Jeremy Handler, B.S., Mechanical Engineering.
College of Engineering, May 2003.

After spending a summer backpacking around Europe, I knew I wanted to live and work in another country. After winter break of my senior year, Marianne Bear Bird - the International Study Abroad Program Coordinator - recommended that I do an IAESTE traineeship (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience - click here for information on the local Madison IAESTE chapter). I got lucky and just beat the January application deadline. After ranking country and job interests, IAESTE-USA communicates with employers to try to find the right fit between the applicant and employer. In mid-March I received my placement with Volvo Car Corporation AB in Gothenburg, Sweden. I had the option of starting the first week of June or August. They recommended I wait till August since the month of July is a work holiday in Sweden.

The range of knowledge I gained during my traineeship with Volvo could be equated to what’s learned making the transition from high school to college: I was immersed in a new, different culture; it was an adventure; and I had to adapt to the different approach to problem-solving, ways of communicating, and business relationships in Sweden.

Prior to taking up the traineeship, I visited a friend from the University of Wisconsin who was in Spain at the time. After Spain, I arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden to work in Volvo Car Corporation’s Concept Center.

Working in Volvo’s Concept Center I witnessed cutting edge innovation. Seeing what would be available in 5 to 7 years was a great thrill. I built testing equipment, worked on a concept car, and I assisted in developing a leaner milling process. I was able to make a real contribution: Volvo focuses on group work and lack of hierarchy with accessible bosses; and decisions are made by group consensus.

In the beginnning, I spent a few weeks in the Advanced Engineering Center where I was introduced to the inner workings of a Volvo car. We stripped cars after they were crash-tested so that the parts could be recycled in other cars and prototypes to be crash-tested. I created testing equipment to measure the opening angle of the door needed for support while exiting. Next, I helped design and build a brake for the YCC, Your Concept Car. I was one of the few men involved on the design team of the YCC car - a car designed by women for women.

For my final project I helped improve the milling process in the Rapid Prototyping Center. The leaner process is scheduled to be implemented this spring.

The summer days were long, and there was plenty of time to enjoy all of IAESTE’s program activities and what Gothenburg (and Sweden) had to offer. We discovered the archipelago, enjoyed jazz in the town center, and swam in a refreshingly cold lake. Göteborgskalaset - the Gothenburg Festival - coincided with my first week in Sweden. Time outside the job allowed me to explore a new land with new friends from Mexico and Sri Lanka. We had barbeques in places as varied as the Fjords of Norway to the suburbs of Göteborg.

Overall, time abroad is a very rewarding experience which I highly recommend.