My studies at the University of Vaasa gave me a solid base in systems thinking and industrial engineering, as well as practical teamwork and communication skills.
Alumnus Zeya Zheng, currently working for a high-tech industrial company in Finland, studied Industrial Systems Analytics at the University of Vaasa.
– After working 5 years in a big international company as a mechanical engineer, I decided to challenge myself to gain more skills and ability for my future career especially when I find digital aspect plays more and more important role in industrial world. Luckily, I found Industrial Systems Analytics degree programme provided by the University of Vaasa, which exactly meets my expectation. After reviewing the programme curriculum, I fully believed this is what I want. ISA programme contains large amount of courses in the digital field, which is highly related to nowadays industry.
– University of Vaasa provides very competitive degree programmes containing solid courses, which are up to date. I can feel it was designed to give students enough skills and ability to get competent for the future jobs without any gap. University website is very user friendly and I could easily find the needed information for application.
– ISA programme is very close to real industrial world and goes with the future trend that is Systematization and digitalization. What’s more, ISA gives you opportunity to develop yourself as deep in systems as you would like. So you find there are not only machine learning and embedded programming courses but also quality management and project management courses. You are free to choose your direction or create your own study path combination to make up your expertise.
– All teachers and university staff are very supportive. Any question I asked a teacher or staff I could always get an answer, they also helped me to ask the question from other staff if they knew who would be better at this topic. I liked the university Moodle design and I felt the course contents in Moodle reminded me of like a game or story. You can easily follow it and even interact with the very well-designed course quiz or pre reading material. I like this interactive learning idea.
As a father of two young children, Zeya moved to Vaasa with his family, and the whole family enjoyed the city.
– When I planned to move Vaasa with all my family, Covid-19 happened to Finland as well. The University of Vaasa tried their best to shift the study online. To be honest, I feel the courses and study contents were not weakened. Students even got more flexibility for study. Of course, move everything online is a change for current age, everyone should get used to it. Due to family’s safety reasons, our trip to Vaasa was little bit delayed. International student office and student tutor provided lots of help for what we should do next. I was surprised to find the life in Finland is so peaceful and it seems it hasn’t changed by Covid-19. I realized we moved to a great country and a great place.
– Vaasa has very good nature, I see many beautiful beaches and parks there, and of course forest park is infinite for your visiting. The size of the city is exactly big enough for living because you can find everything you need there, and it is also small enough that you don’t need to spend much time from one place to another. Vaasa has also good children day care system so I didn't have to worry about my children’s education.
– I like hiking with friends. We found many hiking routines where the sightseeing is wonderful. I also pay attention to the place where children can have fun. Vaasa is a family friendly city, there are lots of playgrounds and parks with good facilities for family time!
– The city of Vaasa is very international, there are many large companies here and I can easily find alumni in local top companies. Combined with the course, all of this gave me confidence to build a better professional career in the future.
After graduation, Zeya has built his career in Finland.
– Since graduation, I have worked in a Finnish high-tech process industry company. I started as an equipment engineer and moved into maintenance and reliability roles. Today I lead equipment maintenance for a new large-scale production plant. My studies at the University of Vaasa gave me a solid base in systems thinking and industrial engineering, as well as practical teamwork and communication skills. They also connected me to a strong alumni network – some of my current partners and colleagues are Vaasa alumni.
– Key skills in my field are technical understanding of production equipment, a strong safety and reliability mindset, and systematic problem-solving. Project management, communication, and the ability to use digital tools and data will be even more important in the future.
To further develop his academic career, Zeya is now also pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Vaasa related to industrial equipment and embedded AI systems.
