New collaboration for International Students Integration in Vaasa

The goal of the Talents’ Integration Path project is to create an integration path for international students. This path will start from the students’ first contact with the universities and continue through to graduation and job seeking. The overarching aim is for more international students to choose to stay in the region after their studies.

The Talents Integration Path project began this fall and is a joint effort between the higher education institutions in Vaasa and financed by the City of Vaasa. The universities’ degree programmes attract many international students, which calls for improved integration services.

The project will develop a process to support students in integrating into the academic social environment and the local community. The universities already offer various types of services, and by compiling and promoting these existing services, as well as creating new processes, the integration of international students in Vaasa will be improved.

“It’s about promoting existing resources and creating new ones to support students’ language skills, networks, and mental resilience,” says Franklin Etarh, project leader at Novia UAS.

Etarh brings valuable life experiences to the project with his background as an international student in Sweden and Finland.

Integration is a collective process, and it is important for the entire region to highlight and bring to life the region’s high quality of life so that students want to stay after graduation.

The project is led by Novia University of Applied Sciences and carried out in collaboration with the University of Vaasa, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, Åbo Akademi University, Hanken School of Economics, and the University of Helsinki. The project also collaborates with the City of Vaasa, authorities, and other stakeholders.

For more information contact

Novia UAS, Franklin Etarh, project leader, franklin.etarh@novia.fi, mobile 050 592 8264

Contact persons for students

University of Vaasa – Hanna Turpeinen (hanna.turpeinen@uwasa.fi)

Novia UAS– Aina Rodriges (aina.rodriguezangelet@novia.fi) 

VAMK – Hannele Välipakka (hannele.valipakka@vamk.fi)

Åbo Akademi University – Farida Anwar (farida.anwar@abo.fi).

Hanken – Minna Kullas (minna.kullas@hanken.fi)

University of Helsinki, law unit in Vaasa – Erica Måtts (erica.matts@helsinki.fi)