Intern at Swecham

Jiraya Chanchon, 23, is currently an intern attached to the Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce. She arrived in Thailand in the beginning of June this year and started her internship at the chamber on 25 June. She will be attached there for six months until Christmas this year.


Jiraya is a student at the Uppsala University in Uppsala Sweden. Currently in her third semester of her Masters Degree in Strategic Marketing and Management, she would be completing her studies mid-2013.


Having moved from Petchaboon, Thailand to Sweden when she was 14 years old, Jiraya is not completely unaware of the Thai culture and language. On top of that, she has also made several vacation trips back within the last 11 years.


She explained that one of the main reasons that drove her to choose Thailand for her industrial attachment was the fact that she is able to converse in Thai, English and Swedish. She felt that her multilingualism would certainly come in handy with working with the chamber.


Jiraya said it has been interesting since starting work as there are plenty of opportunities to meet new people at social and networking events.


“At first I didn’t think there were many Swedish people in Thailand, but when I go for these networking events, there seem to be much more than I expected,” she said.


“Working in this environment and learning through meeting people has very much to do with what I’m studying for and would be a valuable experience for me later on,” she added.


As part of her job at the chamber, Jiraya helps with updating the chamber’s website, helps the secretary check their members list and update profiles among other tasks.


One major project Jiraya is responsible for is an upcoming scholarship programme that is currently still in discussion. Her supervisor is Chamber Executive Director Peter Bjork and this project is carried out with the co-operation of Electrolux Thailand.


The scholarship will be given to 10 Thai students going to Sweden, whether to complete their entire Masters or Bachelor’s degree, or just for a semester, depending on the budget allocated by the chamber.


Although still in the early stages of planning, the aim of the project is to encourage cultural exchange between Thailand and Sweden, and to promote Sweden in Thailand so that more Thais understand Sweden better.


For her pleasure, Jiraya wants to visit Northern Thailand, areas like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son.


“I have never been there before. I hear that the nature there is so beautiful so I would like to go there once, before I go back to Sweden,” she said.


Another item on Jiraya’s “To do” list is the scholarship project, which she aims to do well and complete before leaving. Once back in Sweden, Jiraya will have a four-month semester to complete her final thesis before graduating by Mid-June.


“My thesis is surely going to be about marketing. Maybe about a research between Thai and Swedish companies,” she concluded.

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