Volvo Cars
Alexander Broniewicz, head of department at Volvo Cars in Göteborg has been receiving IAESTE students from all parts of the world for many years – and he still keeps in contact with many of them.
” I believe the trainees have added a lot of value to us, especially on a personal level. Coming from different cultures and experiences, we get new perspectives on our own situation”.
Alexander says the IAESTE trainees have also contributed a lot on a technical level. Some have also been employed by the company after completing their internships.
Rolf Mattson, working with safety tests in Volvo, has also received trainees for several years. He says that “a lot of work made by IAESTE trainees lingers on long after the trainees left us. We remember – this is what Irwing or Steve did. Almost all companies I talk to have projects that just do not move, there is not enough time. With IAESTE trainees you do not need to occupy anyone from the regular employees with other work tasks and lose 40 hours a week – you get an additional workforce. And we have a lot of fun too. The students are very well-educated and contribute with plenty of energy to the workgroup”.
HotDisk AB
Mattias Gustavsson is the supervisor for Andrey Sizov from Kazakhstan and also the head of HotDisk AB, a company developing advanced thermophysical measuring instruments.
Why did you choose to receive an international trainee through IAESTE?
“ In the past, we have been in contact with different exchange programmes – though never felt any were quite suitable for our work. When we heard about IAESTE, it immediately caught our ears because their concept goes so well with ours. Since we are a global company, it is highly important for us to get new perspectives from other parts of the world, other ways of thinking and learn from other cultures. As Russia is also an interesting market for us, and Andrey speaks Russian, he is the perfect trainee for us”.
What has it been like to host Andrey as a trainee?
It has given a lot of value to our work, we are pleased. Andrey has a genuine interest in technology and is very keen to do a good job. He is curious and ambitious, which are great characteristics working in HotDisk. We are so happy with his work that we plan to let Andrey stay to write his thesis work in collaboration with us.
Would you recommend IAESTE to other employers?
Yes, I would definitely do that. IAESTE is especially well suited for high tech companies working on a global market. It is really important to be able to adapt to other cultures and also to get new influences and perspectives into the company. We would like to receive more interns in the future, and we recommend others to also do so. By receiving trainees we also give Swedish students opportunities to go abroad for internships. As a company, we highly recommend students to do internships abroad – it gives experiences that employers appreciate”.