New Funding Granted to Improving the Integration and Retention of International Talent in Finland

The integration of international talent is about to receive a major boost in Finland. Introducing, integrating, and retaining international talent is not cut-and-dry. It requires a multifaceted approach that looks not only at individual experts, but also takes into account their families and networks and ensures the constant flow of information back and forth. Finding new and better ways of introducing international talent from abroad into Finnish society and helping those who are here already to receive more support benefits everyone involved.

The Ministry of Education and Culture recently granted funding to a project conducted by the Universities of Helsinki, Turku and Tampere. Irinja Paakkanen, the Head of International Affairs at the University of Turku, wrote in Finnish about the aims of the project on the Centrum Balticum website.

According to Paakkanen, the project aims to develop comprehensive models of how to best integrate international talent and their families. The responsibilities vary depending on what everyone involved in the project has the most expertise in.

– The University of Turku is in charge of finding out how to make the various partners of Finnish institutes of higher education more aware of the skills and potential of international talent, Paakkanen says.

The benefits of this approach also include the international talent themselves.

– This also strengthens the information the talent have about companies’ networks and what expertise they are looking for, she continues.

Altogether the two-year project will create new services for talent integration and supporting the diversity of Finnish campuses and companies.

The work to make the attraction and retention of international experts smoother and more comprehensive than ever continues in the Turku region. Follow us on social media for more updates on career possibilities in Southwest Finland.