Hello everybody!! It is hard to believe that today already was our last day of company visits and we are coming to the end of the trip, with only a full day left! We started the morning off with a quick breakfast at the hostel, and then boarded a really nice coach bus to go to our first company of the day, BraunAbility. It was about a 30 minute drive outside of Gothenburg, and even though it was really gray and rainy, it still was absolutely beautiful and nice to see some different geography of Sweden! There were lots of more forests and cliffs out that way. We then arrived at BraunAbility, and did some fika and then listened to a presentation from an employee named Rolf. BraunAbility is a distributing and manufacturing company that makes lots of machines, lifts, tools, mechanisms, and everything else that people with disabilities need in a vehicle. So, they make things like ramps and lifts for wheelchairs, chairs that swivel around to the steering wheel, storage mechanisms for wheelchairs and electric scooters, steering wheel and driving assistance tools, etc. It is all just amazing engineering and concepts that they produce, and so incredibly helpful for people who need it the most. The company’s purpose is to help as many people as possible live a more independent life, and they do everything to make this possible from the product idea to the finished product. They produce about 30,000 wheelchair lifts each year for busses, vans, or cars, and thousands of everything else mentioned above in addition to that. What they focus on most, is that for their end users, their products are not just technical gizmos, they are their legs, hands, and arms, and therefore failure for the company and product is not an option. We then got a tour of the factory, and then an employee named Christer did a very in-depth tour around the room with all of their products in it and showed us how many of their automobile products work. After that, we listened to a presentation from another employee, Hasse, about some product engineering and design which was very different and interesting. A quick lunch followed that, and then we had our last presentation from another employee, Anna-Karin. This presentation was all about the company’s vision for itself, it’s mission, values, and goals in order to make them successful. Their vision is to shape the future of global mobility transportation solutions. Their values are to live their values/legacy, do what is right, serve as a champion, celebrate their successes, and drive innovation. They also have this concept that is like a flower that grows and blooms, and what they want their company to be like, and it is a way for them to design all of the different parts and aspects that go together to make them successful. These different ideas included: put the customer first, believe in yourself, support others and learn from each other, never stop improving, show commitment and take responsibility, and treat others the way you want to be treated. We then talked about different concepts and strategies that go into each one of these categories to make everything work together and successfully, and then designed our own flower from the bottom up. The most important thing to take away from this, was that when something goes badly and the whole thing falls apart, you can always grow a new flower by re-planting even better seeds. It was overall a very good and informative company visit!
After this, we took a bus back to Gothenburg and went to our next company, Remente. This was my favorite company visit so far, just because it was so interesting and honestly even felt like a Ted Talk! Remente is an app that you can download on any of your smart devices, and it is a tool that helps improve your mental health, well-being, and personal development. We met with CEO and founder, David Brudö, and he was the best guy! The company’s mission is to democratize mental well-being. Their background was in mentally training the best athletes, like Sweden’s women’s professional golf team, to help improve their performance, and then they decided that they wanted to help everyone. David talked a lot about our brain, how it is developed, and how it works. If you treat your brain like a muscle, it will perform much better, and you can re-build your brain throughout your lifetime. For this, Remente can be like your coach. Whether it be for just your life in general, your life at school, or your life at work, Remente can help you set and accomplish your goals and improve your overall well-being. It is a top-ranked app in searches globally for self-improvement and personal development, with about 1.6 million downloads across the world. The app is based on cognitive behavioral therapy through inspiration, insight, intention, and impact. Especially with Remente, there is a way to be less stressed and more productive by understanding and “using” our brains the way that they were intended to be used. Our brain was originally made for survival and not to be happy, and therefore our brain cannot stress and think at the same time. Therefore, our brains have to be in control and are not made for the modern world. There are three parts to our brain: biological (reptilian), psychological (habitual), and logical (cognitive). By using all of these parts equally and the way that they were intended for, we can get the maximum use out of our brains, and Remente can help with that. The secret to well being and performance of the app is to manage stress, build habits, and set goals. Reflection is also a powerful tool both for development and well-being, which is another part of the app. David’s advice for us for our future careers was to set some kind of personal and professional goal for our next stop in life, and to make it tangible, and focus on small areas at a time. This was such a great presentation and was so informative and interesting, I loved it!
After our visit to Remente, we were set loose for a free dinner and night! We took the tram back to our hostel to change, and then (surprise) went to our favorite Italian restaurant, Pasta Haus, which is about 20 steps from the front door of our hostel! Yes, I know that this was the third time we have been there, but it is seriously so good I would go there every day if I could! Don’t worry though, I promise we will be going somewhere different tomorrow!! Below are pictures of what I had:
After Pasta Haus, we hopped on the tram and went over to the Nordstan area to go through some more shops for the last time. I think we have officially gone to every shop in Gothenburg now!! This is the street that we were on, I thought it looked super pretty at night:
Since the shops close so early here, we then decided to go to another one of our favorite spots called O’Leary’s afterwards. That is the Irish pub kind of like Dave and Buster’s. We had our same favorite bartender as the two times before this one, and she gave us free shots because she loves us so much!! She is the coolest! And then we just hung out and played some games. We also decided that the Somersby pear cider is our favorite drink ever and we were so sad because we thought you could only get it in Europe, but turns out that you can buy it at Woodman’s! Yay!! Now we will only have to wait until we are 21 to be able to enjoy it again! Here is a picture of what it looks like:
Things I learned today:
- I feel like we have been here for forever, and we are practically moving back to America on Wednesday! But I am going to seriously miss this place so much!
- RIP Kobe Bryant – even all of Sweden knows about it and misses him already.
- The terrain in Sweden changes drastically every 20 minutes or so that you drive in every direction.
- O’Leary’s does not exist in the U.S., but was founded by an American from Boston, and they are a big chain restaurant/pub all over Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, the U.K., Germany, Holland, France, and Spain.
- Mental health is a very important issue for people of my generation all over the world, and it is going to become a big job market and area of study in the near future.
Well, that is about all from today! Come back tomorrow to read about our last day here! Goodnight from Gothenburg!
Nicole's Adventures in Sweden 