I am an international business development trainee at the Rockford Area Economic Development Council. My focus is to facilitate and develop the relationships between Sweden and the U.S.

I arrived to the U.S.  in June 2008 and now after four months, I feel at home here in Rockford. The project has been a great experience in which I have had the opportunity to get to know how Americans think, live and do business. This will be beneficial not only for my professional life, but also for my personal development. There is no better way to get to know yourself, other cultures and your own culture, than to go abroad for an extended period of time. I also believe and hope that what I am doing here will have a positive impact on the relations between the countries. I had the opportunity to participate at the September 2008 Edays in Stockholm. There was a delegation of 17 people going from Rockford to Sweden. I was working with the planning for the delegation going to Sweden and it was very interesting to be able to participate and see what Edays really was about.

Marie-Louise Pettersson, trainee at the Rockford Area economic development council, IL

	My internship is with Hästens on Beverly (in Beverly Hills, CA), which at the time I am writing (February 2008) is the newest Hästens showroom in the United States.
For about 10 months, I have had the opportunity to be involved in all areas of the business; public relations, advertising, logistics (deliveries, etc.), inventory management, customer service and sales. Each month I have been given more and more duties, and am currently responsible for inventory management, logistics and customer service for this quickly growing company

Katarina Pierre, Trainee with Hästens in Beverly Hills, CA

During five weeks in the summer 2009 I made a Sales Internship at H&M in New York. Being the first Swedish student to do an internship at H&M in US gave me feelings of huge excitement and high expectations.

My main project was a “Visual Merchandising test” where the aim was to test the sales outcome of two different clothes presentation techniques in two of the biggest H&M stores on Manhattan. What I mostly appreciated during my internship at H&M in New York was that I was, from the very first day, expected to take my own initiatives, lead my work and take an active part in the weekly sales meetings and other activities that concerned the daily work of the merchandising team. What fascinated me was that although H&M is a global company with such a rapid current expansion, it seems to have successfully managed to keep the original H&M culture and spirit intact. The company culture appears to remain the same throughout the whole organization, in Sweden as well as in the US.

Sophie Strömbäck, Sales Intern at H&M in New York

The City of Rockford, Illinois, and The City of Lidköping, Sweden, signed an Industrial Partnership Agreement in 2006.

For eight months in 2008, I represented Lidköping as an International Business Development Intern at the Rockford Area Economic Development Council. During my internship, I was introduced to the Swedish American Foundation and a plan for a student exchange project was initiated by the Swedish American Foundation staff and me. Today, one year later, the project is very successful. My role now is as the International Project Coordinator on the Swedish side and I spend time both in Lidköping as well as in Rockford. Already two delegations of nine carpenter high school students from the De la Gardie Gymnasiet in Lidköping have been to Rockford to help build a house for the Swedish American Foundation. The Swedish students work together with students from East High School in Rockford. The next step of the project is for the students to build a house in Rockford in 2010 using Swedish efficiency standards. As the International Project Coordinator, I join the delegations from Lidköping over to Rockford and enjoy being a part of such a unique project which make both side gain new experiences learning from each other.

Linnea Bengtsson, International Project Coordinator

I came to SACC-Philadelphia in June 2009 to get more experience and perspective before my graduation. My main tasks as Marketing Intern have been marketing the Chamber and promoting trade between Sweden and U.S. by helping our customers, both Swedish and American companies.

Furthermore, I had an overall responsibility for the daily office management including: financial transactions, recruitment of new members, membership administration, writing articles and e-newsletters, and coordinating business networking events. I also developed innovative and effective marketing materials and methods for the Chamber’s events and recruiting. I have been enhancing relationships and cooperation between SACC-Philadelphia and international organizations such as International House Philadelphia, and other Nordic connections.

Noora Viksten, Marketing Intern at SACC-Philadelphia

During the spring of 2009 I had the pleasure to train at Sister Kenny Research Center, Minneapolis in an inspiring environment where new technology to improve healthcare is being developed.

I was involved as a coach in a student project in which my primary tasks were coordinating and integrating two teams of engineering students involved in it. The project scope was to develop a robotic home therapy system for rehabilitation of patients with acquired brain injuries. In later parts of the projects, the Swedish students came visiting and participated in the final presentation at the University of Minnesota. My own work was related to my Master thesis project on globally distributed teams. To summarize my stay, I had a great time both professionally and private and would encourage anyone to come here and experience something new.

Daniel Nilsson, Research Trainee at Sister Kenny Research Center, Minneapolis

.I came to Philadelphia in mid May 2009 to work at the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia as a marketing intern and I will be going home to Sweden, in late October 2009.

Working for SACC-Philadelphia has given me a broader perspective of how cultural differences and behavior makes an important and sometimes maybe a crucial role when conducting business overseas. One of mine projects has been to developing the website in order to increase the amount of traffic. Furthermore, I have been working with developing marketing materials, coordinating events, finding sponsors as well as providing matchmaking services for companies. It might sound a bit cliché but I really think that the American business culture have given me necessary experience to approach future challenges with confidence.

Robert Eklund, Marketing Inter at, SACC-Philadelphia

 

As Marketing Interns at SACC San Diego, we experienced the collaborative atmosphere and importance of networking.

Networking will have great impact on the small Swedish businesses taking part in the new incubator project Accelerat.us. Examining what these companies can expect to gain from the various San Diego networks became the goal of our bachelor’s theses at Linköpings University. Through the research we connected with successful business people in the San Diego business community. Their support of our theses is a perfect example of the collaborative atmosphere in San Diego, and something we wish to pass on to Swedish business communities. .

Lina Falk and Charlotta Hammarström, Marketing Interns at SACC-San Diego

"My time as a trainee at VisitSweden in New York has been one of the best years of my life! My main project, to organize a showcase at House of Sweden in Washington DC, has not only given me important working experiences and contacts, but also many unforgettable moments and friends for life.Even though I have worked and studied in a number of different countries before, I feel like this year has been significantly different from any of my previous experiences. The opportunity to take on qualified tasks and make "real" decisions have made me develop both personally and professionally, and I am very grateful to my wonderful colleagues who have made me feel like a natural part of the team from day one. Not to overlook, New York is an amazing city and I never thought I would get the chance to experience this metropolis from within. Thank you SACC for making this possible. And to those of you who are in the process of applying for the program; Just do it! This is something you will never regret!"
Julia Hallin, Trainee at VisitSweden

“SACC-USA assisted us with the whole application process and everything went very fast and easy. Only a couple of weeks later we could welcome our Trainee Sara Sundqvist! I am sure that our organization will benefit a lot from her high qualifications. I truly recommend other companies to be part of this program.”

Harry Söderström, President, Flowtech Div. We see this as a great opportunity to bring in a very qualified trainee to improve our organization. This brings a new and very healthy international perspective to our business that we otherwise would not have. I’m sure many businesses would benefit from this program and I strongly recommend it.
Bengt Lager, President Regal Lager

After my studies at Lund University in Sweden (International MBA) I started as a Consultant in Frankfurt, Germany at PricewaterhouseCoopers. For the past year I have been working in Strategic Marketing for an international wine company. My international studies and professional life have stimulated and solidified my interest in working over borders and building productive business relationships with people all over the world. The Trainee Program provides me with valuable work experience in an English-speaking environment and exposes me for the first time to American business culture. I am sure that the skills and experience that I will gain through my 18 months at my sponsor company Regal Lager will be invaluable for my future professional life.
Helena Ek, Trainee at Regal Lager

During our time as trainees we have fully experienced the differences and similarities between Swedish and American business cultures and believe we are better trained to work in a multicultural environment. The Trainee program has given us a view of how business is conducted and an understanding of the importance of networking. What we have accomplished here will make a great difference when offering our knowledge and skills to a future employer.

As trainees we received great support from the board and the members of the Minnesota Chapter. They have all given us a feeling of trust and encouragement during our trainee time. Our experience with the board has given us confidence to conduct business in an effective manner in the future!

We have come to better appreciate the Swedish communities in other countries and realized what an important source they are for Swedish business. We believe the J1 Visa and the Trainee opportunity that SACC can provide is an excellent training experience for Swedish students interested in the international market.
Chatarina Eskered and Johanna Rolfsson, Trainees SACC-Minnesota

My training program at The Swedish Travel and Tourism Council in New York was by far the most educational I’ve ever had. I got the opportunity to train in many different areas, everything from assisting the Marketing Manager to writing full press Itineraries for American writers traveling to Sweden. It is first now; when I am studying at a University in New Zealand, that I really understand how much I really learned during my traineeship. Even if it included quite a lot of paperwork before I got my trainee visa to the US, I couldn’t have asked for more assistance from SACC-USA, they were always very efficient and helpful. They made the whole process easy.
Johan Hermansson, former trainee VisitSweden

The Traineeship Program is a great opportunity for companies to bring in young professionals to the organization. The program is an easy and hassle free way to identify qualified candidates for traineeships. It also helps young professionals find a serious host company for their traineeship. A trainee brings in new ideas and perspectives to the company, and the host company provides a good introduction to the job market and an opportunity to build up a network for the future career. I strongly support SACC-USA in their match-making program.
Linda Ericson, Deputy Director, VisitSweden