Before ICE
Before starting the Intercultural Encounters Master’s Programme (ICE), Sofia studied a bachelor’s degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology and also spent a year and a half studying law in Vienna, Austria.
“I discovered that I really like this interdisciplinary approach, this thematic focus,” she says. “This is why for my master’s I applied to several universities offering interdisciplinary programs in migration studies, diversity management and cultural studies. The University of Helsinki caught me with this line of ‘you’re a part of the community’. That’s what I felt from day one.”
Sofia chose to specialise in migration, international politics, and peacebuilding. She describes this combination as “all bound together.”
Life at the University
Sofia’s master’s thesis explored the role of social identity in the mediation of hate crime. She interviewed community mediators and drew on theories of conflict resolution from social psychology. “It was a nice experience. I learned a lot from that and I’m still in contact with one of the mediators.”
Beyond her academic work, Sofia was actively engaged in student life. “I was chairing the international committee at the student union, and I was a student representative,” she says. “I met wonderful people. All of them have kind of coined me in some way. I went to sauna a lot, travelled around, and really tried to make the most of this experience.”
She also recalls how the introductory course presented many different ways to understand intercultural encounters. One lecture on knowledge production from Indigenous perspectives transformed her thinking.
“I’d never looked at it that way,” she says. “Maybe we need new approaches to knowledge to actually cover more and understand better.” The concept stayed with her long after graduation: “We’re missing perspectives, we’re missing knowledge. We don’t have these minority perspectives at the table.”
Career after Graduation
After graduating, Sofia returned to Vienna and began her career at the IZ-Association for the promotion of diversity, dialogue and education. Additionally, she is involved with community work.
“Right now I’m in youth and community social work and I’m also a trainer for an NGO which is also working on topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and conflict resolution,” she explains. “I’m developing a concept on peace education for a multilingual group of students, which we’re going to use for workshops in schools for people around 13 or 14 years old.”
Sofia’s career path evolved through initiative and networking. “During my studies, I knew I would like to try working in the DEI field,” she recalls. “We had this career clinic… you get the task to ask for an informational interview. I contacted one of the employees there and right when I graduated, they were advertising a position. I wouldn’t have known about it if she hadn’t been in my LinkedIn network.”
How ICE Shaped Her Work and Perspective
Sofia says that the ICE programme continues to shape her both professionally and personally.
“Engaging with people from different countries, different cultures, different linguistic backgrounds built on my knowledge about intercultural communication and collaboration,” she reflects. “I’ve gained knowledge on conflict resolution, migration, Islam, and peacebuilding. Even though I’m not exactly in that field, I can use this knowledge to think of structures and to reshape them.”
She also credits the programme with deepening her sensitivity to cultural and religious diversity. “It’s made me even more open to religious identities, to religion, and to different cultural contexts,” she says. “It kind of shaped this thinking of societal problems and structures from different perspectives. Being able to combine these perspectives, which is very important when you train people or speak in front of them.”
Advice for Future Students
“I think it’s always important to remember that what you’re learning is of huge value, even though many people might say otherwise,” Sofia advises. “Build on the topics that spark your interest, build networks really early, and trust the process. Many people who study ICE are very creative; I would encourage everyone to build on that creativity and think outside the box. We need people to think outside of the box to ignite societal change and innovation to respond to the social and political challenges of the 21st century.”