In HelsinkiUNI International Talent Programme (UNITalent) a company starts hosting a group of international students and doctoral researchers from the University of Helsinki. Through the programme the company provides the students information about their organisation and industry. In the 3 month long process the company has the opportunity to look at their own level of internationality.
"By taking part in the programme, we gained really valuable information about the students’ mind-set, skills and motivation. It also helped us to look at our own level of internationalisation and understand how we could develop our organisation."
– Outi, Senior Advisor for International Relations, City of Helsinki
"We would encourage other companies to participate in the program. It’s a great opportunity to actively engage with international students to understand their unique perspectives and skills. Lastly, it’s a great way to support international students’ entry into the Finnish workforce and contribute to a more diverse and inclusive society."
– Liam van Zyl, People Development and Engagement Manager, Fiskars Group
The University of Helsinki has over 2500 international students and over 1100 doctoral researchers. There are currently 36 Master's programmes in English and 33 doctoral programmes - so the range of expertise is very broad! International students from all these programmes can apply to join UNITalent groups.
Since 2020, more than 600 international talents and 28 organisations have participated in the UNITalent programme. More than 30% of organisations have also participated more than once. Read about the experiences of students and organisations in the this section.
"UNITalent is a great opportunity to get an outside perspective from international students in different fields."
- Janna Rintamaa, Publishing editor, Otava Learning
For the season 2025, 8 organisations are participating in UNITalent: the City of Helsinki (Education and Executive office groups), Fiskars Group, Helsinki Think Company, OP Financial Group, Metsä Group, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Fortum and Otava Learning.
Other organisations that have previously participated in the programme include for example Afry, Business Finland, Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Moniheli, Metsä Group, Forum Virium Helsinki, Helsinki Games Capital, Neogames, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Alfa Mobility, Family Federation of Finland, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, Crown Cro, University of Helsinki Language Centre, Optimapharm, Nordic Culture Point, FinVector and Finnish National Agency for Education.
The registration for host organisations is not currently open. You can contact the University of Helsinki Career Services about UNITalent season 2026: careerservices@helsinki.fi
We will be happy to tell you more!