From Sweden to Cork: An Erasmus Intern’s Web Journey

Erasmus+ and the Power of International Internships

The Erasmus+ program is a European Union initiative that supports education and training exchanges. It doesn’t just fund study abroad it also supports traineeships (work placements/internships) for students in companies abroad. Through Erasmus+, students gain professional experience in a foreign country, while businesses benefit from fresh talent and a cultural exchange. In William’s case, Erasmus+ covered his internship in Ireland, including financial support and insurance, meaning NexGen Cyber could host his expertise at no extra cost to the company. This arrangement provided an ideal framework for both William and NexGen to focus on the work and learning at hand.

William Sjödin, a web development student from Sweden, arrived in Cork, Ireland for a ten-week internship at NexGen Cyber in spring 2025. His placement was facilitated by an Erasmus partner organization after a last-minute opportunity arose. NexGen’s Cork team (working out of the Republic of Work co-working space) had a significant project waiting and William was ready to dive in.

Note: Republic of Work is a modern co-working hub in Cork City that often hosts start-ups and remote teams. For interns like William, it provides a professional environment and networking opportunities with local tech community events. In fact, during his internship William even helped publish a link on the NexGen site to a podcast featuring NexGen’s director recorded at Republic of Work, blending his work with the local tech scene.

NexGen Cyber’s Growth in the UK, Ireland, and US

To understand William’s project, let’s first introduce NexGen Cyber. Founded in 2021 by two entrepreneurs (Simon and Mark) as a dedicated cybersecurity consultancy in the UK, NexGen Cyber quickly found success helping businesses improve their IT security. In 2023, a third director, Michael, joined and the business expanded into Ireland, establishing a base in Cork. By May 2025, NexGen Cyber was launching operations in the United States to serve a fast growing client base there.

This rapid expansion meant that in just a few years, NexGen had gone from a single-country startup to a company with a tri-regional presence. NexGen’s services range from security audits and penetration testing to compliance readiness (e.g. helping clients with ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certifications) and ongoing “Security-as-a-Service” support. Their mission is summed up in their slogan: “We protect what matters most to local businesses.”

This motto reflects NexGen’s focus on being a trusted, down-to-earth security partner for small and midsize businesses.

By 2025, with active teams in the UK and Ireland and new clients in the US, NexGen Cyber was truly international. However, one thing hadn’t yet caught up with that growth: the web presence. The company had several different websites for different regions:

• nexgencyber.co.uk – the UK site (managed by an external marketing partner).
• nexgencyber.ie – the Irish site.
• nexgencyber.com – a newer global/.com site (for the US and general info).
• nexgencyber.io – another domain owned by the company (for future use).

Maintaining multiple separate websites was becoming inefficient and could dilute the brand message. Information was scattered – for example, some blog posts were on the UK site but not on .com, and the “About Us” page on .com hadn’t incorporated the latest values and story of the company’s growth. The leadership knew that consolidating these sites into a single, coherent global website would be crucial. It would showcase NexGen as “one company” with regional offerings, rather than siloed websites, and make content management far easier. As the team outlined internally:

• They had acquired all four domains as part of expansion, and now needed a coherent strategy for hosting and managing them together.
• The UK site (nexgencyber.co.uk) was still hosted externally (by a partner agency, BizEngine), but the plan was to migrate it into NexGen’s own platform alongside the .ie and .com sites.
• They wanted customers visiting the site to “easily identify the region they are in and see content relevant to them” – possibly via automatic region detection or a clear selector.
• Overall, the website should present a unified brand while still catering to users in different markets (with appropriate case studies, testimonials, and services for each).

In short, the project’s goal was one global website with multi-regional support, launched in time to mark the company’s entry into the US market. It was an ambitious web development and content project and it was the perfect challenge to hand to an eager intern named William.

The Website Consolidation Project: Challenges and Goals

William’s mission (should he choose to accept it, and he did!) was to help NexGen Cyber transform their fragmented web presence into a single, dynamic website serving all regions. Key objectives of the project included:

• Migrate and unify content from the regional sites:
  • Bring over valuable blog articles on the UK site that were missing on the .com site (e.g. posts like “World Password Day”, “Cybersecurity Awareness Month”, etc. that had been published in the UK but not yet on the global site).
  • Ensure the latest company information (timeline, values, team profiles) was consistent on the unified site.
  • Consolidate pages like “About Us” and “Services” so that each did not have to be maintained in two or three places.
• Set up a robust technical infrastructure:
  • Configure WordPress in multisite mode or a similar strategy so that the .co.uk, .ie, and .com could be managed together. William actually enabled a multisite configuration in a staging environment to test having sub-sites for each region.
  • Plan the domain pointing and DNS changes, for example, pointing the .ie and .co.uk domains to the main site once ready, and ensuring SSL certificates for all.
• Implement region-specific features:
  • Possibly use geolocation or a region selector. (Should a UK visitor to nexgencyber.com be automatically offered the UK-specific content? Should there be country flags or a drop-down to switch region?) William researched a range of WordPress geolocation plugins – from IP-detection and redirection tools to content personalization APIs and presented the costs and benefits of each option.
  • Ensure that each region’s unique offerings (like Ireland-only government cyber grants, or UK-specific certifications) could be highlighted, while general content (like service descriptions) could be shared.
• Preserve SEO and analytics:
  • Combining sites can risk SEO disruptions, so the plan was to implement 301 redirects where needed and maintain search engine rankings. Also, they aimed to improve overall SEO by having a more authoritative single site. Part of William’s task was to develop an SEO strategy targeting keywords for each market (UK, Ireland, US) and implement best practices across the unified site.
  • Set up Google Analytics (or an equivalent) to track visitors per region, now that everything would funnel through one site.
• Refresh and optimize content:
  • Take the opportunity to update the design and user experience. For instance, the homepage slogan on .com was updated to the new motto “We Protect what Matters Most to Local Businesses,” but it needed better visual emphasis. William would tweak such design elements.
  • Redesign the “About Us” page to properly tell the story of NexGen’s multi-country journey and core values.
  • Create new pages where needed (e.g., a dedicated Partners page highlighting key partnerships in different regions, which previously were just a section on About Us).
  • Ensure the site was mobile-friendly and fast, offering a smooth experience to all visitors, whether they’re in Cork or California (mobile optimization and accessibility were on his checklist towards the end).

In summary, William was stepping into the shoes of a full-stack web developer and project coordinator. He had to not only carry out technical work (WordPress configuration, content migration, coding page layouts) but also coordinate with the team and make creative decisions about content. And he had to do it on a tight timeline of just a few weeks, since the company was eager to unveil the unified site in sync with their U.S. launch.

For a first job out of school, this could have been overwhelming, but William embraced the challenge head-on.

Enter William Sjödin: An Intern with Initiative

Here’s how William tackled the project, week by week:

• Week 1: Orientation and Planning: William spent his first days understanding the current state of NexGen’s websites and the business needs. He met with Michael to discuss goals and reviewed an existing analysis of the websites to pinpoint areas for improvement. He also familiarized himself with the technical environment: creating backups of the site, setting up a staging instance and enabling the multisite mode for testing. By the end of the week, he had gathered all necessary assets (images, logos, content from the old sites) and compiled a to-do list. He also did competitive research, looking at how other similar companies handle multi-region sites, to glean ideas on what to emulate or avoid.
• Week 2: Content Migration and Website Architecture: With a plan in hand, William began migrating content. He imported missing blog posts from the UK site into the new unified blog on NexGen’s .com site, ensuring valuable articles wouldn’t be lost. He restructured the navigation to accommodate region-specific pages (for instance, under “Services”, adding pages that would only make sense in Ireland like “Ireland Grants”, or in the UK like “Cyber Essentials Certification”). William also set up a preliminary region selector in the site’s menu, and created a staging version of the UK site under the multisite – enabling the team to see .co.uk content served from their own system for the first time. Throughout, he was careful to maintain backups and work in staging, a level of caution and professionalism often seen in more experienced developers.
• Week 3: Integration and Technical Solutions: This week, William focused on the technical heavy lifting. He coordinated with NexGen’s team to plan DNS changes for merging the domains (preparing an email with precise instructions to point the .ie and .io domains to the .com site when ready). He tested geo-location plugins extensively: from simple IP-based redirection scripts to more sophisticated tools like WP Engine’s GeoTarget and Cloudflare’s GeoIP functions. He even prototyped a pop-up that would greet visitors on the .com site and suggest the localized site if it detected they were in the UK or Ireland. By the end of the week, he had a recommended approach for region handling ready to demo to Michael: a subtle country-picker prompt that would enhance user experience without being obtrusive. Michael later remarked that this was exactly the kind of solution they were hoping for when they described the project in initial talks with the Erasmus coordinator.
• Week 4: Design Refinements and New Features: Now the unified site was coming together, so William turned to enhancements. He redesigned the About Us page to better reflect NexGen’s identity. This is where one of his standout initiatives took place (more on that in the next section): he proactively rewrote the About Us text to incorporate the company’s values of authenticity, trust, and partnership.. Additionally, he split off a new Partners page from About Us, giving key partner organizations their own spotlight. William also implemented a rotating logo carousel on the homepage with a mix of client logos from the UK, Ireland, and US, captioned “We are trusted internationally to keep customers safe.”  a visual proof of NexGen’s expanded reach that he suggested including. Furthermore, he built two custom landing pages: one for a Microsoft AI initiative NexGen was part of, and one for a cybersecurity Human Risk Management service, integrating third-party forms and content provided by partners. These additions demonstrated NexGen’s new capabilities and partnerships in a sleek way.
• Week 5: Testing, Optimization, and Launch: In the final stretch, William focused on quality assurance. He thoroughly tested the site on mobile devices and different browsers, fixing responsive design issues to ensure the site looked great and functioned well on phones and tablets. He ran performance optimizations (compressing images, refining plugins) to keep load times fast. Accessibility checks were done to confirm text and navigation were usable for all visitors. Once everything was approved in staging and Michael, Simon, and Mark (the company leadership) had signed off, William coordinated the go-live. The DNS for nexgencyber.ie and nexgencyber.co.uk were repointed to the new unified site, and the transition was made. Post-launch, all three domains displayed the same cohesive NexGen Cyber website, automatically adapting to show region-specific content where appropriate. William’s project was complete, on time and setting a solid foundation for NexGen’s marketing in all markets.

Throughout this process, William worked largely independently, but he was never truly on his own. He kept open lines of communication with the NexGen team, seeking input when needed and demonstrating professionalism in every interaction. For instance, when NexGen’s CEO Simon wanted to ensure the writing on the site matched British English style, William readily made minor spelling tweaks (switching a few “Z”s to “S”s in words) the only edits the CEO had on William’s otherwise spot-on content updates

Let’s zoom in on a couple of anecdotes that highlight William’s initiative and creativity during the internship.

Going Above and Beyond: William’s Initiative and Creativity

1. Revamping “About Us” with a Personal Touch: One challenge was rewriting the About Us page to better reflect NexGen Cyber’s values and the personalities behind the company. This is a task even seasoned marketing teams labour over, and it wasn’t explicitly in the initial project brief for a technical intern. But William understood its importance and took it upon himself to tackle the copywriting. Admittedly, William was able to draw on the work that Simon, Mark, Michael and Chris had delivered in Q1, but now it was being brought to a new audience through NexGen’s website. The authenticity and values that the NexGen leadership wanted to build in a modern cybersecurity company could now be clearly seen.

William emailed this draft to Michael for feedback, humbly noting that it was just a suggestion to get things started. Michael was impressed that William had taken such initiative to “fill in the blanks” beyond pure tech work, and forwarded it to the co-founders for their thoughts. The result? It hit the mark. After review, CEO Simon replied that “All looks good and captures who we are as a business”. In other words, William an intern on his first job successfully authored core marketing text for a cybersecurity company, an area well outside typical intern duties. By taking this on, he saved the executives time and demonstrated a level of ownership that greatly exceeded expectations. The new About Us went live with William’s wording, giving the site a friendly, authentic tone that resonated with NexGen’s brand.

2. “We are trusted internationally”: A Global Vision on Display: As NexGen’s first truly global website, William wanted the homepage to immediately communicate the company’s international presence. One idea he proposed was adding a tagline and visual element to showcase the broad client base. Drawing from discussions with the team, he came up with a concept for the homepage banner: a scrolling carousel of client logos from Ireland, the UK, and the US, unified under the headline “We are trusted internationally to keep customers safe.” This was a clever way to quickly build credibility with new visitors any prospect landing on the page would see familiar logos and know that NexGen has proven experience in multiple regions. William’s supervisors loved the idea. He went ahead and implemented it, carefully curating the logo images and standardising their appearance for a professional look. This wasn’t a task on the original to-do list; it stemmed from William’s understanding of the project’s purpose, “to demonstrate growth” and figuring out a creative solution to do so. It’s now one of the first things you see on NexGen’s site, adding both visual appeal and marketing punch.

3. Thorough Research and Problem-Solving: Another example of William’s proactive mentality was how he handled the geolocation challenge. Rather than just picking a plugin at random or implementing the first idea that came up, he did extensive research to compare options. In an almost consulting-like manner, he compiled notes on various WordPress plugins and approaches (OptinMonster vs. WPForms vs. GeoIP Detection APIs, etc.), evaluating which would best meet NexGen’s needs and budget. He effectively presented a mini feasibility study to Michael, recommending a solution that balanced functionality (detecting user location to suggest the correct regional site) with simplicity (not over-complicating the user experience). This level of diligence showed intellectual curiosity and professionalism. It also demonstrated to NexGen how much an intern could accomplish when given trust, something noted by the Erasmus program coordinator who checked in mid-internship and was delighted to hear how integrally involved William was in real decision-making.

4. Adapting on the Fly: Over the course of the project, priorities occasionally shifted, as is common in fast-moving companies. For instance, mid-way through, marketing materials for a new Microsoft partnership campaign became available and needed a quick landing page on the site. William adjusted his schedule to create the page within a day or two, embedding the required code and getting it live in time for the campaign launch. He did the same for a Human Risk Management training service: teaching himself how to use the content kit provided by a partner (U-Secure) and building a polished page for it. These tasks required learning new tools on the fly and a good design sense, which William handled gracefully. His ability to context-switch and still deliver quality work was frequently remarked upon by the team.

Through these examples, it’s clear that initiative and creativity became the hallmarks of William’s internship. Far from waiting to be told what to do, he actively looked for ways to add value. He wasn’t afraid to propose improvements, whether in design, content, or technical approach. And importantly, he followed through on his ideas with implementation. This combination of creative thinking and execution is rare in any employee let alone an intern new to the company. It made a strong impression on his colleagues and supervisors, who began to treat him as an integral part of the team rather than “just an intern.” In meetings and email threads, William’s input was sought on decisions, and he earned a reputation for reliability in a very short time.

Overcoming Challenges and Learning on the Job

No project is without its challenges, especially not one of this scope. William encountered and overcame several hurdles during his internship, each of which taught him (and the NexGen team) valuable lessons:

• Time Constraint: Five weeks is a very short timeframe to plan, build, test, and launch a consolidated website. This pressure meant William had to prioritize ruthlessly. He learned to distinguish “must-haves” from “nice-to-haves.” For example, while a sophisticated automatic region-redirect feature was considered, he realized a simpler manual region selector could achieve the goal in the given time, and left the fully automated geo-redirect for a future enhancement. By focusing on the core objectives first, he ensured the project met its deadline. This was a crash course in project management and taught William how to break a large project into achievable weekly sprints, a skill that will serve him in any fast-paced work environment.
• Familiarity with Corporate Standards: Coming from an academic background, William had to quickly get accustomed to corporate standards and review processes. The feedback loop on the About Us content was one example. He learned how to incorporate feedback from multiple stakeholders (CEO, directors) and not to take edits personally. He also became versed in NexGen’s preferred style (like UK spelling conventions and a professional-but-warm tone). These might seem small, but mastering them is part of growing as a professional. William’s willingness to ask for feedback and iterate (as he did with the About Us draft) showed maturity; rather than shying away from critique, he invited it, which ultimately improved the outcome.
• Technical Hurdles: Working with WordPress multisite and domain migrations can be tricky even for experienced developers. William faced down tasks like merging databases and ensuring plugins worked across the multi-site network. At one point, a plugin used for forms on the .co.uk site wasn’t compatible with the newer version on .com. William troubleshooted the issue methodically, reading documentation and community forums and implemented an update that fixed the compatibility. He likely had moments of frustration (as any developer does when things don’t work on the first try), but he persisted and solved each issue. This process undoubtedly expanded his technical skillset. By the end of the internship, William had not only solidified his WordPress expertise, but also touched on DNS configuration, content SEO, and web analytics setup a broad array of tech skills that he gained through hands-on problem-solving.
• Remote Coordination: Being in a co-working space, away from NexGen’s main offices in the UK, William had to proactively communicate to stay aligned. He scheduled regular check-ins with Michael, provided updates, and occasionally demoed his progress over video calls. He also sometimes needed input from the UK marketing partner (for transferring the .co.uk site data) or from team members like Mark (for DNS and IT support). Coordinating these remotely taught William the importance of clear communication and documentation. He often followed up meetings with summary emails to ensure everyone was on the same page a professional habit that prevented miscommunication. By working in Republic of Work, he also proved that location was no barrier he integrated just as effectively from Cork as if he’d been in the London office, a nod to the modern remote-friendly work style.
• Scope Creep Management: With new tasks (like the Microsoft page) coming in, William experienced the classic challenge of scope creep. He managed this by staying flexible and not panicking, reprioritising tasks and, when necessary, politely pushing less urgent ones to after launch. For instance, one of the “would-be-nice” ideas was to create a mini video for the homepage. When time ran short, William communicated that it could be added post-launch, ensuring the team’s expectations were managed. This honest communication prevented disappointment and kept everyone focused on what could be achieved immediately. It showed that William could think strategically, not just execute blindly.

A Unified Global Website: Impact on NexGen Cyber’s Business

With the new unified website up and running by the end of May 2025, NexGen Cyber immediately began reaping the benefits. The website consolidation project achieved its primary goal of demonstrating the company’s international growth, but it also brought several ancillary advantages:

• Consistent Branding and Messaging: The company’s story, who they are, what they do, and whom they serve is now told in one place, with one voice. A client in the US visiting nexgencyber.com sees the same core message about trust and local business focus as a client in the UK visiting nexgencyber.co.uk. The tone and values are consistent. This strengthens NexGen’s brand identity. As a test, Michael showed the site to a few existing clients for feedback; they responded that it “truly feels like the same NexGen we know, just bigger and more global.” That kind of brand continuity is hard to achieve when juggling separate sites. Thanks to the consolidation, NexGen projects a cohesive image as a single, larger firm rather than three smaller ones.
• Improved User Experience by Region: Visitors now have a clear pathway to content relevant to their location. If a visitor from Ireland comes to the site, they can find information on Irish government cyber grants easily under the “Our Services” section, whereas a visitor from the UK will find content on UK-specific certifications like Cyber Essentials in the same menu. Even without aggressive auto-redirects, the navigation makes it intuitive to locate region-specific info. And if they ever need to switch region, the option is readily accessible. This ease-of-use was noted by NexGen’s partners as well. One partner in the UK commented that NexGen’s site was now “much easier to refer prospective clients to, since everything is under the one roof.”
• SEO Gains and Traffic Consolidation: Early indicators on Google Analytics showed an interesting trend the unified site started ranking higher for important keywords. Previously, some SEO efforts were split between the .co.uk and .com domains, but with unified content and a concerted SEO strategy implemented (meta tags, keywords tailored per region, etc.), the site’s domain authority grew. Within a month or two, search results for “NexGen Cyber” all pointed cleanly to the .com site with sitelinks for the UK and IE sections, eliminating confusion. The company witnessed a modest bump in organic traffic, possibly because the blog content from the UK (which had its own audience) was now pulling people into the .com domain where they could discover more services. Over time, this unified approach is expected to significantly aid content marketing efforts every new blog post or case study will contribute to one central site’s SEO, amplifying its impact.
• Easier Maintenance and Updates: What was previously three separate update routines is now one. NexGen’s team can publish a news update or edit a product page once and have it reflected across all their domains. This saves time and ensures accuracy. The web team noted how much simpler life became when, for example, a phone number or address needed to be changed it could be done in one go. Moreover, features like the Tech Tribe blog content plugin (which William set up to syndicate cybersecurity articles) can feed all regions at once. The efficiency gained means the company can keep the site more current and dedicate more effort to quality content rather than duplicative administration.
• Supporting Sales in New Markets: The timing of the new site’s launch was perfect for the U.S. market entry. NexGen’s sales team in the US used the site as a key credential when approaching prospects. The presence of UK and Irish client logos and testimonials on the same site actually boosted credibility in the U.S., signalling that NexGen was an established player overseas. It also gave confidence to UK clients about the company’s stability (knowing they were growing globally). Internally, the unified site became a morale booster too it was a visible proof of the company’s progress and ambition, which galvanised the team.
• Analytics-Driven Insights: Now that all traffic flows through one site, NexGen can better analyse their web data. They can compare interest from different regions more directly for instance, seeing which pages U.S. visitors view the most vs. UK visitors and tailor their marketing accordingly. Early data showed that U.S. visitors were particularly interested in the “Cybersecurity Framework (NIST)” page William had added, whereas UK visitors frequented the “Cyber Essentials” page. This kind of insight is guiding NexGen on what services or content to emphasise in each locale. Without a unified site, gathering such comparative insights would be much harder.

In short, the website consolidation has had a positive, multifaceted impact on NexGen Cyber’s business. It wasn’t just a cosmetic web project; it fundamentally enhanced how the company presents itself and operates online. And notably, it positions NexGen well for future growth. If the company expands into other regions (say, mainland Europe or beyond), they now have a scalable web platform to build on, one more region section can be added without reinventing the wheel. William’s work effectively “future-proofed” the web presence to grow along with the company.

From a human perspective, the success of this project also reinforced NexGen’s belief in bringing on young talent. The management could see, in concrete terms, the return on investing time in an intern’s development. It’s quite fitting that a program designed to foster international growth and understanding (Erasmus+) ended up directly enabling a small business’s international growth. William’s internship became a case study within NexGen Cyber, mentioned in company meetings as an example of proactive problem-solving and even shared on NexGen’s LinkedIn as a mini success story thanking him for his contributions (and highlighting the Erasmus program’s role).

Reflections: A Win-Win Experience

By the end of William Sjödin’s internship, the results spoke for themselves. NexGen Cyber had a shiny new global website that not only looked professional and modern, but also effectively told the story of a local business gone international. William, on the other hand, had built an impressive portfolio piece and gained a wealth of experience in a short time.

Reflecting on William’s contributions: Michael O’Connor, who supervised his work, noted that “William exceeded every expectation. We gave him an outline and he ran with it. In five weeks he delivered what might have taken us five months to coordinate otherwise.” Indeed, tasks that had lingered on the back burner (like unifying the sites or updating the About Us page) were swiftly executed by William’s hand. The internship injected fresh energy into those projects. Colleagues praised William’s work ethic, he was often the first one at the co-working space in the morning, already experimenting with a new plugin or tweaking a design element before others logged on. His enthusiasm and can-do attitude were contagious; seeing him tackle challenges head-on motivated the team around him to push forward on their own tasks related to the U.S. launch.

William’s perspective: For William, the internship was transformative. Coming straight from an academic setting into a cybersecurity environment taught him more in a month than a year of classes could. He experienced the pace of real-world projects, learned how to communicate in a business setting, and saw the direct impact of his work on a company’s success, a huge confidence booster. He also got to immerse himself in Irish work culture while at Republic of Work, making international connections. In a debrief with his Erasmus coordinator, William expressed how the experience solidified his career choice in web development and gave him practical skills that he planned to leverage back in Sweden. He returned home not only with improved English and a beefed-up CV, but also with a sense of accomplishment and a strong professional reference from NexGen Cyber. (And yes, he made a great first impression, so much so that NexGen told him they’d gladly welcome him back if the opportunity arose!)

Lessons for other companies: NexGen Cyber’s successful engagement with the Erasmus internship offers some takeaways for other businesses considering such programs:

• Have a clear, meaningful project: Give interns projects that matter. William was motivated by the responsibility of a mission-critical project. It made him feel valued and pushed him to deliver his best. Companies benefit too, real projects yield real improvements. As NexGen saw, an intern can drive an initiative that might be languishing otherwise.
• Provide guidance, then trust them: The NexGen team provided William with orientation and resources, then gave him the autonomy to work. This balance is important. Over-supervising can stifle an intern, but support is still necessary when they hit unknowns. William had access to guidance when needed (e.g., architectural decisions or content approval), but otherwise was trusted to manage his time and tasks. This autonomy is what enabled his creativity to flourish.
• Embrace fresh perspectives: Because he was new, William questioned the status quo in helpful ways (“Why are these sites separate in the first place? Couldn’t we just…?”). Such questions can trigger positive change. Encouraging interns to voice their observations can shine a light on improvements insiders might overlook.
• Acknowledge and appreciate the work: NexGen was quick to recognize William’s achievements, internally and externally. This not only was great for William’s morale, but it also boosts the company’s culture. It sent a message to the whole team that hard work and initiative are valued, no matter your title. And it strengthens the partnership with programs like Erasmus when success stories are shared.

Conclusion

The story of William Sjödin at NexGen Cyber is a testament to the power of opportunities and initiative. Through the Erasmus+ program, a young web developer from Sweden found himself in Cork, contributing meaningfully to an Irish/UK/U.S. business’s growth. It’s hard to imagine a better first-job experience: he faced a real challenge, applied his skills (and learned new ones), thought creatively, and left a tangible legacy. For NexGen Cyber, taking on an intern proved to be a savvy business decision that delivered a high ROI in a short span, not just in the finished website, but in the infusion of fresh ideas and energy.

In a broader sense, this success story highlights how international internship programs can benefit companies and interns alike. Erasmus+ enabled cross-border knowledge transfer: William brought a fresh perspective and in return gained practical experience and cultural exchange. As businesses become more global and interconnected, such collaborations are increasingly valuable. They remind us that investing in young talent and cross-pollinating ideas across borders can yield innovation and growth that might not happen otherwise.

So, the next time you click through NexGen Cyber’s website and admire how seamlessly it caters to different locales, remember that behind it was an intern eager to make a difference and a company bold enough to let him. William’s journey from Sweden to Cork to unify a cybersecurity firm’s online presence is an inspiring example of what can happen when preparation meets opportunity. It only makes us wonder: how many other businesses could reach the “next gen” of their potential by tapping into the next generation of talent, just as NexGen Cyber did?