Elizabeth Tuvblad ’14
Class of 2014, Major in Business Management
In summer (2013), I interned with the Ericsson Group, as a team member in the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility department of the Verizon Customer Unit at Ericsson. Ericsson is a business-to-business multi-international corporation in the telecommunication sector, poised to be the prime driver in an all-communicating world.
About
During my internship I had the opportunity to travel to Sweden, where I learned a new concept called “The Networked Society,” which speaks to the company’s goal of connecting all of the world’s 10 billion electronic devices by 2018. Throughout my internship I traveled between Sweden, Boston, Texas, New Jersey, and New York, and visited several technology innovation labs, where I had the opportunity to see driverless cars, home appliances that uploaded Facebook statuses regarding when the vacuum should start cleaning, or when the dishwasher should start washing the dishes; all based on when electricity is the cheapest during the day. I even came across a talking tree that would tweet when it needed to be watered, or record the last time someone gave it a hug and it felt lonely.
The purpose of these travels and visits to the innovation labs was for me to educate myself about Green Energy and Environmental Impact of Technology. I was then asked to create a sustainability learning module for Verizon employees, which would, in turn, educate the employees about Green Practices. Upon completion of my summer internship, I created two learning modules. One of the modules titled Sustainability 101 focused on environmental impacts, global warming, and described how companies in the telecommunication sector are helping the environmental cause. This module has now become mandatory for over 200K Verizon employees, and Ericsson recognized me as Intern of the week. As a senior, I continued to work with Ericsson as a Special Project Intern, where I focused on promoting projects with Green Energy.
Description
During my internship I had the opportunity to travel to Sweden, where I learned a new concept called “The Networked Society,” which speaks to the company’s goal of connecting all of the world’s 10 billion electronic devices by 2018. Throughout my internship I traveled between Sweden, Boston, Texas, New Jersey, and New York, and visited several technology innovation labs, where I had the opportunity to see driverless cars, home appliances that uploaded Facebook statuses regarding when the vacuum should start cleaning, or when the dishwasher should start washing the dishes; all based on when electricity is the cheapest during the day. I even came across a talking tree that would tweet when it needed to be watered, or record the last time someone gave it a hug and it felt lonely.
The purpose of these travels and visits to the innovation labs was for me to educate myself about Green Energy and Environmental Impact of Technology. I was then asked to create a sustainability learning module for Verizon employees, which would, in turn, educate the employees about Green Practices. Upon completion of my summer internship, I created two learning modules. One of the modules titled Sustainability 101 focused on environmental impacts, global warming, and described how companies in the telecommunication sector are helping the environmental cause. This module has now become mandatory for over 200K Verizon employees, and Ericsson recognized me as Intern of the week. As a senior, I continued to work with Ericsson as a Special Project Intern, where I focused on promoting projects with Green Energy.