Tag: Career
Supporting Inclusion by Welcoming Highly Educated Immigrants Living in Finland to Teach
It benefits Finland when a maximum number of people living here feel they can contribute and be essential members of our community. There are numerous social and financial costs to us all if even one member of the society is excluded (1). In fact, promoting inclusion is a goal for both the Finnish government and the European Union. In Finland one of the most important forms of participating in our community is work (2). As a SIMHE Career Coach I support highly educated immigrants living in Finland in different life situations. Some of them are working, some are on a family leave planning on returning to work and some might be active jobseekers. As our services are voluntary, the common nominator with our clients is their goal to find work that fits their expertise and interests so they can contribute to Finnish society. Along the way I have encountered professionals of various fields. Some have been working as teachers or lecturers in another country; some of them for foreign universities. Finland is getting more multicultural, so there is also a need for teachers from various cultural backgrounds to better relate to and offer guidance to our students (3). Finnish Qualifications for Teachers with Foreign Degrees Senior Lecturer Minttu Räty validates my experience that teachers tend to be recruited to Finnish higher education institutions based on a combination of career, teaching, and scientific contributions and skills in addition to their formal qualifications. Language and work life skills acquired in Finnish organisations are especially valued because most studies are in Finnish and both students and colleagues may wish teachers to share also local experience and knowledge (4). Someone without formal qualifications can typically be a substitute teacher in Finnish basic and upper secondary education or in liberal adult education as well as in basic education in the arts for maximum a year depending on the school level. However, for permanent posts at public schools a qualification detailed by Finnish law is required (5). If someone is a qualified teacher abroad and they wish to continue their profession in Finland, they might choose to apply for a recognition of their professional competence via Finnish National Agency for Education (6). Teachers’ pedagogical studies can be supplemented in English. Many other qualifying studies are available only in Finnish and possibly Swedish. Also, most teaching positions require teachers using these national languages of Finland. In Finnish higher education teachers’ pedagogical studies are valued and could be required especially in the future (7). Five Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences who all have a School of Vocational Teacher Education, carried out the Opettajaksi Suomeen OSU project in Finnish during 2021 - 2023 (3). Many who participated in the OSU project completed their pedagogical studies and some of those have also been employed as vocational teachers in upper secondary education (8). Supporting Professionals to Lecture at Higher Education Institutions We should better utilise the knowledge and skills of highly educated immigrants who live in Finland. According to the Laurea University of Applied Sciences Intercultural Learning Online ILO project news this challenge should also be tackled by our universities and colleges. A growing number of immigrants would benefit from having representative role models also as educational institution staff members (9). I am glad that the ILO project thought of supporting highly educated professionals from abroad by showcasing their experience as guest lecturers. During this project within a wide European network migrants got to keep open lectures in English. Through these new connections in higher education institutions, they can find ways to continue working in their new European home. Some of the students attending those lectures received study credits in their higher education institution (10). The ILO project plan to publish materials targeted at both highly educated immigrants and all of us working in higher education institutions (4). The materials are published for use and further development, and you will find them online in March 2024. Among other things the project promoted intercultural understanding by having joint workshops where multicultural project participants collaborated to link project topics and guest lecturers into higher education courses (11). For example, during autumn 2023 Laurea UAS offered a course called Intercultural and Multiprofessional Competencies to their degree, exchange and open students. I participated in the course as a student to discuss these familiar topics. During the course we completed and gave feedback on a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that was being developed. We were also welcomed to two Erasmus+ projects. Our teacher Tiina Wikström wrote that as ILO project guest lecturers “migrants will get for example supporting networks, experiences and certificates that support their employability” (12). How Can We Support Intercultural Inclusion into Finnish Workplaces? Everyone benefits if we succeed in creating multicultural teams in Finland. Did you know that diverse teams are smarter and more innovative and thus generate more return? (13). Tiina Wikström wrote that it is essential that highly skilled migrants find employment that genuinely match their education (12). This is also the aim of SIMHE Services at Finnish higher education institutions. We want to ensure that highly educated immigrants can enter appropriate education and career paths that match their pre-existing skills and interests in Finland (14). I share a dream with my colleague Metropolia's SIMHE Career Coach Latvian-born Elvira Vainio (15). Our wish is to will live in a Finland where new employees are chosen based on their relevant skills – not limited by their name nor cultural background. I believe that providing our students with relatable role models, such as teachers and guest lecturers, is important in building a Finland where everyone feels understood and included. Author Niina Tapanainen currently works as a SIMHE Career Coach supporting highly educated immigrants living in Finland. Niina has a Master’s Degree in Education and is a qualified Guidance Counsellor and Psychology (as a second subject) Teacher. She has worked nearly two decades within the career and guidance counselling field mainly in Higher Education Institutions. She loves continuous learning and spends rest of her free time enjoying life: relaxing, dreaming and whatever interesting comes her way. Sources: 1. Hilli, Petri; Ståhl, Timo; Merikukka, Marko & Ristikari, Tiina 2017. Syrjäytymisen hinta – case investoinnin kannattavuuslaskemasta. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2023. https://www.julkari.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/135714/YP1706_Hilliym.pdf?sequence 2. THL 2022. Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Osallisuus. Web page. Updated on 4 May 2022. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2023. https://thl.fi/fi/web/hyvinvointi-ja-terveyserot/eriarvoisuus/hyvinvointi/osallisuus 3. TUNI 2023. Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Opettajaksi Suomeen OSU. In English. Web page. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2023. https://sites.tuni.fi/osu/in-english 4. Räty, Minttu 2023. ILO-project Manager in Laurea University of Applied Sciences. Personal video interview on 17 November 2023 supplemented with personal emails on 24 November 2023 and on 13 December 2023. 5. Asetus opetustoimen henkilöstön kelpoisuusvaatimuksista 1998. Finnish decree on the eligibility requirements for teaching personnel 14.12.1998/986. https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1998/19980986 6. EDUFI 2023. Finnish National Agency for Education. Finnish National Agency for Education's decisions on eligibility for positions in the field of education and training. Web page. Retrieved on 23 Nov 2023. https://www.oph.fi/en/services/finnish-national-agency-educations-decisions-eligibility-positions-field-education-and 7. OAJ 2023. Trade Union of Education. Teaching in higher education. Web page. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2023. https://www.oaj.fi/en/education/what-does-teaching-involve/teaching-in-higher-education 8. TUNI 2023. Tampere University of Applied Sciences. OSU -Opettajaksi Suomeen -hankkeesta hyviä kokemuksia. Blog post on 16 Nov 2023. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2023. https://blogs.tuni.fi/taokblogi/hankkeet/osu-opettajaksi-suomeen-hankkeesta-hyvia-kokemuksia 9. Räty, Minttu 2022. Laurea University of Applied Sciences. ILO-projektissa korkeasti koulutetuille maahanmuuttajille mahdollisuuksia luennoida opiskelijoille. News published on 3 March 2022. Retrieved on 20 November 2023. https://www.laurea.fi/ajankohtaista/uutiset/ilo-projektissa-korkeasti-koulutetuille-maahanmuuttajille-mahdollisuuksia-luennoida-opiskelijoille 10. ILO-project 2022. Intercultural Learning Online. Web page. Retrieved on 20 Nov 2023. www.iloproject.eu 11. ILO-project 2022. Project Aims, Activities and Expected Results. Web page. Retrieved on 20 Nov 2023. https://iloproject.eu/project-aims 12. Wikström, Tiina 2022. On the move: Supporting highly educated migrants in Europe Case: Erasmus+ project ILO. Article on 28 April 2022. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2023. https://journal.laurea.fi/on-the-move-supporting-highly-educated-migrants-in-europe-case-erasmus-project-ilo/#953c953c 13. Rock, David & Grant, Heidi 2016. Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter. Harward Business Review. Published on 4 November 2016. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2023. https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter 14. EDUFI 2023. Finnish National Agency for Education. SIMHE services at higher education institutions. Web page. Retrieved on 11 Dec 2023. https://www.oph.fi/en/simhe-services-higher-education-institutions 15. Vainio, Elvira 2022. Nimi leimaa työnhakijaa – asenteet vaikeuttavat maahanmuuttajien työllistymistä. Tikissä on Metropolian tutkimus-, kehittämis- ja innovaatiotoiminnan (TKI) blogi. Blog post on 18 August 2022. Retrieved on 20 November 2023. https://blogit.metropolia.fi/tikissa/2022/08/18/nimi-leimaa-tyonhakijaa-asenteet-vaikeuttavat-maahanmuuttajien-tyollistymista
Networking – key to employment
How have you boosted your professional networks in the past couple of months? As we embarked into this decade, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra published a compilation of future mega trends (1) stating that the importance of networks and managing them will only continue growing. But how to discover and seize opportunities for networking? This is with no doubt one of the most frequently asked questions I encounter in my work as a career coach for international talents at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Institutes of higher education boosting networking between businesses and international talents Networks surely are vital for the integration process of a newcomer entering the Finnish labor market, and the lack of professional networks is perceived as one of the main obstacles to the employment of international talents. This scarcity of networks gives rise to another issue: Employers are struggling to spot the international talents with suitable profiles, while the latter group finds it hard to discover Finnish businesses in their own field (2). According to a study on cooperation between Finnish institutes of higher education and businesses, issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Education and Culture (3), the main objective for businesses collaborating with institutes of higher education was recruiting new workforce. Further development of networking opportunities meeting the needs of everyone involved is for sure in demand, and it seems to be a timely objective for us at institutes of higher education. Perks of tailored recruiting events We, the SIMHE Metropolia team (4), have the luxury of working with various groups of international talents: both current international degree students, and persons with a higher education degree from abroad seeking to develop their career in Finland. Among these professionals of different fields, the common denominator is their motivation to create networks to local businesses and find their niche in them. Hence, we decided to organize a recruiting event focusing on businesses interested in the potential of our English-speaking international talents. The event, “Metropolia Match - Boost your Business” took place in early March and successfully united businesses with high-skilled talents. According to their feedback, the participating companies were pleased to attend an event tailored specifically for English speakers, and thanked the attending international talents for being well prepared and genuinely interested in hearing more about the businesses. For example, the recruiting company Digipool (5) not only discovered several interesting profiles for their clients, in line with the common procedure for recruiting companies, but also hired a recruitment consultant and a marketing specialist straight from the event to boost their own business. We are looking forward to the next round, as soon as gatherings of people are possible again. Next time perhaps with an increasing amount of businesses tapping the potential of our international talents! Networking events instead of recruiting events Events are great opportunities for brushing up on your networking and self-presentation skills and hence being less nervous when you have a chance to impress a potential employer at a job interview. Thus no need to be disappointed, if a visit at a career fair did not lead into a direct job offer yet, since you probably made new connections anyway. Due to this reason, it would actually make more sense to talk about networking events instead of recruiting events. Besides forging new connections at events, there are other benefits likely to arise. Perhaps you could receive valuable feedback on your CV or LinkedIn profile by a recruiting professional, or learnt more about the skills needed by an interesting company, and then used this knowledge for the most brilliant job application they are about to receive. Talk about perks! Growing your professional networks online And yes - due to the exceptional situation we are currently facing, lots of upcoming events have been cancelled. It is thus the ideal timing to fix up your LinkedIn profile and see what kind of opportunities for networking are available there, for example groups and channels in your professional field. This is also the prime time to keep an eye on emerging virtual platforms, such as the Find a job in Finland Meetup (6). Or maybe you will come up with a new online-based solution for networking? Other steps taken to create new networking opportunities What kind of a role can Finnish institutes of higher education, such as universities of applied sciences, have in facilitating networking among international talents and local businesses seeking for talented workforce, apart from organizing networking events? According to the study on cooperation between Finnish institutes of higher education and businesses (3), one key issue mentioned by the businesses was that institutes of higher education do not seem to be sufficiently informed on the actual needs of businesses. To address this issue, we at SIMHE Metropolia (4) aim at acknowledging the skills needs of companies as the first step in the collaboration process. For example, our current project SIMHE path (7) strives for matching the skills needs of participating businesses operating in the field of ICT with the skills of the project participants. The latter group consists of persons with a higher education degree in the field of ICT completed abroad, often supplemented by even years of work experience in their field, yet lacking sufficient networks for finding employment in Finland. Matching the profiles of international talents with the skills needs of businesses To tackle the challenge of international talents lacking both networks and information concerning the skills needs of their professional field in Finland (2), we first mapped the skills needs of the ICT companies taking part in the SIMHE path project. This information was then utilized in order to match the companies with the participants’ skills. If needed, the participants have an opportunity to supplement their skills by taking online courses in the field of ICT, to even better correspond with the expectations of potential employers. Considering that “What are the top skills in my field that employers based in Finland are looking for?” is one of the top questions asked by the international talents at our career counselling and guidance services, this kind of opportunities are desirable. The SIMHE path project also showcases the plurality of ways for an institute of higher education to facilitate networking between businesses and international talents. If you have ideas on what kind of further networking opportunities would be interesting to you, we are all ears! Would you like to utilize the extra hours at home by getting feedback on your CV or LinkedIn profile, or by discussing possible ways of developing your skills? You can book a free career counselling and guidance appointment by sending an email to simhe-info@metropolia.fi, and chat with us on Skype! Interested in reading more about the experiences of a previous SIMHE path participant? This blog describes the path of Shaki, our participant in the 2019 intake to SIMHE path (8). Writer Emilia Deseille, career coach and employer relations specialist at SIMHE services, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Sources: 1) The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra 2020. Megatrendit 2020. Viewed on 6 April 2020. 2) Ministry of Education and Culture 2019. Kansainvälisten korkeakouluopiskelijoiden maahantulo ja integroituminen sujuvaksi yhteistyöllä. Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön julkaisuja 2019:31. Published on 16 September 2019. 3) Crazytown 2019. Korkeakoulujen työelämäyhteistyön tilannekuva (PDF). Published on 1 February 2019. 4) SIMHE - Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education in Finland. Viewed on 6 April 2020. 5) Digipool - Helping businesses in their digital growth. Viewed on 6 April 2020. 6) Meetup: Find a job in Finland - peer-2-peer and recruiter insights. Viewed on 19 March 2020. 7) SIMHE path: From Recognizing and Supplementing Competences to Employment. Viewed on 19 March 2020. 8) Metropolia blogs. Various Variables. SIMHE path connecting Finnish employers and international talents. Published on 3 February 2020.
Boost your Talent with Finland – Towards a Career Path for International Degree Students
Finland and Helsinki rank in the top 10 in several studies measuring the quality of life and people’s satisfaction in their lives (e.g. Helliwell & al. 2019, Eurostat 2019, Kisi 2019). What was your reason to get interested in Finland? Would you like to build your life into the happiest country in the world? This is what Finland and the Helsinki region are aiming at now. The message from the Finnish government and the cities is clearer than ever: we want you, international talents, and we want you to find an interesting job here, enjoying the good work-life balance with us. To make this happen, we in higher education institutions must help our international degree students to get better connected with Finnish business and industry and our culture already during the studies. This means support for career development, cultural adjustment and learning Finnish in an integral manner, starting from day one of the studies. Finland for life - why not? The darkest days of December might not be the most encouraging time to discuss settling into Finland on a permanent basis. However, the fact is that Finland has a great deal to offer for international experts. Not only the happiest country in the world (Helliwell & al. 2019), Finland is good for business too: it ranks in the top 3 in several key indicators for successful business life and professional development, including e.g. the best business environment in the world and the best skills of the workforce (Business Finland 2019a). Also expatriates place Finland high in several categories for a successful stay, particularly for family life and health and well-being (#1) as well as quality of life (#8) (Expat Insider 2019). The Helsinki region does not fall far behind in the rankings either. It is valued for e.g. its start-up scene, intelligent communities, sustainability and investment environment (Helsinki Smart Region 2019). If Finland starts sounding tempting, the first step after graduating is to get a job here. And that is where the challenge lies. Improvements needed for better employability The hard reality is that international graduates do face challenges in finding a job in Finland. The key barriers for employment tend to be the lack of professional networks and insufficient Finnish language skills. Also, there is a mismatch of communication channels: employers do not find international graduates, and international graduates do not find the vacancies. (Ministry of Education and Culture 2019.) Employment rates one year after graduation indeed indicate that students of international backgrounds face more challenges in getting employed. In universities of applied sciences, 40% of graduates whose nationality is other than Finland are fully employed, whereas for graduates of Finnish nationality the same percentage stands at 80%. In the case of master’s degrees from universities, the respective percentages are 45% and 85%. (Vipunen 2019.) Finland needs international talents For Finland the hard reality is that our population is one of the fastest ageing in the world. We already now face a lack of competent workforce in several sectors. Finland and the Helsinki region need to attract more international students and experts and also help them build a career here (Ministry of Education and Culture 2019, Laakso 2019). However, the support provided by Finnish authorities, services and higher education institutions is still far from ideal. We need to improve the processes as a whole, in collaboration - starting from the point of application to studies. The Finnish government and ministries have introduced several measures to improve the situation in the past few years. For example, the Talent Boost programme provides networks, information and financial support for companies (Business Finland 2019b). In addition, the current Government Programme (2019) sets numerous targets aiming at improving international degree students’ employment. Also, the Ministry of Education and Culture (2019) has compiled a report listing practical recommendations to different stakeholders. We have identified the challenging points; now we urgently need to start taking the concrete steps to develop the pathway to the Finnish job market. Joint efforts for finding the solutions Metropolia has started to develop the needed support models in two projects. The Talent Boost AIKO funded project International Talents Accelerating Growth gathers several key stakeholders in the capital region together to work on solutions: the cities of Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa, Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, Helsinki Marketing and Helsinki Business Hub. Also six institutions are part of the project: University of Helsinki, Aalto University, Hanken School of Economics and Haaga-Helia, Laurea and Metropolia universities of applied sciences. The city of Helsinki coordinates the project. The project aims at developing the attraction and settling in of international talents in the Helsinki region and improving their employability. Specific measures are targeted at international degree students, e.g. matching and recruitment events and a mentoring program. A joint web portal and systematic business and industry collaboration models will also be developed for getting the talents and employers of the region better connected. In another project, Metropolia develops a support model for international degree students’ career development and Finnish language learning. The goal is to build an integral career path, ultimately aiming at international students’ employment to Finland. The project is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the results will be shared with Finnish higher education institutions. Set the targets for your professional development All in all, a great deal of improvements still needs to be made by all parties involved, but the systematic work has started at different levels of Finnish society. What you, international talents, can do in the meanwhile, is to take a look at your language learning and network building already now. Developing your professional competence requires a goal-oriented and active approach from you as well. Are you where you want to be with your professional competence? How can you build networks and what can your institution help you with? And stay tuned for the upcoming events and developments. If we succeed together, it will be a win-win situation for everybody. An inspiring career development path for you is something that also inspires us in higher education. As the end result, we hope to hear: “Finland for life? Absolutely!” Writer: Marika Antikainen, Project Manager at SIMHE services of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (marika.antikainen@metropolia.fi). Sources: Business Finland 2019a. Finland’s rankings. https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/do-business-with-finland/invest-in-finland/why-invest-in-finland/finland-rankings/. Read on 28 November. Business Finland 2019b. Talent Boost Finland. https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/for-finnish-customers/services/programs/talent-boost-finland/ Read on 28 November. Eurostat 2019. How satisfied are people with their lives? https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-press-releases/-/3-07112019-AP European Commission. Published on 7 November 2019. Expat Insider 2019. Expat Insider 2019: The Year of the Hidden Champions. https://www.internations.org/expat-insider/ Internations. Read on 28 November 2019. Government Programme 2019. Inclusive and competent Finland – a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable society. https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/rinne/government-programme Publications of the Finnish Government 2019:25. Published on 6 June 2019. Helliwell, J., Layard, R. & Sachs, J. 2019. World Happiness Report. https://worldhappiness.report/ New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Helsinki Smart Region 2019. Why Finland and Why the Helsinki Region? https://helsinkismart.fi/about/top-rankings/ Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council. Read on 28 November 2019. Kisi 2019. Cities for the Best Work-Life Balance 2019. https://www.getkisi.com/work-life-balance Read on 28 November 2019. Laakso, Seppo 2019. Ennakointikamari: Osaavan työvoiman kysyntä ja tarjonta Uudellamaalla. 9/2019. https://ennakointikamari.fi/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Osaavan-ty%C3%B6voiman-kysynt%C3%A4-ja-tarjonta-Uudellamaalla-2019.pdf. Read on 28 November. Ministry of Education and Culture 2019. Kansainvälisten korkeakouluopiskelijoiden maahantulo ja integroituminen sujuvaksi yhteistyöllä. Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön julkaisuja 2019:31. https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/161788. Published on 16 September 2019. Vipunen 2019. Vipunen - Education Statistics Finland. https://vipunen.fi/en-gb/. Ministry of Education and Culture and Finnish National Agency for Education. Read on 28 November 2019.
Highly skilled immigrants aboard to build Finland
Pedro Góis (2017) informs that in USA alone, immigrants have been involved with founding companies such as “Google, Intel, WhatsApp, PayPal, eBay, Tesla, and Yahoo” and even though immigrants “make up less than 15 percent of the US population, skilled immigrants account for over half of Silicon Valley start-ups and over half of patents”. Could this be achieved in Finland as well? Building companies operating in English and having international potential such as the IT companies Góis mentioned will keep being created in Finland. However, working in many professional fields here requires the knowledge of our national language(s), mainly Finnish but speaking also Swedish can be an advantage. The language skills and navigating how our education and work-life operates typically takes time in the beginning. Yet they are significant puzzle pieces to integration. Back to studying basics? Anything human rarely surprises me, but I must say that the first time I heard a foreigner having a Bachelor´s Degree Certificate telling me he is studying in Finnish Basic Education - I went speechless. Basic Education is the school Finnish youngsters nearly always complete by the age of seventeen (EDUFI 2017a). Sadly, we in SIMHE-Metropolia have had a handful of clients like him who have taken too many steps backwards. SIMHE-Metropolia: 1) aims for faster integration It touches my heart when a client says after a thank you that they wish they had met me X years (that number could range from two to multiple years) earlier. Thus, I completely agree with the Minister of Education, Ms. Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, “We cannot afford to miss or waste anyone’s skills.” (Ministry of Education and Culture 2017b) and therefore need to better and faster recognize and utilize immigrants’ existing skills. 2) guides highly skilled immigrants My first three months in SIMHE-Metropolia have flown by fast because there is no shortage of clients. We guide those immigrants who reside in Finland but are not currently degree students in higher education (=HE) here. The minimum criteria to become a SIMHE client is that one is eligible to apply to HE in their home country and therefore in Finland as well. Actually, most of our clients already have at least one HE degree. 3) helps to steer multiple ways SIMHE-Metropolia has many services which we constantly develop. I mainly focus on group and personal guidance. In personal guidance discussions, we reserve an hour so we can holistically go through the immigrant´s situation and possible options. We focus on the topics they want, most typically connected to studies and career. SIMHE-Metropolia has been operating as of spring 2016 and already some of our clients have succeeded in gaining admission to studies or work where they were hoping. New initiatives for integration When it comes to degree studies, in my opinion vocational institutions are further with flexible options like apprenticeship training and competence-based qualification (terms from EDUFI 2017b). Fortunately, there is a momentum in Finland to accelerating immigrants’ integration seen in for example the launch of International House of Helsinki and that Espoo adopted English as their third official language. The Minister of Education allocated in total 5.5 million euros to various measures promoting development of for instance immigrants´ educational paths (Ministry of Education and Culture 2017a). From prep courses to graduates Some HE institutions like Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (UAS) have preparatory courses for immigrants. One of the projects which received funding from the Minister of Education is called in Finnish “Valmentavasta valmiiksi” where we in Metropolia UAS have teamed up with eight other UAS to develop preparatory courses. The idea is to develop them to be more nationally compatible and that the student who wants to graduate with a degree in higher education on that field would have a clear path for that. Utilizing everyone’s skills I have met so many clever and inspiring immigrants, most of whom are eager to stay and become full members of the Finnish society as fast as possible. Thus, I hope that initiatives like the above mentioned will help to make it more and more possible. I wish work places will to a greater extent take advantage of the diverse skills and ideas our multilingual and -cultural clients can bring. Sources: EDUFI (2017a) Finnish National Agency for Education. Education system in Finland picture available at http://www.oph.fi/english/education_system [retrieved 1.12.2017] EDUFI (2017b) Finnish National Agency for Education. Opetushallinnon sanasto available at http://www03.oph.fi/sanasto/listaakaikki_s.asp [retrieved 1.12.2017] Góis, Pedro (2017) Facing the human capital challenges of the 21st century’s new era of mobility: Migrant populations in higher education – students, academics, researchers. Keynote lecture, 13 December 2016 published in Käyhkö, Katinka; Bontenbal, Ilona & Bogdanoff, Minna (Eds.), "Open the doors!": Migrants in Higher Education: Fostering Cooperation at Universities Seminar 13.-14.12.2016 in Jyväskylä. Available also online: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-6977-6 Ministry of Education and Culture (2017a) Solutions for accelerating immigrants’ educational paths are sought and supported. Press release published in 11.8.2017 at http://minedu.fi/artikkeli/-/asset_publisher/maahanmuuttajien-koulutuspolkuja-vauhditetaan?_101_INSTANCE_0R8wCyp3oebu_languageId=en_US [retrieved 1.12.2017] Ministry of Education and Culture (2017b) Steering group: We need better ways to recognise immigrants’ skills. Press release 25.9.2017 published in English on 29.9.2017 at http://minedu.fi/en/article/-/asset_publisher/maahanmuuttajien-osaaminen-tunnistettava-nykyista-paremmin [retrieved 1.12.2017]
Blog introduces information, tips and insights that help international talents with a higher education background to integrate and find their study and career paths in Finland. The blog is part of Metropolia’s #talentboost actions.
Outi Lemettinen (head editor)
Riikka Wallin
Anu Luoma
Email addresses: firstname.surname@metropolia.fi
Editorial Board handles all the publications of Various Variables blog before publishing.
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