As a Korean-American resident who lived in Southern California for the past 17 years, I was surprised to see that how much of a cultural difference existed between USA and Sweden. On Sunday evening of my arrival, I wanted to visit the convenience store to buy some foods and beverages, but most of the stores […]

Sweden has a lot to offer as a country. Sweden offers rich history, art & design, natural beauty, superior quality of life, a strong political system, and progressive views to round it out. Sweden is very much an ideal country to be a member of. The major question it leaves us with is can Sweden’s […]

One of the best things about Stockholm is the number of parks weaved throughout the city. It is easy to grab a quick bite and find a nice spot to sit and relax. During a day of exploration we came across a small park where some children were playing a game I didn’t recognize. From […]

Finland is a home market for many Swedish companies but the potential for sales, R&D co-operation, and tested activities is best unleashed with permanent presence in the Finnish and market. This was a key discussion point during our visit at the Finnish Embassy once we were back in Stockholm following the Innovation Loop Conference in […]

Smart cities are becoming a global movement. Historically, the world has continued to over extract and consume natural resources without remorse. This behavior has created global problems that provide a need to create systematic change. Today, companies and countries are investing heavily in solutions to reduce humans’ footprint in the world. Sweden is a leader […]

Before I went to Scandinavia, the word “competence,” meant to me: the ability to do something well. This term has never been attributed to any political issues in America, which was why I was intrigued when I learned of its’ significance in Sweden. When our class went to the InnovationLoop workshop in Lycksele, I learned […]

Attending the smart growth idea development workshop in Lyskele provided many different types of learnings. The topic of “smart growth” and its varied applications and interpretations by industry and individual allowed for informative dialogue. The vagueness of the definition is important as we think about the future and improvement. However it will be important to […]

Sweden is home to many successful companies, but makes them successful? What amount of influence does the home country have on the overall success of an organization? We explore this topic while comparing some of the organizations we have visited along our trip. First, was media company Dagens Samhälle (“Society Today”). We met with Cheif […]

Today I spoke in depth with Lycksele natives on the current condition of their immigration and refugee workforce situation. In the current state of Sweden, “foreigners” endure more difficulty in order to get a job. In order to work, immigrants must speak Swedish and often face discrimination based upon their race. One Swedish man stated […]

For the next leg of our trip, we travelled as far north as I think most of us have ever been: the small town of Lycksele, which is located in the Västerbotten region. We arrived to take part in an Innovation Loop conference. We all knew that we would be taking part in the conference […]