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ACADEMEDIA
Swedish schools
– a future export success?
With preschools, compulsory schools, upper-secondary schools
and vocational education and training established in several
countries, AcadeMedia is shaping the educational landscape of the
future. 2025 was the year in which the Group definitively planted
its flag in the European education map.
AcadeMedia education group, Europe’s leading education comp-
any, continued its rapid expansion in 2025. In Germany, the
group is on track to become the country’s largest private
school operator. The Group is also reinforcing its position in the
Netherlands, with a marked increase in demand for preschools.
“Preschool operations often serve as the starting point for
AcadeMedia establishing operations in new countries,” says Marcus
Strömberg, CEO of AcadeMedia. “We continue to build on this by
opening compulsory and upper-secondary schools. Swedish schools
are something we should be proud of, and we want more people to
benefit from them.”
AcadeMedia also reached an all-time high in 2025 in terms of the
number of upper-secondary students, which totalled over 45,000.
Investments are being made to meet the growing interest from
Swedes studying at this level. A new campus will open in Malmö in
autumn 2026, and existing schools in Stockholm and Gothenburg will
be expanded. Marcus Strömberg explains:
“Our investment in the campus has been successful. Bringing
several programmes together under one roof gives students access
to a larger community without having to sacrifice their dream
programme.”
We have a strong year behind
us in which we refined our
business model
EXPLORING NEW BUSINESS MODELS
Vocational education and training is continuing to grow, with
business partnerships making the programmes more relevant to the
needs of the labour market. At the same time, there is a clear trend of
people being willing to pay for education or training themselves and
shortening the time they spend studying.
“We don’t believe that everyone wants or needs to spend five
years at college or university to develop relevant skills,” says Marcus
Strömberg. “In this regard, our task is to help more people shorten
their path towards a career. Independent education and training pro-
viders offer vocational training programmes that can be completed in
one to two years. They also provide a faster track into employment.”
The acquisition of Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm
in 2024 and the investment in Futuregames in Warsaw are both part
of the Group’s strategy to explore new ways to offer world-class
excellence in education.
QUALITY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO
In addition to international expansion, AcadeMedia has continued to
build on its work on quality in Sweden. The aim is to go from good to
better, focusing on initiatives aimed at the youngest children.
“Focusing on literacy and numeracy in the early school years lays
the foundations for further learning,” says Marcus Strömberg. “This
year’s results speak for themselves: in our schools, nine out of ten
students in year one can read, and in maths, results on national tests
have improved significantly. We’re very proud of that.”
In 2025, the education group also initiated a partnership with the
LasseMaja Stiftelse foundation and Martin Widmark, “Every word
counts”, to boost children’s literacy skills. Looking ahead, Acade­
Media will continue to focus on quality, qualified teachers and early
initiatives for pupils with special educational needs. In the face of
future challenges such as declining birth rates, these factors will
play a greater role in continued success. Meanwhile, the Group’s
international journey continues – with the ambition to plant its flag in
yet another country.
“We have a strong year behind us in which we refined our business
model, built on our strategy and bolstered our position – in Sweden
and abroad,” concludes Marcus Strömberg.
Swedish schools are
something we should be
proud of
MARCUS STRÖMBERG,
CEO
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