University of Helsinki: Support International Students Campaign Launched by University of Helsinki

The situation is clear. Finland wants to attract the best international talent to its workforce. However, many international students face additional challenges that limit their chances of success in Finland.

– At the University of Helsinki, we understand many of the challenges international students face. We now need to increase our attention on the solutions, says Vice Rector of the University of Helsinki Hanna Snellman.

– Today we are proud to launch our Support International Students Campaign, which aims to highlight the challenges international students face, but more importantly, offer solutions and engage external partners who can help us to attract, support and retain international students in Finland.

– Whilst we have made significant progress at the University of Helsinki, we know there is always more we can do. Through collaboration and partnerships between the university and external actors, we believe we can have a positive impact bigger than the sum of our parts and improve the situation for international students in Finland, Snellman says.

– If you or your organisation is interested in international student talent or you’d like to learn more about how you can support our international students, I strongly encourage you to follow our campaign over the course of this week and contact us for more information.

– With your support, we can break down the barriers international students face and help them to thrive during and after their time at university. Join our campaign and Support International Students- for the world!

We need more Scholarships to attract the brightest international students
For many, studying at a Top 1% global university is a lifelong ambition and a chance to change their life for the better. However for many talented international students, this ambition is effectively financially impossible, due to tuition fees and the cost of living in Finland.

As a university, we already spend a considerable amount of money on scholarships for students. Our Global Scholarship Fund also provides full tuition fee scholarships and study grants for the very best non-EU students to study one of our 36 International Master’s Programmes. However as scholarships and study grants are limited in number, every year we lose many talented international students who we were unable to offer financial support to.

By donating to the Global Scholarship Fund, you can give the give the gift of a world-class education and help provide life changing opportunities for the brightest international students to study at the university.

Read more about donating to the Global Scholarship Fund.

International Students need professional mentoring and networking
Our International Students want to work in Finland after they graduate, however they often lack professional networks in the Finnish workforce to help give them an edge in finding a job.

To solve this challenge, we have launched the HelsinkiUNI International Talent Programme (HITP), a group mentoring programme, which pairs international students with organisations in Finland who provide mentoring and insight into their work. For individual alumni and friends of the university, we also have a group-mentoring programme to support international students.

By volunteering your time to mentor international students, you can provide essential advice and insight into what it’s like to work in Finland and help a student on their journey to finding employment after graduation.

Utilise our international students’ expertise with commissioned master’s theses
As a university, we work in close collaboration with business and society to help solve real world problems with innovative, practical solutions. As part of this mission, our students are keen to collaborate with organisations during their studies and utilise their knowledge to have an impact on society. Our international students are a special part of this problem solving community, as they bring new perspectives and expertise to Finland.

As an organisation, you can benefit from our global problem solvers by commissioning a Master’s thesis about a specific topic or problem of your choice. Furthermore, our HELSUS Co-Creation Lab allows organisations to present challenges related to sustainability for our master’s students to solve in their thesis.

By commissioning a master’s thesis or taking part in our Co-Creation Lab, you can unlock the full power of our global problem solvers and benefit from our international students’ expertise.

To be hired in Finland, International students need traineeship experience
To remain competitive, Finland needs to attract and retain the best international talent to its workforce. The University of Helsinki is educating the brightest young minds from around the world, however many international students struggle to find work in Finland after graduation.

A traineeship with an organisation is a fantastic mutually-beneficial opportunity, providing an international student with essential work experience and an organisation with new perspectives and expertise to support their activities. Through our Traineeship Subsidy, organisations are also eligible to receive up to 1800 euros per student trainee to cover the costs associated to the traineeship.

By recruiting an international student trainee, you can help our international students find long term employment in Finland.

To stay in Finland after graduation, International Students need relevant employment opportunities
Finland needs to retain the best international talent in its workforce, however many international students struggle to find work in Finland after graduation. We also know many companies are interested in hiring international student talent, but don’t know how to reach them.

The JobTeaser portal brings together companies with our students and graduates who are looking for work. Companies are able to create employer profiles on the site and create job adverts in English to specifically target international students at the University of Helsinki.

By hiring an international student, you can benefit from the brightest international expertise in Finland and meet your talent needs.