The 2026 Honorary Alum of the Year Award goes to editor Lea Korsgaard.

Lea Korsgaard holds a degree in journalism from SDU, and she is now a leading voice in the international media industry. Together with three fellow journalism students at SDU, she founded the online media Zetland, which over the years has become highly successful in Denmark.

Today, Zetland has more than 50 employees and is experimenting with new journalistic forms, formats, platforms and ways of engaging with its users (‘members’). In recent years, it has also become a model for others abroad to follow. Lea is therefore a frequent keynote speaker at conferences around the world, and Zetland is now in the process of branching out to other Nordic countries (starting with Finland in 2025 and now also in Norway in 2026).

Over the years, Lea has helped shape Zetland, both externally and internally, and today she is its editor-in-chief. Before founding Zetland, she worked at Politiken and Berlingske, among others. Over the years, she has written several books, won numerous awards (including ‘Editor of the Year’). She also chairs the board of the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX), where she has assumed responsibility for the education of future journalists, media professionals and communicators.