Jani Päivärinta
I applied to multiple Finnish Universities for master’s degree, but University of Vaasa was one of the first Universities who informed me that my application was approved, and that I was selected to the program. I chose University of Vaasa because of their speedy application processing and very professional application handling. When I got an acceptance letter, I know that this is the University where I want to study. I have multiple earlier degrees from various fields of expertise and bachelor’s degree from engineering field. My next move was to aim at the top management and this master’s degree programme supported my future advancements on my path to personal and professional growth.
While this master’s programme is called Industrial Systems Analytics (ISA), for me it’s purely industrial engineering degree. My studies have consisted general studies, different kind of management studies, systems engineering studies and I have selected different leadership and management courses as my additional studies to improve my personal growth and professional development. Industrial systems analytics programme is a combination of engineering, management and economics which can be applied to multiple sectors, fields, and industries. From industrial engineering programme like industrial system analytics, you can get best from both worlds, from the technology side of things and from the business side of things which gives you a wider perspective to understand ever more complex world and communicate fluently between business people and engineers while sitting on both side of the table simultaneously. It gives you a unique perspective.
Because of the worldwide Covid-19 epidemic our studies have mainly been arranged remotely. I actually prefer remote studies over in-house studies. Remote studies are this day and the time what you can save without constantly travelling between home and University has brought a small productivity stimulation. I like to study in location independent way and time manage my own studies as I see fit. Personal study plan has also been flexible which means that you can quite freely gather and construct your own degree from the pool of different kind of options and courses based on your personal interests and this way create a degree that looks more like you and your personal or professional interests.
Vaasa is a mid-sized Finnish city beside the ocean in western Finland and University of Vaasa has one of the most beautiful campuses in Finland. In Vaasa, everything is reasonably close, only about a walk-distance away. One fifth of the Vaasa citizens are students in different schools and universities, so it is pretty easy to just blend in as a national or international university student. Energy sector industry in Vaasa is huge but Vaasa also contains lot of small and mid-sized companies from various sectors and fields that are seeking new talents and motivated workforce, City of Vaasa is also a big public employer. While studying in University of Vaasa, I was also shortly a part of software startup which founders were all national or international University of Vaasa students. So, there are lot of career opportunities and different kind of possibilities inside and outside of the energy sector where to choose from. In entrepreneurial or startup endeavors, Vaasa contains multiple business incubators which are usually free, publicly funded and they might help you on the right direction.
I’m a lifelong learner myself, which means that I also use lot of my free time for studying (informal, not university related studying) wide range of different topics by reading a good book, by practicing a new skill, or by applying newly acquired knowledge or skills. On time-to-time, I pick up my semi-professional DSLR-camera and shoot some photography, mainly nature or beauty related photography. I’m also a big friend of coffee, which means that I spend some of my free time or breaks in coffee shops on day-to-day basis. Vaasa is full of different kind of small and mid-sized coffee shops were studying remotely is also possible, just remember to take your laptop and you soon notice that you are not the only student with the laptop on that coffee shop.
