Praktikprogram för internationella magisterstudenter vid Helsingfors universitet

Learn more from the experiences of our trainees! 

Juan: An Excellent Experience 

Juan Fernandez Castellano took part in an HR internship at the University of Helsinki at the start of 2018, when he was close to graduating from his MSc studies. He had some experience with HR before, and as he was a student at the University of Helsinki, he received information about this internship at the end of 2017. It was only a 2-month experience, but he learned a lot about HR at a large organization.

Inclusion and Networking 

I dealt with international affairs at my department, as my supervisor was responsible for the incoming researchers and visiting lecturers. Therefore, I felt I was part of the team from the first moment! For instance, I took part in a two-day trip to Tallinn to meet fellow colleagues at other universities. Besides my immediate team, I networked with people from different departments in the HR area. For example, I met Anna Storgårds, who organizes many career coaching webinars as a part of the traineeship program.

Experience Exceeded Expectations

I had an excellent connection with my supervisors Kirsi and Tanja, and I have maintained the relationship afterward. In fact, I have mentioned Kirsi as my reference in my current and past jobs. I can say that the internship has really made an impact, as having her as my reference has helped me get through in my HR career. On a personal level, I collaborated later with Kirsi and Tanja in the company that they have founded. Additionally, I always recommend them as well whenever someone needs relocation services, which is their expertise. My experience exceeded my expectations: just two months of internship have given me so much in terms of contacts, references, and knowledge of the HR field as a whole.

Xiao-Ling: A Rewarding Experience

Xiao-Ling Tuominen first heard about the traineeship opportunity when it was shared with her through the University’s Student Ambassador programme, which she was involved in. After the application period, she was fortunate enough to be selected to join the International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation team in 2021, more specifically, working with the Services for International Degree Students.

Supportive Working Environment

My tasks involved working with the biweekly newsletters for the new incoming international degree students, organizing and holding Student Life 2.0 events, and updating the social media platforms. Not only have my tasks allowed me to collaborate with other trainees and colleagues, but one of the biggest positives was having defined tasks for which I was responsible. Given this, I was able to see the progress and results of the work that I have spent the last couple of months doing. From the beginning, whilst I was thrown into the deep end, I was a part of a very friendly and supportive working environment that provided the necessary help while having the freedom and independence to share my ideas and thoughts.

Traineeship Hopes Answered

The traineeship has given me my first taste of the working culture and a future career here in Finland, which was one of my biggest hopes for the programme. Furthermore, it has provided me with the opportunity to further develop skills and knowledge outside of my degree programme and background. It has been such a rewarding and challenging experience, and I’m grateful to have had this opportunity. I would recommend the programme to all those who are considering applying in the coming years!

Ann: Learn Not Only About Work but Also About Yourself

Ann Dänner completed her traineeship at the Student Recruitment and Marketing team (part of the more extensive Communications and Community Relations unit) at the University of Helsinki in 2021. She was motivated to apply to the traineeship when she heard from her Student Ambassador Coordinator that the programme was open. They even ended up being co-workers.

Supervisors Extremely Supportive

The supervisors of her traineeship were extremely supportive and allowed her to take on a variety of different responsibilities, which she very much valued. She got a lot of trust from their side and always knew that she could count on them if she needed any help. Her supervisors regularly checked in with her to make sure everything was okay, and she felt like she could build up a strong connection with them. They made her feel very comfortable and created a safe and comfortable environment to learn more and try out new things. Additionally, she appreciated the possibility of practicing her Finnish!

Development of Personal Hard and Soft Skills

Her expectations regarding the traineeship have been more than fulfilled! She acquired a variety of soft and hard skills during her traineeship. For example, she extended her knowledge on content management systems and digital marketing working with the programme websites and Studyinfo.fi portal, and she learned how to reach specific target groups through different channels. Therefore, she highly recommends everyone to take part in the International Traineeship Programme! It not only allows you to learn more about work-life at the university and in Finland but also allows you to develop and extend your personal hard and soft skills in a safe environment. The programme has helped her grow in many ways, and she has learned a lot about the work and herself.

Roxana: Grateful for the Internship Experience  

Roxana Soreanu is an HR Coordinator at the University of Helsinki. She is from Romania, with a previous bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in Business Law. In Romania she had extensive legal consultant experience working in the field for 8 years. She decided to move to Finland with her family. The first years in Finland she worked as a cleaner and Supervisor in a hotel, then she decided to study a master’s program in International Business Law at the University of Helsinki.  

Realization of Future Career Goals 

She was blessed to be selected to be HR trainee. She says blessed because she believes it was only by God’s grace that she was selected. Her mentors were Kirsi Korhonen who was by her side the entire time. She also worked with Tanja Malo who helped her adapt and learn for the first month. I learned that having a network is very important to get a job in Finland, so I was going to every meeting with Kirsi and Tanja. One day she was watching her mentor Kirsi during an orientation for new employees in Biomedicum 1 and she realized that Human Resources is the field she wants to work in in the future. 

Valuable Interview Experiences Can Lead to the Next Great Opportunity  

During her internship she felt inspired, and it brought her joy, so she applied for a HR coordinator position that was open. She had a wonderful experience at the interview but didn’t get the job. Eight months later, she was asked if she would be interested in a HR secretary position, it was one of the happiest days of her life and now she is an HR coordinator at Helsinki Institute of Life Science in Biomedicum 1. She strongly recommends the traineeship for international students. She believes that every employer that wants to attract international talent should have such a programme.

Sarella: Over the Moon for Traineeship in Her Own Field  

Sarella Arkkila is an Ecology and Evolutionary Biology master’s student in her second year. She participated in the traineeship program in 2021. Her teacher tutor suggested she try to find some work experience before graduating. She was over the moon when she was selected for the opportunity to work with the staff and collections of each of the three teams of the Zoology unit at the natural history museum: the Entomology Team, Metazoa Team and Monitoring Team. 

Hands on Work Experience  

Her traineeship at Luomus involved working in different teams that manage the collections as well as research at the museum. The Entomology and Metazoa teams take care of the museum’s zoological collections. The national zoological collection at the museum includes over 10 million specimens, so there was plenty of work. There was always something that needs to be looked at and repaired or reorganized. This allowed firsthand experience in specimen handling, as well as experience of what the researching world looks like. During her traineeship she digitized old specimen onto a new program called Kotka. This program allows researchers around the world to access the resources and know what the museum holds. Digitizing the specimen is crucial for research to be carried out with the specimen present at the museum and important for international ties. She felt honored to participate in such an impactful task. 

Gaining Knowledge from Supervisors  

The first day her supervisors walked her through the museum maze. Behind the lovely displays lay layers upon layers of specimens and collections. The vast numbers of specimen took her by surprise, and she began to understand the importance of this collection to vast numbers of researchers and science in general. Little did she know that the break room would become the key to making connections, forming friends, and having fascinating discussions about current research. The atmosphere of the whole building and coworkers is one of curiosity and an eagerness to share information and knowledge. She feels extremely lucky to now be able to call herself one of them. 

Stinne: Working Remotely Was a Rewarding Experience  

Stinne Vognæs was a trainee at the International Affairs Office and working among other things with the Una Europa alliance and the Africa Program. She got involved in restructuring the International Affairs Office’s page on the new website and a bunch of other projects. She now works as a fulltime employee in the International Affairs Office at the University of Helsinki as a project coordinator of Una Europa, primarily on student engagement projects. 

Uncertainty During Pandemic Didn’t Stop Development  

The internship was really rewarding to her, even though she was mostly working remotely due to COVID-19. She got to be involved in a range of different initiatives and ad hoc assignments and felt free to share her ideas and thoughts, which opened doors to other tasks besides what had originally been intended in her position. Her tasks were quite open, since the internship had been developed while COVID-19 was still in the very early phases and there was uncertainty of how things would develop. Especially within field such as international affairs, there is of course even bigger repercussions of a global pandemic and limits to mobility and what we have traditionally considered as part of internationalization. However, she was still able to aid in developing new ideas on student involvement in Una Europa and worked on how to communicate about the alliance to all stakeholders within the university. She helped organize events with the Africa Program that was being launched while she was a trainee and participated in a high-level meeting with researchers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was very exciting. A lot of the conversations she participated in and the ability to bring up new ideas was rewarding. She also got a chance to join high-level Una Europa meetings with colleagues from the other seven universities across Europe, which was very exciting.     

Reimagining Internationalization on the University Level  

During her internship Stinne understood a lot more about how the university works, how big of an organisation it is, and how many different people are working on many different things. That was quite interesting to see things behind the curtain. She also realized how complex the university is.  

She had fairly high expectations since she got a good impression of her two supervisors during the interview, especially since one of them mentioned how we needed to reimagine internationalization. This really gave her the impression that this would be a place of rethinking and really doing something new and not being too confined by what has been, but really bring new ideas. This turned out to be true and she was really happy to work with her two supervisors and get to work on many interesting and important tasks. She got a lot of tasks where she had to think for herself. For example, how the Africa Program was fitting into the strategy of the university and how to connect the ambitions in the program with concrete actions. In addition to this she was part of developing a mentorship program and got to both do her own research and bring her own ideas, which were taking into consideration and many of them integrated by her colleagues. In that way her expectations were more than met since she felt as a member of the team and not just as an intern. She truly felt a part of the team and it was great to feel the trust with her supervisors that allowed her to really bring all her ideas and suggestions. She is proud to say she felt that she was being taken seriously and is thankful for the opportunity.