Aalto University: Alumnus of SECCLO programme: ‘Creating a bond with Finland’

‘The SECCLO programme is well-designed and thought out. It covers everything that a future professional needs when breaking into the information security industry,’ says Bruno Duarte.

‘The studies are designed so that you can explore, evaluate and learn. The professors focus on and care about you developing knowledge and understanding. So the atmosphere in the classroom was very dynamic and demanding.’

This was very different from when Duarte did his bachelor’s degree in Paraguay.

During his studies, Duarte completed a summer internship at KONE, a SECCLO associate member company, and went on to do his thesis later on at Ericsson.

‘At KONE, I gained work experience in a real corporate environment in Europe and explored the Finnish working culture, which helped me when I applied to do my thesis with Ericsson,’ says Duarte

‘At Ericsson, I gained work experience in a real R&D environment in Europe and explored the Finnish working culture, which helped me when I applied to do my thesis with them,’ says Duarte.

‘While writing my thesis, I came across someone conducting cutting-edge research. He also worked at Ericsson, so I arranged a meeting with him easily. This blew my mind,’ he reminisces.

This close collaboration between academia and industry was a strong selling point for Duarte, who has stayed in Finland since graduating and now works as a DevOps engineer at Ericsson.

‘As all students study in Finland for the first year, this creates a bond with Finland,’ Duarte says.