We started the day off in a chilly 2 degrees, we made our way to the offices where we met Magnus, who gave us a presentation on the North Sea commission. The North Sea commission is an organisation that was started to give the coast a voice in European affairs. There is 31 members in 8 different countries and the North Sea is known to be the ‘hottest’ sea in terms of trade. Most of us didn’t even realise it existed, or that Southend-on-Sea is the only English member! Magnus was very excited to know if County Durham would be interested (we said we would find out.) especially as we can be members when we are outside the EU, which could be very beneficial. We asked Magnus more about Sweden and learned that the forests have ... read more

We got a little bit lost on the way to our offices in the morning, but we made it just before 9! We began by meeting Irma who is going to be our help in getting around and guiding us through our days with information and advice, we sat from 9 till 10:20 talking about what we were going to be doing throughout our stay in this beautiful city. Irma also covered some interesting facts about the city and a little about herself personally and what she does (External Relations). But some interesting facts we were given is that they get an annual budget of 50 billion SEK to fund their council, which is much more than what we have at DCC, but then again they do have a population much greater than Durham! After Irma ... read more

We started the day with an early morning alarm in County Durham. We arrived at the airport for 4:30am and the plane finally departed (after a short delay on the runway!) at 6:45. It was Helen’s first plane ride and she was excited but scared. The plane stewards came round with cheese sandwiches and marble cake (which were lovely) and the time just flew over (pardon the pun!) We arrived in Sweden at 11:30, the pilot announced over the speaker that Gotheburg was cloudy and rainy at 2 degrees - brrrr!! The airport was surprisingly empty, but very modern and it didn't take us long to get through and get our bags. We took a taxi from the airport to the hostel, where we dropped our baggage off and went out to explore the area. We ... read more

Our penultimate day of the programme and Robin has been flexing his influence again today by arranging a field visit to the new Angered Hospital where they work with reaching out to marginalized groups in order to provide health care for all citizens. We were very fortunate to be able to join an information session arranged for EuroHealthNet, a non profit partnership of organisations, agencies and statutory bodies working to contribute to a healthier Europe by promoting health and health equality between and within European countries. The hospital is literally brand new and only opened its doors at the beginning of last month and on arrival we could appreciate this as it was a modern build, some of the group saying it reminded them of the New College building in Durham. We started to appreciate how ... read more

We had a cancellation in the programme today and as I have such a caring employer they have provided me with all the tools I need to continue working from here I have taken the opportunity to catch up on things at home - a great example of remote working in full effect. So our apprentices have taken the time to provide their feedback on the programme so far: “The first week in Sweden has been fantastic, seen and done some amazing things! Couldn’t be any more grateful for this brilliant opportunity I have been given. Everything we have done has been so interesting I have many highlights through the trip but the science museum is my favourite activity we have done as a group, I have never see anything like it! I had a great ... read more