Approximately 2,000 international talents study at the University of Eastern Finland. Our students are not only passing through, since according to our survey, up to 80 percent of them want to find employment and stay in Finland. International talents have language and cultural skills, which are useful, for example, when dealing with international partners.
University of Eastern Finland subsidizes student internships, and recruiting an international trainee is an easy way for an organisation to start internationalisation and improve its readiness for a multicultural work community. A sure way to recruit and coach talents for a company's needs is to offer thesis projects for our students. When looking for a talent explore our study opportunities.
Citizens of the EU and EEA countries are allowed to work in Finland without restrictions. Students from outside the EU and EEA can work full-time in practical training as part of their studies or thesis project. In non-study-related work, students can work for an average of 30 hours a week during the academic semester. After graduation, one can apply for residence based on work or work-seeking. Read more about the opportunities for international students to work in Finland on Migri's website.
When recruiting an international expert, it is worth paying attention to the following issues:
- Consider questions related to language skills in advance – what is the sufficient level of language to cope with the task? For example, is it possible to use English at work, but at the same time learn Finnish?
- It is advisable to prepare the job announcement in English and indicate clearly if the Finnish language is not a prerequisite for applying for the position.
- Encourage students from different backgrounds to apply by showing, for example, how your organisation is promoting diversity and internationalisation.
- If you use illustrations in your recruitment, please, take diversity into account visually as well.
- Also, consider the possibility of anonymous recruitment. The purpose of anonymous recruitment is to prevent discrimination in recruitment and to draw recruiters' attention, above all, to the applicant's competence and ability.
- Read more tips on diversity issues in recruitment from the website of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health: How to promote diversity in recruitment.
Become a mentor for international students
International students who have completed their degrees in Eastern Finland have significant employment potential that has not been fully utilised. The challenge is that students do not have enough connections to working life in Eastern Finland during their studies. Employment after graduation is difficult, especially for university graduates, and up to half of them move away from the area after graduation.
You as a working life professional can help us solve the problem – we need your expertise. Share your experience with future talent and become a mentor!
Mentoring provides the mentor with
- up-to-date information on higher education and the future workforce
- expansion of the professional network
- development of coaching and interaction skills
- new perspectives and the opportunity to learn about different cultures
- the opportunity to structure and mirror one's skills and experience
The group mentoring programme is aimed at students of the international degree programmes of the University of Eastern Finland and Savonia University of Applied Sciences. The programme is part of the Talent Hub Eastern Finland cooperation, which aims to ensure that international students who have arrived in the region find their place, secure employment, and integrate into Eastern Finland. The project is co-funded by the European Union.
A mentor is a working life professional who offers support, perspectives, and networks to future talent. Group mentoring means sharing one's own skills and life experience with a small group consisting of students at different stages of study. 2–4 students are selected for the group based on their wishes. The mentoring language is English.
As a mentor, you are expected to
- be present and listen
- support the development of actors' working life skills
- meet with the group approximately once a month (face-to-face or remote meeting)
- agree on practical matters with the group
- set goals and give feedback with a conversational and questioning approach instead of giving instructions
As a mentor, you are not expected to
- have expertise in every field and answer to all actors' questions
- deal with matters outside general professional guidance
- offer a job or traineeship to actors
Content of the programme
The mentoring programme includes the following events, which will be specified closer to the start of the next programme in autumn 2024:
- Online mentor coaching
- Online program launch event
- Meetings agreed with the group (recommended 4–6 times). You can agree with your mentor group whether you will hold face-to-face or remote meetings.
- Online mentor mid-term meeting
- Closing ceremony of the programme
The total duration of the program is approximately 20 hours per mentor.
The themes of the meetings can be professional growth and career development, identifying one's competence, job search skills, self-branding / social media visibility (LinkedIn) and networking, Finnish culture and working life, motivation and future goals, entrepreneurship and (research) funding, as well as well-being at work and time management.
Mentoring is not tied to the place but can also be carried out in an online environment. The group agrees on the method of implementation and possible face-to-face meetings*.
Mentoring training available
Savonia University of Applied Sciences offers a YAMK-level 5-credit course “From Professional to a Mentor” free of charge for the mentors selected for the mentoring programme. The course helps to develop your mentoring skills, which you can apply in practice during the mentoring programme. More information about the course will be sent after the mentor selection.
Further information: marko.pietila@uef.fi, minna.tarvainen@savonia.fi
*Please note that unfortunately, we cannot pay any travel or other costs related to mentoring meetings.
For an international student, an internship is the most effective way to get a job in Finland
Internship during study has been shown to improve employment after graduation, and the commitment to stay in Finland after graduation. An internship may be a student's first contact with Finnish working life, and Finns in general, outside their study environment. Internship is especially important for students planning a non-academic career in Finland.
International students often have a very diverse educational and competence background. International students in Eastern Finland are willing to find employment and stay in the region after graduation. According to the university's survey, four out of five respondents want to primarily look for work in Eastern Finland or in Finland in general after graduation.
International students' experiences about Finnish employers are very positive. Students appreciate Finland's egalitarian, rule-abiding and independent work culture. Recruiting an international intern or summer worker is an easy way for an organization to start internationalization and at the same time to examine its own organization's readiness for a multicultural work community.
Internship as part of studies is a study performance included in the degree, which corresponds to the goals of the curriculum, and for which the student receives credits according to the scope and content of the internship. Internships as part of studies are always planned, which means that the internship, its content, duration and learning goals must be approved in the study program before starting the internship. In practice, this means an internship plan/agreement drawn up by the employer and the student, which is then approved in the study program. There is a form and instructions available in each study program for the internship plan/contract. At the end of the internship, the internship is credited based to an internship report written by student. In some degree programs, internship is an essential and mandatory part of the degree, while in some programs, internship is an optional part of the degree.
From the beginning of 2023, it will be possible to apply for training support (1,800 euros) for a fixed-term paid internship of at least two months. The employer can invoice the university at the end of the training by presenting the copies of the training contract and paid salary receipts. Invoices for each year must be delivered to the university's billing address no later than the first week of the following year after internship (week 1). The university's invoicing address: http://www.uef.fi/fi/yhteystiedot. Internship support is only paid for paid internships, where the employer must pay the intern at least the minimum wage that meets KELA's employment condition (€1,331/month in 2023). The employer is always responsible for trainees' employment matters.
The university does not support internships
- in the case of internships that are part of the teacher's pedagogical studies, teaching pharmacy internships, internships in the welfare areas that are part of the basic medical studies, clinical and in-depth internships in dentistry, practical internships in social work, and theologians' ecclesiastical and soul care applied studies (on-the-job learning periods)
- if the internship does not meet the goals set for the course description of the curriculum or does not earn credits
- when the student simultaneously receives other financial support from the university or other organization for training
- if the student has already received internship support before
- for which the employer does not pay a salary
- whose salary falls below the minimum salary confirmed annually by KELA (condition of employment)
- where the employer does not organize guidance for the student during the internship at the workplace
More information can be found in the internship guidelines of the University of Eastern Finland: https://kamu.uef.fi/en/tietopankki/career-planning-and-job-advisory/practical-training/
The UEF Trainee internship is a subsidized internship program intended only for international undergraduate students. In the programme the students apply internship placements from a list offers (descriptions of work tasks and content) gathered from employers. Internship offers are collected during the fall (marko.pietila@uef.fi), and at the turn of the year the internship offers are published for degree program students. Students apply for an internship through the recruitment system managed by the university, and applications (CV and motivation letter) are sent to the employers for the selection.
The university supports the employer with an "internship voucher" of 2,500 euros for a fixed-term paid internship of at least two months (requiring at least a salary according to the minimum salary of Kela's annual employment condition of €1,331/month (in 2023)) or a four-month half-time internship. The UEF Trainee internship does not have to be included to a degree, and all international undergraduate students registered as students at the end of the application period can participate (by the time the internship takes place, the intern may even have graduated). The UEF Trainee is in a normal fixed-term employment relationship, and an internship plan/agreement is not required from the university, unless the student himself wants to include the internship in his studies. At the end of the internship, the employer can invoice the university €2,500 (without VAT) based on copies of the employment contract and salary receipts. The internship must be completed in the same calendar year as the intern's selection has been completed, and the invoices for the internship must be sent to the university's billing address no later than the first week of the following year (week 1). The university's invoicing address: http://www.uef.fi/fi/yhteystiedot
