The trip has sadly come to a conclusion. All good things must come to an end, and this has probably been one of the greatest experiences in my life. I learned so much about international business and companies while abroad. My Sweden experience was absolutely perfect and I am so happy that I was able to be a part of the 2020 J-Term study abroad tour. I am happy to also say that I now have a deeper understanding of international business. We all made goals before we left, and my goal was to learn and try something new every day.
I never thought that I would be able to have an experience like I did in Gothenburg. Sweden was so good to me and I already want to go back. I want to thank Professor Shields and Jan Owens for making this experience possible. This was truly life changing, and I couldn’t be more thankful. We saw a wide range of companies that were different market segments, a hockey match, went curling, island exploring, and so much more! It was almost like nobody wanted to miss a minute of any day.
Whether it be walking down a street looking for a coffee shop to do course work or searching for our next bite to eat, we had a fantastic time. There were only smiles on this trip. Over the course of our time in Gothenburg we made so many friends and so many memories. I am happy I was able make a blog about my day to day experiences because I want to remember all of this for the rest of my life. Island hopping, tram traveling, shopaholic shopping, and coffee house exploring were the common activities when we weren’t doing work and visits. If only we had more time, then we could see even more of Gothenburg.
There was an adventure around every corner. I in fact got a award from my professors yesterday for having the spirit of adventure. I am always willing to try and do something once and that’s exactly what I did while abroad. To give you an idea, I tried pickled herring for breakfast, I tried every fika pastry dish for my coffee breaks, and a new beer with every dinner. I was truly living the dream while in Gothenburg and I would definitely do it all again! Well, that’s all folks, I hope you enjoyed my travel journal! Until the next adventure…
Of course the last day we’re here I get the best night sleep that I’ve gotten on this whole trip. I got a whole seven hours! I did wake up twenty minutes before we had to leave for our curling trip today and let me tell you I was less than graceful. If you want a mental image, think of Bambi on ice. Out of our two hours we spent curling I managed to score one whole point, that’s a highlight for the day to say the least!
After curling we got one last free block until dinner and we made the most out of this time. We went to the same fire house from before one more time to get my dad’s gift and we were not disappointed. We went on a small tour of the fire house and even got to see a small museum that they had. The facility blew minds and they had 17 doors for trucks and equipment! I cannot think of enough words to describe how impressive it all was and Lauren even got to try on the equipment. The Swedish fire department has a wild history and it was fascinating to this given aspect Swedish society and how it differs from America’s.
I won’t go into too much detail about my last minute shopping because my gifts apply to a few of my readers but I got a few goodies that fit given peoples hobbies. I didn’t have a long list of people to buy stuff for however it was really hard to find the perfect gifts. We wanted to do everything on our last day. We headed too McDonalds for a quick lunch before we hit the ground running for shopping. I can safely say it was a mission accomplished today. The pictures above are from last walk around Haga before dinner and it was kind of a tear jerker.
Our last meal before we head home was in Gothia Towers, specifically Heaven 23. Read my food page for a break down of this experience, I felt like a CEO eating in style honestly. Still, we finished our last night abroad in style and will be heading home tomorrow bright and early. I got all the caffeine I need to grind out my last minute assignments tonight. Expect one last post from me tomorrow so you all know I got home safe and sound! Until tomorrow!
Today’s Takeaway’s:
I am not good at curling
Shrimp and mayonnaise should not be mixed together, EVER!
The biggest fire house in Gothenburg has a basketball court, swimming pool, and three gyms
I accomplished my gift shopping
Caffeine withdrawals will be intense when I’m back home
Before we left for Sweden we did a domestic company visit with Bruno if you read back to my first post. Today we expanded a little further from that post with Braunability. This company works closely with Bruno and the automotive industry. This company visit resonated with me because they have a very dynamic business model. If you look at their website they have six core philosophies that set them apart from the rest. I really encourage you to check this company out because I left inspired. These six philosophies all work simultaneously.
Braunability is a sophisticated well oiled machine that cares about their customers deeply and respects the golden rule. They are the best of the best when it comes to creating and installing the safest independent living support systems in cars. Braunability creates remote movable brackets for independent living. I was laser focused in this presentation and couldn’t get all of the details but I have never seen anything like it today. Their focus is to make sure that their customers can live and or drive independently.
This company has a noble mission by helping those who sustained life threating injuries and are trying to adjust back into society. I encourage everyone to check out this company! We were on to Remente for the back half of the day and it was very informative to say the least.
Remente is company that works primarily off of an app. The primary goal of this company is be your coach in life. A lot of people in the world need guidance in life and that is where Remente comes in to save the day. This app is meant to help a person organize and even unpack their day. It is nice to have goals and strive for balance and Remente serves to help people achieve these goals. Nobody knew what to expect from this company so that made it even more suspenseful. After everything, it all just felt like a normal conversation and everyone left with a few tips and tricks to achieve a work life balance.
Today was an overall uplifting day. The group got up bright and early, had a physics lesson, and even got a few life tips. It was a whirlwind day but after all things considered everyone enjoyed it all. This was my last company visit day. Tomorrow is the last full day but we’re going curling so that’ll be neat. This will be filled with laughs and pictures and a “king’s sandwich”. I hate to leave you on the edge of your seat but even I’m curious about what will happen tomorrow. I’m exhausted, I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow!
Today’s Takeaway’s:
Mental illness is the leading cause for sick days among the work force
The Swedish government is very supportive when it comes to helping their citizens afford cars
Remente works closely with the Swedish national golf team
I got myself a gift today, so there’s that. Real talk though, we had a great time so it was literally a Sunday fun day in Gothenburg. We walked around Haga, Nordstand, and Iron Square. Everyone planned on putting dents in their gift lists, but the store hours of operation here made that very difficult. Most of the cool and icon stores are closed on Sundays and even the ones that were open close fairly early. The average time we saw for most stores was 10am till about 3 or 5PM. On top of all of that, most of the places are closed on Mondays! We have been striking out left and right.
The first stop was Haga, I’ve spoken about this district before but that’s where I got my personal gift for myself. I am a huge soccer and I thought what better thing to get myself than a Swedish international jersey! I got the classic yellow one and I was eyeing one ever since we arrived. Only 4 more gifts to go and the weight will be lifted off of my chest!
After getting the jersey we made our way over to the Nordstand area looking for something to eat. The pictures above are deceiving, we actually went too McDonalds. We went too McDonalds simply to see the differences among the American and Swedish menus. If you look at my food page I took a picture of one of their food items. The packaging for the food is even nicer than America’s. It was overall good experience but one part of it that I didn’t like was having to pay to use the bathroom apparently??? I don’t know if that is across all European McDonald’s but it was definitely an inconvenience.
We made our way towards Iron Square for the tram back to the hostel. We hovered around some shops but never really walked into any that peaked our interest. We were only there for about twenty to thirty minutes before the tram came, but when it arrived we felt that it was time for fika. We normally go to Tin Tin’s, a nearby coffee shop, but this time we tried somewhere new. We called this the dog house because there was that French Bulldog that roams around the coffee shop. The couple that owns the shop were very nice and spoke very good English! The Frenchie’s name is Bentley by the way.
To polish this post off, I’m going to leave you guys with a few pictures of this little guy. Bentley also fell asleep in Lauren’s arms minutes after this picture was taken. We had an overall great day. We tried to shop till we drop but had little success there but found a really nice coffee shop closer to home base with the cutest dog on its staff. Exploration, shopping, and dogs, what more could you ask for? We will see what my last company visits will bring for tomorrow, until then!
Today’s Takeaway’s:
You have to pay to use the McDonald’s bathroom in Gothenburg
Dogs make for great hostesses
Swedes apparently take Mondays off
Gothenburg schools do not sell apparel
I tried pickled herring and didn’t completely hate it
Pictures were promised and that is what I delivered for my readers. I got more than five hours of sleep and I could not be happier. We are constantly on our feet running around the city going from company to company and landmark to landmark and free time is a hard thing to come by. We have two consecutive free and we spent a good portion of the day at Universeum. This is comparative to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Universeum was a little different because they have rainforest, ocean, technology, health, and reptile biome exhibits. All the attractions were interactive and my group had a lot of fun. We spent an hour or two there before we did some walking around.
One thing that threw me for a loop was the fact that the fire department does not sell their own merchandise. The first stop on the journey technically was to exchange fire department shirts for my dad because he is fireman back in the states. My dad is a collector of fire department shirts and he tasked me with adding a piece to his collection. I was more than happy to do this and thought the perfect day to do it would be on free Saturday. I was hit with a fat “administration doesn’t sell them on the weekends”, and I even hit them with some of my American charm and dashing good looks with a t-shirt in hand to exchange and it was still a no. On the bright side, the guy said come back on Tuesday and he’ll give me one personally. So dad, have hope!
Now after Universeum though, we were clearly lost once we left the complex. Not lost lost but more so unsure of what tram to take so we took a gamble and rolled onto one that was somewhat correct. The tram we got on and off of took us to a stop that was only 6 blocks away from the station by our hostel.
We spent a good majority of our day walking around Universeum and looking for lunch. Lunch was at English bar and pub that had English menus. After a long and tiresome day of walking around, it was really nice to not have our waiter transcribe our menu for us for once so we were content. Pictures of today’s grub are coming later, I just managed to find some free time and pump out this blog post early so don’t worry! Tomorrow will be another picture packed day so mentally prepare yourselves. I’m headed to dinner now, check my food page in a few hours for a couple of savory eats!
Today’s Takeaways:
There are 8 fire stations in Gothenburg and they don’t sell merchandise on weekends apparently?
The rainforest is VERY humid
If I spoke Swedish, asking for directions would be sooooooooooo much easier
Just a young business professional learning about law today, specifically patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Upon arrival at Valea Technology and Law, we were greeted by Andrew and Victor. Andrew is the CEO and founding partner of the law firm, and if you meet the guy you can clearly tell he loves what he does. Andrew has so much passion for what he does and loves to learn something new everyday. When I think of law, I think of bone dry courses in law school and sitting in a courtrooms all day. You just had to be there to understand.
This particular aspect of the trip is going to be short because we had to sign a confidentialty agreement before settling in. What I’ll talk a little about is the mere fact of how you can but can’t own something at the same time. I posed a question about Lacoste and their classic alligator logo. Lacoste is selling shirts now that raise awareness for endangered species by replacing the alligator with these animals on different shirts. Now Lacoste owns the rights to their logo, but since they put the endangered species in their logo’s likeness they own the rights to these shirts. This is just one of the few things I am able to talk about, so I’m sorry I cannot share anything super special here but I learned about water resources for the back half of the day so that’s cool.
As a sort of half time between Valea and Xylem we got spend 2-ish hours in the mall and I almost spent way too much money. We hung out in Nordstand, a huge mall by Central Station. I didn’t want to wander too far because I knew we had too meet at a certain time. I just walked around Zara, a fair sized department store in this mall district. I was looking for an over coat and possibly a pair of Birkenstocks, and good lord the deals were insane. I couldn’t pull the trigger on the purchases because I know I have spend money later on for gifts and on my free days, but it was all deadly. Everything is affordable and reasonably priced here, so I definitely recommend a visit over here if you’re looking for a nordic adventure.
Well we made it to Xylem and boy were we thirsty, I am completely serious too. This is a water company that maximizes, saves, and protects water’s uses and potential. They work to solve problems that don’t exist yet. We all looked at each other for second and then listened closer. This company wants to create a world that is conscious of what people are doing with water. This is a finite resource and the company is working to figure out how this can be turned into an infinite resource. They do a lot of great work with less developed countries and nations by providing clean and drinkable water. It a nice and informative way to polish off our day.
I am happy to get this one done at a reasonable time tonight, tomorrow and Sunday are free days for the group so it will be a more upbeat post. I promise to post a lot of pictures, so stay tuned!
Today’s Takeaway’s:
You can own rights to a concept and its likeness
The future will be water based
Swedish mall deals are deadly
The New Orleans has the biggest water pump system Xylem has ever created
The Swedish are unimpressed with office views of the water
Today we saw pictures that are worth a thousand words and cameras that are worth thousands of dollars. Hasselblad makes professional cameras, and the price tag for each camera reflects the quality of the product you are receiving. This company has a long history that spans back all the way to the early 1900’s. This is a family company that has done work with the Swedish military and has also captured some of the most iconic moments in history. All of the pictures shown below have been captured with Hasselblad cameras, and I must say the attention to detail is beautiful.
This wasn’t a huge building, it was a fair sized office with a small art exhibit and museum. We were able to see a few of the camera producers hard work. These cameras are all made by hand which, personally, I think is very impressive. The hiring process for that particular job has to be brutal because there can be no human error with the finished product essentially. As much as I wanted to hang around the Hasselblad office little longer, we had to dash and cut through the city to meet one of JJ’s friends, Bert, at ABB Robotics.
This presentation was little different than what I was used because we were little rushed from the trams and buses being behind schedule and the robot engineers being out of the office today. When we arrived, we more so received lessons augmented reality and virtual reality along with a taste of what is currently being worked on in the ABB workshop. It was a short meeting, but we learned a lot. ABB pairs with a lot of companies, SKF and Volvo to name a few. The future of cars will be interesting, especially with “mixed reality”. This is a type of technology that changes your surroundings visually to show your desired setting. It sounds straight forward, but it really applies more so to cars and driving. Imagine driving in a parking lot but a headset shows you navigating through a forest. It all sounds confusing but it all makes sense if you break it down one step at a time. You can even look all of this up.
Tonight was finished off with THEE hockey game I have been talking about. The fans were crazy, the rink was bigger, the players don’t fight, and there are nonstop chants. We caught Joel Lundqvist’s 1000th game for the Frölunda Indians. Side note, Joel is Henrik Lundqvist’s brother the current NHL goalie. This game was action packed despite lacking the fight aspect that all Americans love. This was a 8-4 win over Brynas IF, a rival team within the Indian’s league. We love when the home team wins by a landslide.
We met up with Morgan and Sylvia from the Volvo tour for the game and they talked me into buying jersey, and I must say its pretty shnazzy. After a long day on our feet it was to enjoy the hockey game. I can’t say enough great things about Morgan and Sylvia, but at the same time I cannot thank JJ enough for getting us rink side tickets for the game tonight. There were a few hiccups in the beginning today but by days end, we were living our best lives. Two more company visits tomorrow, so I have to try and get my beauty sleep. You know the drill, until tomorrow!
Today’s Takeaway’s:
Hasselblad has cameras about as expensive as a small car
New members to the Hasselblad staff have to assemble their own camera upon hiring
ABB has a lot of Iron Man/Tony Stark concepts in production
Frölunda Indians fans love the Chicago Blackhawks
Joel Lundqvist played his 1000th game the Frölunda Indians tonight
Today was incredible in more ways than one. We started the day with an hour-long journey to opposite end of the city to the Volvo headquarters. We received an awesome tour of the assembly facility from Morgan and Sylvia, two long time Volvo employees. This amazing couple was absolutely hilarious throughout the tour. I swear the door implementation system was taken right out Monsters Inc. Doors were everywhere and I felt like Mike Wazowski walking around the facility. This was a hush hush type of tour because the company has strict privacy policies. I managed to snap a few pictures before the cameras were no longer allowed.
We came into the main doors of the facility with a few cars by the entrance. Not going to lie, they would make for a great parting gift. So if our Volvo tour guides are feeling really generous, I’ll take the nice hot rod in the first picture. Just a broke college kid, I hope I’m not asking for too much. Overall, a great time and we even got to see a crash test with them. It was a great visit and I hope to connect with them going forward. I’m also told that I’ll be seeing them at the hockey game tomorrow night, so we’re for sure in for great time. I know I’m building a lot of hype around this game but I’m told that this is a one of the best Swedish experiences.
Moving into the evening, we had a cooking lesson styled dinner. Yes, you’re boy can cook. Feel free to check out my food page for all the things I created and tried tonight. Chef Daniel and Michael were very down to Earth guys that really enjoy what they do. They are top tier chefs for Aveqia, and let me tell you, a this was a fantastic experience.
These two guys bring a lot of energy into the kitchen and you can see the beauty in their work. We did all the work, the chefs just made the first initial dish for us recreate. Food is its own genre of art. The group was divided into four teams to create the four course dinner. My group had the first dish, and I must say we did not too shabby of a job. Like I said, check out my food page to figure out what we had for the meal!
It was nice to relax in a kitchen after a long day of constantly shuffling around the city. Everyone had a great time. Stories were shared and laughs were had. Chef’s Michael and Daniel enjoyed our company for the evening, and I’d love to come back to learn some more ways to expand my culinary capabilities. I can now wow a girl with some newly found cooking skills on a date. This is me signing off tonight, I’ll catch you all tomorrow!
Today’s Takeway’s:
Volvo has some big robots
Our tour guides got to experience their first crash test with us
I had 8 cups of coffee today, and one of the Volvo drivers drinks 15 cups a day AND said, “that’s it?”
We are some good chefs according to chefs Daniel and Michael
Good food comes from the most unlikely combinations
So today I was tasked with being Ferdinand Magellan for the morning. I like to think I did a swell job because we arrived fifteen minutes early. Magnus Sjolin greeted us at the door with smile and we hit the ground running. We started off with a very informative presentation of the products and services offered by Qualisys AB. This is a motion capturing (mo-cap for short) system company that provides the highest quality systems in the engineering, biomechanics, animation market segments to name a few.
Once the presentation was finished, we shifted gears into the live demos of the Qualisys products. The specific cameras were not indicated, but Robbie was the first subject used for data mapping. Robbie had markers placed on given parts of his body to paint a precise picture of his running form. We received another informative presentation after Robbie was done running on what exactly was happening. It turns out that Robbie has not too bad of stride, so definitely a round of applause for him. On top of all of that though we received a quick animation demo with Sam, Nicole, and Matt. This was particular demo mirrored the trio’s movement for the class on the big screen. The whole process is similar to video game companies capturing human movement to better reflect motion in a video game.
It was sad that we couldn’t stay longer but we did have a prior commitment to meeting with SKF. Here’s just a quick snap of the picturesque walk we had to SKF, and let me tell you, everything is stunning in this city and country. It was down to the wire, but we made it safe and sound with Peyton as the guide.
Lars Werner was our guide at SKF, the ball bearing’s company provider for the world. The pictures were minimal, but I highly recommend taking a trip overseas to the SKF headquarters for the tour. Ours was said to more detailed, but the general public tour was so cool. Imagine this, a diorama that was created to mirror Gothenburg and everything moves within it. The planes, the buses, the robots within buildings, and even boats move! It’s amazing to see how SKF’s ball bearings play a pivotal role in society.
After a long day of navigating through the streets of Gothenburg and learning the in’s and out’s two respective Swedish companies, I’d say it was a successful day. I got two very different perspectives on international business from two very different companies. Tomorrow we are headed to Volvo, so I’ll build a little suspense for that, until tomorrow!
Today’s Takeaway’s:
Street signs are apparently ON buildings?
You cannot watch the bachelor while you’re abroad
The SKF headquarters has a moving diorama of Gothenburg
I’m known as the lyrical miracle apparently
You’re STILL never lost in Sweden if you’re an American
Today had a rough start with a frantic rush to the trams bright and early. We got slightly lost along the way but its about the journey not the destination. We were 20-ish minutes late but we made it. Now when we arrived at the building it was slightly strange because the elevators were a little different than they are in America. In a tall building in Sweden, the ground floor is literally ground zero on the control panel. After processing the elevator differences, we finally made up the building to Skapa’s floor.
We knew we were late, and Erik (the CEO) knew we were late, but we rolled with it. To our surprise, the company was small in numbers in terms of employees, but has a big impact on the world. This is a digital marketing firm that focuses heavily on content marketing. The company was very open with what they were about and it was really cool having open and honest communication with all nine of Skapa’s employees. Might I add also, cinnamon rolls were served and I ate plenty.
We spent a good portion of our day hanging out with Erik and his staff and it was safe to say that we all learned something new. One thing that I learned from Erik is that it is hard to produce meaningful quality content, but it is not impossible. Always look for a challenge in life because people should want to stand out in the world. After a morning at Skapa we made our way to Gothenburg University for the afternoon.
I regret to inform that we were not allowed to use our cellphones during the university visit so you all will be left in the dark for this particular aspect of my experience in terms of pictures but feel free to indulge in these Skapa pictures I was able to take. Back to the university though. We met with Martin and Claes, two esteemed members of the universities community. Both of these men gave us insights into Swedish culture and heritage. I really enjoyed Claes’ presentation on Swedish economy, especially how it ranks among the likes of the United States and Britain. Overall, very insightful. After being educated in economies and history, it was time to get into sports, hockey in particular. Martin gave a really informative presentation on the European style of hockey. This crash course of hockey was really important especially since we will be seeing a game later on, so I’ll save the details on this particular topic till then.
To finish off our day, we had a Q&A with a current student of the university, Erik. This guy was probably one the funniest person I have encountered so far. Apparently, the Swede’s are our number one fans in every way. Erik raves about America, and could not find one negative thing to say about it. Also funnel cake is his favorite “American food”, so we all never thought of this as particularly American. But any who, we are revered highly in Swedish society and apparently us in particular don’t look like complete tourists, so that’s a plus. Its really nice to be visiting a society of super nice people that love us. I was able to exchange information with Erik so I hope to keep in touch with him. Its late here and we have a big day tomorrow so I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow. Next stops, Qualisys AB and SKF!
Today’s Takeaway’s:
The ground floor is literally ground zero
Swede’s think funnel cake is the best
Meaningful content is the key to achieving the most viewers
The Swede’s don’t fight in hockey
93% of all purchasing decisions are made by social media
The trip has sadly come to a conclusion. All good things must come to an end, and this has probably been one of the greatest experiences in my life. I learned so much about international business and companies while abroad. My Sweden experience was absolutely perfect and I am so happy that I was able to be a part of the 2020 J-Term study abroad tour. I am happy to also say that I now have a deeper understanding of international business. We all made goals before we left, and my goal was to learn and try something new every day.
I never thought that I would be able to have an experience like I did in Gothenburg. Sweden was so good to me and I already want to go back. I want to thank Professor Shields and Jan Owens for making this experience possible. This was truly life changing, and I couldn’t be more thankful. We saw a wide range of companies that were different market segments, a hockey match, went curling, island exploring, and so much more! It was almost like nobody wanted to miss a minute of any day.
Whether it be walking down a street looking for a coffee shop to do course work or searching for our next bite to eat, we had a fantastic time. There were only smiles on this trip. Over the course of our time in Gothenburg we made so many friends and so many memories. I am happy I was able make a blog about my day to day experiences because I want to remember all of this for the rest of my life. Island hopping, tram traveling, shopaholic shopping, and coffee house exploring were the common activities when we weren’t doing work and visits. If only we had more time, then we could see even more of Gothenburg.There was an adventure around every corner. I in fact got a award from my professors yesterday for having the spirit of adventure. I am always willing to try and do something once and that’s exactly what I did while abroad. To give you an idea, I tried pickled herring for breakfast, I tried every fika pastry dish for my coffee breaks, and a new beer with every dinner. I was truly living the dream while in Gothenburg and I would definitely do it all again! Well, that’s all folks, I hope you enjoyed my travel journal! Until the next adventure…
Matt's Sweden Blog 