Inter­na­tion­al House Oulu 1 Year Cel­e­bra­tion

We at Inter­na­tion­al House Oulu (IH Oulu) cel­e­brat­ed our one year anniver­sary with a mem­o­rable event that high­light­ed its achieve­ments and con­tri­bu­tions over the past year.

Riku­pekka Leinonen, Coor­di­na­tor of IH Oulu, opened the event by grate­ful­ly not­ing that our events accu­mu­lat­ed over 1600 atten­dees and our ser­vice point served over 6000 cus­tomers.

Through­out the past year, we’ve orga­nized a wide range of activ­i­ties, includ­ing train­ing ses­sions, board game nights, intern­ship events, job fairs, and LinkedIn work­shops. These diverse events have pro­vid­ed valu­able oppor­tu­ni­ties for net­work­ing, skill devel­op­ment, and com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment.

Keynote speak­er Aicha Man­ai, CEO of Start­up Refugees, illu­mi­nat­ed the evolv­ing cor­po­rate cul­ture in Fin­land and the impor­tance of diver­si­ty and inclu­sion. She high­light­ed the need for orga­ni­za­tions to adapt to the ongo­ing demo­graph­ic changes. The event con­tin­ued with an engag­ing exer­cise, prompt­ing guests to envi­sion them­selves in their dream careers by 2027 and strate­gize the steps need­ed to achieve their goals.

The event also fea­tured an insight­ful pan­el dis­cus­sion with inter­na­tion­al work­ers from Finnish orga­ni­za­tions, offer­ing per­spec­tives on nav­i­gat­ing the Finnish work­ing cul­ture.

These dis­cus­sions empha­sized the impor­tance of trans­ferrable skills, adapt­abil­i­ty, and cul­tur­al diver­si­ty in the work­place. Fur­ther­more, shar­ing prac­ti­cal tips for job hunt­ing, such as CV enhance­ment, uti­liz­ing LinkedIn, net­work­ing, and per­sis­tence, were shared to empow­er atten­dees in their career pur­suits.

As a cul­mi­na­tion of the event, IH Oulu ambas­sadors, Eduar­do Acos­ta, Bev Adero, Fah­mi­da Sark­er, Pavani Nir­ma­li­ka and Jun Naka­mu­ra (main pho­to) announced the win­ner of our social media cam­paign, #With­I­HOulu, Poli­na Popo­va. Thanks to every­one who par­tic­i­pat­ed in our cam­paign and shared their sto­ry about how IHO has impact­ed their life.

As we look ahead, we can­not wait for more incred­i­ble events, serv­ing our val­ued cus­tomers, and mak­ing a pos­i­tive impact on people’s lives. We at IHOulu thank you all for your con­tin­ued sup­port.

Text: Adri­an Canales
Pho­tos: Johan­na Suu­tari