Hyppää pääsisaltöön
Various Variables

Metropolian blogit nostavat keskusteluun aiheita ammattikorkeakoulumme ja kumppaneidemme maailmasta: oppimisesta, työelämästä, yhteistyöstä, osaamisesta, uudistumisesta ja erilaisista kohtaamisista. Sisällöt edustavat kunkin kirjoittajan henkilökohtaisia näkemyksiä, Metropolian johtoryhmän Pelinavaajat-blogi ilmaisee Metropolian virallista kantaa. Tervetuloa vuoropuheluun kanssamme!

  • Uusimmat postaukset
  • Blogit
  • Metropolian bloggaajat
  • Muut blogit
Various Variables
Aiming at recognising competences and guiding educated immigrants

Browsing Archive June, 2016

0

To have someone who listens to me…

Marianne Autero · 2.6.2016

Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education, SIMHE-Metropolia, started its guidance services for educated immigrants, or those who are willing to apply for higher education, in early May 2016. Now that I have had a dozen or so customers visiting me, it is a good time elaborate the outcome by far. I wish to raise few issues that I find important when guiding people with little or no experience in the Finnish society, let alone in our education system and all that lies within.

You are not dealing with the statistics when meeting someone face-to-face

It is somewhat easy to hide behind the statistics and look into the immigration phenomenon through numbers, figures and percentages. There are currently over 200, 000 immigrants residing in Finland for various reasons and the amount is growing year by year. However, statistics do not count, when you have someone sitting in front of you in need of guidance and advice.

At this point, your task is to listen to his or her individual life story and try to make people to see the difference that they are able to make for their lives. Immigrants are often seen as one pool of people and objects, not as capable individuals who are able to make their own decisions.

All my customers have been highly educated and talented people who are just facing new circumstances they were not able to predict. They are ready to make a new start, even to take a step back in their already acquired competence level in order to fit in and fulfil the requirements of our society.

My task is to provide the necessary facts and information to support the process. I am not being naĂŻve as I know the existing hardships and obstacles on both sides, but giving options and possibilities is what matters here.

Knowing me, knowing you is the best I can do

Guidance is always about communication, seeking common grounds and establishing trust between people. I have worked with international degree students from various parts of the world for ten years, so the change in the clientele was not that dramatic to me. I have learnt through experience and my own education in intercultural communication that knowing yourself well is the key for understanding others.

Also, guidance work is first and foremost done through your own personality traits for which I hope to come across as competent, down-to-earth kind of person with a tender heart. Yet this needs to be decided by my customers.

Firstly, I feel humble and privileged to have this opportunity to be able to be one of those, who make Finland and its peculiarities more familiar and less haunting for immigrants. Secondly, my guidance work puts me in the learning curve too as every person needs to be treated not only as a member of a certain group, culture or ethnical background, but as a unique individual. My job is not to fortify the existing boundaries but rather lower them to help us to find the common platform to build our dialogue together.

Thirdly, meeting people from other cultures gives you more than it takes from you as you broaden your horizons through every encounter. If you just let it happen.

Like a beacon shimmering light at night

How do I see the SIMHE project and its objectives after working in the project for three months? It seems to be well needed for sure and has been welcomed by many. There is a constant need for having a place where an immigrant-background people are able to seek for advice in the amazing maze of the Finnish education system and society when searching suitable paths for themselves.

We are not to change the world, perhaps we only just tickle a corner of it, but I find SIMHE and its guidance services to have its stance among other similar activities. I somehow see SIMHE project like a beacon shimmering light at night; you do not see everything clearly at one glance, but you start to get the big picture by each beam of light.

The more familiar you make the system and its demands and possibilities to immigrants, the easier it is for them to find their individual paths in Finland. It takes time, but it’s worth a go for us and them.

We will have the first Guidance Generalia lecture in June, so stay tuned for hearing more about it soon!

+2
GuidanceImmigrantsIntegration
Leave a reply (0)

Information about blog

Various Variables -blog introduces information, ideas and experiences about  support services in University of Applied Sciences for highly educated immigrants for recognizing their prior learning and competence and their guidance.

Various Variables blog´s Editorial Board

  • Heidi Stenberg, Project Director, tel. +358 40 535 3388
  • Marika Antikainen, Project Coordinator, tel. +358 40 681 1244
  • Riikka Wallin, Publications Coordinator, tel. +358 40 869 1849

Email addresses:

Editorial Board handles all the publications of Various Variables blog before publishing.



Guidelines for Various variables -blog (in Finnish)

Bloggers

Avatar

Heidi Stenberg

has a vast experience in various fields as she has worked in promoting health, in sales and marketing, in conceptualizing services and in the field of education in expert and supervisory positions. Heidi has a Master’s Degree in Education and is also a Public Health Nurse. Learning, developing competencies, leadership and promoting health are in the center of her expertise and competence. Heidi devotes her free time for spending time with her family and friends and she is also active in many areas of sports. Heidi’s motto is: “If you start something today, you’ll notice it was worth the effort in a year’s time”.


Elisa Manninen

Elisa Manninen

has gathered various experience in the field of higher education as well as in guiding international applicants and students in different institutions. She has a Master’s Degree in Education and is a Special Education and a Class Teacher. Additionally she studies to become a Guidance Counselor. In her work at SIMHE-Metropolia, she focuses in guiding customers with immigrant background to pursue their studies and career. Elisa has a keen interest towards social issues, stories behind everything and taking it easy. Favorite quote: “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire” by Confucius.


Emilia Deseille

Emilia Deseille

is passionate about career development of international talents in Finland. Having studied and worked abroad on several occasions, she has experience in starting a career abroad, and feels at home in a multilingual and intercultural environment. Before joining the SIMHE Metropolia team as a career coach and employer relations specialist, Emilia was working in the field of labor market integration in Austria. She has a Master of Social Sciences degree in Development and International Cooperation, and studies in Intercultural Communication and Adult Education. In her spare time, Emilia enjoys dancing and doing other sports with friends, and the language geek in her enjoys learning new languages.


Ari Koistinen

Ari Koistinen

teaches mathematics, computer programming, application software, and modelling and simulation in Metropolia UAS. In recent years, his work has been related mainly to international degree programmes. Ari has also a long experience in hydrological modelling and development of software used in water forecasting. In free time he reads books, travels and does a variety of sports such as gym, climbing, ashtanga yoga and mountain biking.


Leena Honkasalo

Leena Honkasalo

works as project planner in Metropolia’s SIMHE services (Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education). She holds a Master of Arts degree in Spanish philology and has professional teacher qualifications. Before joining the SIMHE team, Leena worked in the NGO sector developing global citizenship education. Her special interests include sustainable development, equity and diversity. In her free time, Leena loves spending quality time with family and friends, eating out, visiting art exhibitions and doing yoga.


Marika Antikainen

Marika Antikainen

works as a project coordinator in Metropolia SIMHE services. Her work focuses on increasing employment among international professionals living in Finland. Internationalisation and societal responsibility inspire Marika in her work and life. She has a Master of Arts degree in intercultural communication and a professional teacher’s qualifications. She has also worked several years in international relations in Metropolia and has taught intercultural competence. Travelling and salsa bring an international flavour also to her freetime, balanced with hiking in Finnish forests and other sports.


Niina Tapanainen

Niina Tapanainen

spends most of her working hours with SIMHE personal and group guidance. Niina has a Master’s Degree in Education and is a qualified Guidance Counsellor and Psychology (as a second subject) Teacher. She has worked over a decade in Higher Education Institutions in various posts within the study and student services also with international students and admissions. She volunteers to help youngsters and spends rest of her free time enjoying life: relaxing, dreaming and whatever interesting comes her way.


Oksan Niemi

Oksan Niemi

has experience both in field of education and in agile projects in IT environment. Oksan holds a Master of Social Sciences degree in International Relations. Before joining SIMHE Metropolia as a project manager for two different projects, which concentrate on the employment of higher educated immigrants, she has guided international degree and exchange students and worked with the international partner higher educational institutions. Having graduated from an international degree programme herself and worked in international environment in different business areas, Oksan enjoys working in a global environment surrounded by people with various backgrounds. Oksan devotes her free time to her multilingual family, friends and travelling with them.


vierailija

vierailija


Latest posts

  • Courage to Use Finnish – Growing into a Professional

    9.12.2020
  • Mentoring in the time of corona: networks, insights and improved employability for international talents

    8.6.2020
  • Picture: Pixabay

    Now everybody’s viral – how we made it to the new decade of online education and work 

    23.4.2020

Archive

  • â–ş2020 (5)
    • â–şDecember(1)
      • Courage to Use Finnish - Growing into a Professional
    • â–şJune(1)
      • Mentoring in the time of corona: networks, insights and improved employability for international talents
    • â–şApril(2)
      • Now everybody’s viral – how we made it to the new decade of online education and work 
      • Networking - key to employment
    • â–şFebruary(1)
      • SIMHE path ─ connecting Finnish employers and international talents 
  • â–ş2019 (4)
    • â–şDecember(1)
      • Boost your Talent with Finland - Towards a Career Path for International Degree Students
    • â–şJune(1)
      • My Journey in Supporting Immigrant Women in Higher Education
    • â–şMay(1)
      • Finding suitable career paths for the highly educated immigrants
    • â–şMarch(1)
      • Do you need supplementary education?
  • â–ş2018 (2)
    • â–şMay(1)
      • How to succeed in higher education in Finland?
    • â–şFebruary(1)
      • Supporting Highly Educated Immigrants' Career Paths in Finland
  • â–ş2017 (5)
    • â–şDecember(1)
      • Highly skilled immigrants aboard to build Finland
    • â–şNovember(1)
      • Healthy Mind, Healthy Life - How to improve the sense of belongingness among highly educated immigrants in Finland?
    • â–şSeptember(1)
      • Is it all about happiness?
    • â–şMarch(1)
      • 365 steps later
    • â–şFebruary(1)
      • Mathematics and various variables
  • â–Ľ2016 (3)
    • â–şSeptember(1)
      • Can you see it more clearly now?
    • â–ĽJune(1)
      • To have someone who listens to me...
    • â–şMay(1)
      • Recognising competencies of educated immigrants

SIMHE on Metropolia.fi pages

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences has launched Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education SIMHE project to start services for recognizing prior learning and competence of highly educated immigrants and their guidance.

SIMHE Metropolia

Services for Immigrants

Popular Posts

  • Courage to Use Finnish – Growing into a Professional
    by vierailijaon9.12.2020
    3
  • Mentoring in the time of corona: networks, insights and improved employability for international talents
    Mentoring in the time of corona: networks, insights and improved employability for international talents
    by Marika Antikainenon8.6.2020
    1
  • Now everybody’s viral – how we made it to the new decade of online education and work 
    Now everybody’s viral – how we made it to the new decade of online education and work 
    by Marianne Auteroon23.4.2020
    0
  • Networking – key to employment
    Networking – key to employment
    by Emilia Deseilleon8.4.2020
    0
  • SIMHE path ─ connecting Finnish employers and international talents 
    SIMHE path ─ connecting Finnish employers and international talents 
    by Marianne Auteroon3.2.2020
    0

© 2015 Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu


Sisällöt edustavat kunkin kirjoittajan henkilökohtaisia näkemyksiä, Metropolian johtoryhmän Pelinavaajat-blogi ilmaisee Metropolian virallista kantaa.

Saavutettavuusseloste Tietosuojaseloste

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Various Variables
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.