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Internship opportunities for international students studying in Finland
International students studying in Finland often face difficulties in finding internship opportunities that would support their professional growth and potentially offer them a permanent job in the future.
Most universities of applied sciences have compulsory practical training periods in their curriculum. Every student no matter what they are studying or what their country of origins is has to complete their training period in order to graduate. However, practical training shouldn’t only be seen as “something you have to do”. Practical training can offer so much more e.g. topic for a thesis, professional and personal growth, new contacts or future employment. The actual work done in the employing company should be the learning process, not the searching and applying part of the practical training. Although most companies these days are international or strive to be more international, foreign students are less likely to find a company to do their internship in than their Finnish counterparts.
In addition, interns, especially international interns, should be an opportunity for the employing companies. Many companies have need for project workers, research and fresh/international know-how. A successful intern also leaves a good impression of the intern’s country of origin and home university and what they have to offer which in turn can be a gateway to future collaboration.
The purpose of this article is to ask Massidea users to 1) identify the reasons why international students have a hard time finding an interesting, professional growth supporting internship opportunities 2) find solutions how these problems could be solved 3) identify the value international students can produce to the employing organisation.
Research question: How can we increase international student’s possibilities in getting an interesting internship?
Can you solve this challenge?
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