The City of Joensuu utilises the skills of international students more extensively
In the photo, Simisola Mustapha, Jing Zhang and Kshitij Panday donate a Moomin rug made in a tufting workshop to the library’s children’s and youth department. Riitta Kangas receives the donation.
International employees are increasingly visible in the organisations of the City of Joensuu. Internship cooperation with educational institutions in the Talent Hub Eastern Finland network has brought international students to Joensuun Vesi and Joensuu Regional Library, among others.
The experiences have been encouraging for employers, work communities, and interns alike.
Oleksandr Lashchenko, a student at vocational college Riveria, completed his internship at Joensuun Vesi. Jing Zhang from the University of Eastern Finland and Simisola Mustapha and Kshitij Panday from Karelia UAS interned at the Joensuu Regional Library.
An international intern as part of everyday work
At Joensuun Vesi, taking on an international intern was seen as a natural opportunity to offer internships to students from diverse backgrounds.
“Joensuun Vesi wants to offer training opportunities to everyone. In this case, the intern’s own activity in the job search showed that he wants to develop and is ready to learn new things”, says Site Manager Janne Pakarinen.
During the internship, Oleksandr participated in the organisation’s daily activities, including water meter and network site maintenance, as well as other tasks. The internship experience was an important step in helping him get to know Finnish working life.
“Before the internship began, I hoped I would be well received in the workplace. I was also a little nervous about how everything would turn out”, Oleksandr describes.
The experience turned out to be positive.
“During the internship, I learned about Finnish working life and how people work together within the work community. My previous work experience has been useful because this job requires practical skills and ingenuity.”
The success of the internship at Joensuun Vesi was supported by clear work tasks, support from the work community and the intern’s own motivation.
“Oleksandr handled the assigned tasks in an exemplary manner, and the work community welcomed him positively. In terms of language, sometimes a more detailed technical vocabulary was confusing on both sides, but even those were easily overcome”, says Plant Installer Jarkko Keinänen.
Encounters between cultures were built in the library
At the Joensuu Regional Library, the international interns’ task was to organise various events.
According to Service Manager Riitta Kangas, the internship cooperation was established on the basis of prior cooperation between the City of Joensuu and the Talent Hub Eastern Finland network.
“We have previously received Finnish language trainees, and we wanted to try to expand the training in a more functional direction.”
Jing Zhang, a master’s student in Pedagogy and Teaching for Sustainability at UEF, says she applied for an internship to combine her sustainability-related studies with real-life practice.
“The library felt like a natural choice, because it not only houses books, but also people, learning and community.”
During her internship, Jing participated in organising an intercultural event, a climate change exhibition, and a creative workshop, among other things.
“For me, the most rewarding part was the trust. Even as an intern, I was encouraged to take responsibility and develop my own ideas. It felt meaningful to create activities and then see people come, participate, and connect with each other.
Simisola Mustapha, who is studying industrial management at Karelia UAS, ended up doing an internship after receiving a message from Talent Hub.
“I became interested in the opportunity to work with local people.”
During her internship, she participated in organising the “Taste of Traditions” event and a tufting workshop, for example.
In work communities, you learn from each other
Both interns and employers emphasise the importance of the work community to a successful experience.
For Simisola, the most important thing was feeling accepted as part of the community.
“I didn’t feel like an outsider in the library, but I felt at home, safe and accepted.”
At the Joensuu Regional Library, internships were seen as an opportunity for personnel to learn.
“The interns created successful events that clearly reached a new kind of audience. The everyday use of English by the library employees who acted as contact persons improved – in addition to customer encounters, English is rarely used in professional contexts”, Riitta Kangas says.
There is also room for development in the internship cooperation.
“The interns were enthusiastic, but the biggest challenge was commitment to the internship – hard-working students had many irons in the fire at the same time. Together with educational institutions, we considered that, in the future, a clearer structure should be created for internships, so that interns can commit to attendance even more strongly.”
The experiences strengthened the interns’ desire to build their future in Finland.
“I hope that I will get a job in Finland and be able to contribute to this country and its people”, Simisola concludes.
Diversity is built on practical experiences
The experiences of the organisations of the City of Joensuu show that opportunities to utilise the skills of international students can be found in very different work environments – from water supply to libraries.
At the same time, internships offer international students an important way to get to know Finnish working life, develop language skills, and build connections in the region. Small practical experiences gradually lead to a more diverse working life – and a stronger, more international Joensuu.
The University of Eastern Finland, Karelia, Savonia, Riveria, Sakky and YSAO support international students in integration and employment. We help local employers find skilled international employees – together we build a more international Eastern Finland. The project is co-funded by the European Union.
Text: Tiina Weman
Photos: Joensuun Vesi and Joensuu Regional Library
