Year in Review 2009 | Page 11

l YEAR IN REVIEW 2009 l INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS Hosting an intern or trainee offers many opportunities! The trainee program offers SACC member organizations the opportunity to host highly qualified, mature, bilingual trainees. With a minimum age of 25, many of the trainee candidates have received Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in the highly regarded Swedish educational system or are current college students while others have already gained experience and specialized skills in their field. The trainees will bring a Swedish and European Union perspective to our organization. An international perspective and an understanding of cultural differences are vital in today’s global economy. In addition to Swedish and English, many trainees possess a good knowledge of one or several other languages. Language skills are invaluable to our organization when it is necessary to communicate effectively across borders such as when finalizing a sale or during technology transfer. Our chapter’s success is due to our hard working and dedicated board members and Intern Program participants. Without our interns, the chapter would not be able to carry out the many activities and functions throughout the year. The Intern Program originally started out as an A-2 Program, where Interns were not allowed to obta