Valtsika Career Fair

Valtsika Career Fair, Tuesday 5 March 2024
Swedish School of Social Science (Svenska Social- och kommunalhögskolan)
Yrjö-Koskinens gata 3, Helsinki
 

15:00-15:10 Welcome and Introduction 

• Welcome words from Hanna Wass, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences
• Introduction by Kimmo Vehkalahti (Director, Master's Programme in Contemporary Societies) and Garima Singh (Master's Student)

15:10-16:00 Pitching sessions  - This part of the programme is now full.

• Selected students pitch their thesis topic ideas to organisations:
  • Garima Singh- COS, Social and Public Policy: Through the Looking Glass: An Intersectional Exploration of Women with Disabilities in the Finnish Employment Sector
  • Patryk Sierpowski- COS, Social Data Science: How to decode older migrants’ exclusion? Intersectional models of social exclusion among older Russian-speaking population in Finland
  • Sanchi Mehra- COS, Sociology: Out at work. Experiences of queer employees in urban Indian corporate settings
  • Md Tahmid Hasan COS, Social and Cultural Anthropology: Integration or Coexistence? – An Ethnographic Study Among Bangladeshi Students in Finland
  • Vaibhav Agarwal- COS, Social Data Science: Automated Algorithms, Job Opportunities and Neurodiverse People in the Nordics - Accessing AADM Systems and Digital Participation
• Selected organisations can also pitch either their traineeship program, thesis ideas or other chosen collaboration opportunities to the students:
  • BDO Finland
  • Demos Helsinki- Trainee Programme
  • Helsinki Incubators- Entrepreneurship as a Career Path
  • University of Helsinki- International Traineeship programme
  • Social Science Professionals Union YKA

16:00–17:00 Open Fair and Coffee

• Organisations have their own stands, where they can get together with students to network and discuss collaboration opportunities.

17:00–18:00 Alumni Talks

• Alumni share their career journeys with international students and offer advice with short presentations/speeches, followed by questions from the audience:
  • Caelum Davies (Analyst, Financial Crime Prevention- Nordea Bank), 
  • Stinne Vognaes (Project Coordinator- University of Helsinki), 
  • Yuri Kitaba (Specialist- Moniheli Network of Multicultural Associations).
  • Ana Toledo (People and Culture Coordinator, Fluido)

Organisations and alumni can choose which parts of the programme they wish to take part in.

What can organisations and alumni gain by attending the Career Fair? 

• Meet the latest international talent at the faculty and improve your employer branding. 

• Share your career advice with international students and help them to succeed in Finland and beyond.

• Pitch or explore mutually beneficial opportunities for collaboration with students whose interests match yours. 

• Find an international student who could write their master’s thesis about a problem faced by your organisation and present their solutions.  

• Find an international student who could support your organisation’s development by completing a traineeship with you.  

• Discover how your organisation could benefit from the university’s Traineeship Subsidy, which provides up to 1800 euros per student trainee, to cover the costs associated to the traineeship.  

What can the Career Fair offer to you as a student? 

• Meet with organisations who are open to collaborating with international students. 

• The opportunity to pitch your master’s thesis idea to attending organisations, who may be interested in formal collaboration.   

• Explore potential traineeship opportunities with attending organisations or learn about how to get a job in the organisation’s sector in Finland.  

• Get inspiration from a concrete challenge in working life, which could become the subject of your Master’s thesis.  

• Networking opportunities with individuals and organisations in your own field.