Linköping Science Park and Worldish, a communication technology company based in Linköping, have joined forces to launch the chatbot Helen in the Vinnova funded project Switch to Sweden. The project aims to support and connect international talents in Sweden with Swedish companies for career opportunities after their studies.
The Helen chatbot is an AI-powered virtual assistant that can assist people in understanding and accessing core information about life in Sweden, for example social activities, healthcare system, tax system, job market, work permits, language, and culture. It provides new arrivals with the necessary guidance they need to integrate into their new environment successfully.
“In Switch to Sweden we connect international students in Sweden with businesses to help with a career after their studies, because we know these talents are needed in our country. We have chosen Helen because we see that there could be more support in navigating this process and with the help of Helen we want to offer this to our talents”, says Anna Broeders, project leader for Switch to Sweden.
Worldish’s founders Abhishek Jacob Chethikatt and Naveen Sasidharan who themselves arrived in Sweden from India in 2014, have developed the technology, recognizing the challenges newcomers face when arriving in a new country.
“We founded Worldish because we wanted to make it easier for people to overcome communication barriers and have equal access to core services, like healthcare and information about society, so they can integrate better into a new community,” says co-founder Abhishek Jacob Chethikatt.
“The chatbot needs the user to sign in with their email into the chat board platform primarily because this is an early stage product. Worldish really wants to develop the Helen chatbot even further, based on the users feedback, so that it can benefit students even better in the future”, co-founder Naveen Sasidharan says.
The partnership with Linköping Science Park enables Worldish to bring their technology to a wider audience and help integrate more international talent into the Swedish workforce. Switch to Sweden’s vision to bring foreign talent to Sweden and spread the word to the international community has inspired Worldish to work together to make it happen.
“The whole ecosystem here in Linköping through the Science Park has personally helped us and our companies build a community around us. We totally believe in international talent, and this is the perfect project where we think our technology and Linköping Science Park’s mission can come together,” says Abhishek.
Linköping Science Park sees the potential of the project as a catalyst for the region’s growth, supporting newcomers’ successful integration into the Swedish workforce, strengthening its economy and community, and promoting the region as an attractive destination for international talent.
Try Helen yourself at switchtosweden.se
