New scholarship holder soon at the SACC in New York
Uppsala student Jonas Nilsson has been awarded a scholarship by Uppsala University that gives him the opportunity to work at the Swedish–American Chamber of Commerce for one year. The scholarship was announced at a ceremony in New York in December.
Jonas Nilsson has a degree in economics and has also done media and communication studies at Uppsala University. When he was told that he would spend all of 2013 in New York, his decision to take a break from the Master’s programme in business and management was easy to make.
‘One year is enough time to settle in and not just feel like a tourist. Not many get the opportunity to live in New York for that long. I am interested in politics and look forward to seeing the city in real life, not just in films as I have done so far.’
The time at the chamber of commerce, which is both the largest and the oldest of Sweden’s chambers of commerce, is divided into two parts. Most of the time Jonas Nilsson will spend contributing to and building trade relations between companies and organisations in Sweden and the US. There will be many opportunities for networking with both company leaders and other guests at the roughly fifty events organised each year.
The rest of the time Jonas Nilsson will spend working with the Uppsala University US Alumni Chapter, an alumni association that was founded by Carole Ginman on behalf of Uppsala University and American Friends of Uppsala University. Working with the Alumni Chapter he will organise events for those who are already members, as well as identifying and inviting potential new members who are former students or employees of Uppsala University.
When Jonas Nilsson was interviewed by the people who granted him this year’s scholarship he was told not to expect having a lot of free time. All the same, he hopes to get to the top of one or two rooftops.
‘I want to see the New York skyline’, says Jonas.
His predecessor Carole Ginman, who’s scholarship soon comes to an end, says that the best part has been getting to meet so many people and that Jonas should make the most of his time – it passes much too quickly!
Birgitta Sinder Wilén