efficient and goal oriented as it is now
while maintaining a positive working
atmosphere my leadership and team
management skills together with organization and planning skills that have
been developed by organizing numerous

events for the community of my town
and participating in the BAFF Leadership Academy will be extremely useful.
Furthermore, I possess a strong feeling
of responsibility and a great dedication
towards everything I do, which will help
me to perform to the best both in the
Education Committee and academically. Responsibilities do not intimidate
me; doing nothing does.
Party hard, study harder,
Elva
rasa gulbe
High quality education is one of the
main reasons why this particular university was our choice; thus, in order
for each student to enjoy their academic experience and reach the highest possible results, extra support sometimes
is necessary. Hence, my vision for the
22nd Education Committee would be
to offer additional support in academic
work, while keeping the projects that
have proven to be valuable for students.
I do believe that I have the drive,
energy, and the motivation to work
hard on executing these tasks. I have
been working in Education Commit-
tee during these months and have

taken part in various projects such
as the Internship Experience Sharing
and Preparation sessions for re-exams.
From this experience I have gathered
valuable insight in the processes of
Education Committee and have ideas
how to excel in the future. In addition
to being involved in this Committee I
have partaken in other organizations,
developing my organizational skills.
That and my work experience helped
to develop my communicational skills
as well. Yet, I hope that this opportunity will advance these skills even fur-
ther, while the experience that I have

gathered will help to make our path
here easier.
The previous Education Committee focused mainly on executing various projects, the majority of which
have been highly successful; thus, such
events as Internship Experience Sharing and Alumni Careers will be further
developed and repeated the next year.
Furthermore, new events will be added. However, finding the optimal ways
of exceeding in academia will be one
of the main goals in my career as the
Chairperson of Education Committee.
29
GOSSIP PAGE
THEY SAY THAT
some Lithuanians found a

non-existing Y1 Estonian named
Karums.
the broken seats in Soros were

put there by the administration to
prank students
this year we dont have any

strong candidates for the SA presidential couple. Results? Just a matsome Y1s think they can pass ter of luck and a number of Russian-speaking people.
Micro not going to lectures.
in Y1 all the foreign students are

being suppressed by Latvian first
3 rows Mafia. Some say, they even
keep a night watch, so both Alinas
could certainly sit next to each other
in the middle of the first row.
one week before the Econometrics exam is the perfect time for an
assignment in Ethics.
to have a seat in a first row you
have to be in Y1 Russian gang.
food at RGSL conferences is that moment when the best presidential candidate is a tree named
better
Persiks, better known as Perseseks
some people still find well- among Estonians. #persiksforpresident
well joke funny.
cafeteria stole 90 cents from a

student in broad daylight. He just
wanted to buy a cake, but got served
injustice
exam results are bad, because
students spend too much time gossiping.
Nick Matusevic (Y1, I guess)

does not spend money on alcohol.
He just pours every half-empty
drink, which can be found somewhere around, into his glass.
for Artom & Nikita the biggest

honor making a person a real men
is to show their superiority by lifting their opponent on their back in
front of all Soros.
there is a new reality TV channel starting from the 1st of January in Riga, rating the hottest girl
in Latvia and SSE Riga students are
really excited.
Arturs is looking forward to

buy sweatpants with a name PI**R Artjom is impressing women by
lifting blackboards in Soros
written on them.
some unexpected Y2s are dating

and they look really really cute together.
there has been opened a club for Ingus should have brought more
drinkers, but for some reason, the alcohol to dorms. It is never enough
for Belarusian girls
name of it is Literature club.
Artis (Y1) is lowering the self-esteem of some girls by making it quite

obvious that he has spent more time
at the mirror that they have.
too many students are pulling

on WC handles without checking
occupation status first. Are we living
in Middle Ages?
there are way too many free-riders among Y1.
the birthday of Raivis (Y1) was Aleksejs (Y1) is desperately trycelebrated with such big of a bang, ing to pick up a Financial Account 20% of students are responsible that the schools fire alarms went off. ing TA (with no luck so far).
for 80% of gossips.
cheaper alcohol at Shot Cafe the number of times Y1s hear
some of the students dont share and no lectures for Y2s, and still no words Kaur and SIA Tomato is
tending to infinity.
party on Monday!
chocolate at all.
30
Cristiano Ronaldo is coming to

SSE, because some of the students
are showing exceptional skills in
foosball.

by Ieva Pecukeviit
Victoria (Y1) had a better promotion for

her birthday than an SA event.
Agate only drinks tea occasionally. And
by occasionally they mean constantly. And
by tea they mean a mixture of 6-9 strong
drinks. Thats the magic of thermal-cups.
next year Artjoms will lead Romanian
elective.
Liisa Gross makes the best impression of
Kaur.
Sataki is awesome.
before the mid-term Jorgen was seen approaching Morten with a very heavy suitcase
for a one-on-one conversation.
Agate (Y1) doesnt want to join Alcoholics Anonymous club because she is not
anonymous.
it is time to prepare juicy questions for
elections.
It would be interesting to know who
takes longer to get their hair done Artis
(Y1) or Ralph (Y2)?
According to Rasa (Y1), Maksis (Y1) has
a tendency of finishing early.
According to the amount of swear words
Arturs S (Y1) uses while explaining Micro,
he could be a perfect TA next year.
parties in leisure room are a must go for
Belarusians!
Some ladies were quite disappointed
to find out that Nicolas is married.
LoE awards was as shitty as the course
itself.
Raivis (Y1) wishes Krists Avots to prototype him.
Ilva (Y1) is the fastest milk drinker in
Smiltene.
The only person Raivis didnt hit on at
LoE awards was Maksis.
Egils (Y1) has a dating advice never
miss volleyball practise!
Holidays are coming, holidays are coming,

Its the season, look around!
Somethings coming, coming to town
Just imagine, in less than a month we will be sitting around
full-from-food tables, sharing gifts with our family and
friends, laughing, talking, drinking wine, (feeling fine). In a
mean time, our little brothers and sisters will be leaving cookies and glasses of milk for Santa hoping to receive presents
they wished for (oh wait, or is it just in Hollywood movies?).
Nonetheless, Lithuanians, Estonians, Belarusians, Ukrainians everyone, even Moldovans will finally head home, and
SSE Riga premises will get empty for a while Not to get too
emotional about that, we came up with an attraction that will
make the time till holidays more of a pleasant experience. So,
let us present you the game:
Christmas Santa:
Top Secret!
The rules are simple:

Firstly, you have to register on the online form,
which will be announced on our Facebook page
@SSERigaInsider already this week (Dec 10-11).
Once the application process is published, you will have
a few days to register (the last date: December 15).
Then, we will randomly distribute a person for each of
you that will be yours Secret Santa, and vice versa.
Presents should be put in the Christmas box that will be
placed in the lobby yet from December 16. Notice, that
you will have one week to buy/make a present for your
assigned person, so plan the time accordingly, and try
to not exceed the limit of 8 EUR.
Finally, the team of the Insider, temporarily turned into
Christmas elves, will distribute the presents for each of
you that are participating in the game on December 21
and 22, after the exams! Thus, please assure that you are
in the School at that time and that you have written the
name of the recipient on the present legibly, so he or
she can receive it!
Main rule: To make the game more interesting, magical, romantic, call it as you wish, please, DO NOT reveal
a person to whom you are giving a gift beforehand! But
feel free to do that afterwards
Why to participate?
Get to know more people.
Bring Christmas miracle to someones heart.
Have fun!
Thats it! Have a great time rushing through the stores and
thinking about how to surprise your colleagues! We hope
you will enjoy it. Good luck!
31

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INSIDER SPECIAL

GENERAL PRINTING PARTNER

INSIDE SSE RIGA

News from Investment Fund

Diana Lace: The Profile of a President

Onboard with the 21st SA Board

Interview with Nicolas Gavoille

Re-exam Policy at SSE Riga

OUTSIDE THE STUDY ZONE

Get to Know Swedish House Latvia

Christmas Santa: Top Secret

Election Schedule & Event Committee

Business, PR & Information Committees

Sports, IT & Education Committees

The Power of Choices

Vice Chief Editor

they define what we love, what we

Reinholds R. Razums Jekaterina Gornostajeva

Junior Graphic Designer

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shows up. Students dont like exams

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The More You Know:

Sleeping Habits of Successful People

caught up in your business.

Facebook with our friends is, or

INSIDE SSE RIGA

Newsletter from the iFund

our countries and our businesses

ports income were concentrated

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The Profile of a President

I guess I would rather try my hand

THE INSIDER DECEMBER 2015

Ingus Zeenkovs &

THE INSIDER ELECTIONS 2015

INSIDE SSE RIGA

Onboard with the

What, to you, was the best moment of the year?

Danylo: Around graduation we

the associates were active and ready

And the worst moment of the year?

was a lot of preparation that had to

Reinholds: I would for sure do a

each party as they tend to be more

What has the work in the SA taught you?

those moments Ive realized what

not take it personally.

Dmitrii: Follow the vision. Put

afraid of starting new projects,

THE INSIDER DECEMBER 2015

OUTSIDE THE STUDY ZONE

don't really show such great interest

While the last one I would comment on is that I am so surprised

INSIDE SSE RIGA

How did you come to Latvia?

third day I wanted to be a cop. But

What did you study?

lectures just to sleep there and

OUTSIDE THE STUDY ZONE

How would a rock star spend his

How you are going to spend your

INSIDE SSE RIGA