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UNIVERSITY OF VAASA MAGAZINE 4 / 2014
Studying
Useful Business Studies Text NIINA HEIKKINEN Photo KATJA LÖSÖNEN
In 2010, Daniel Lucas, a Canadian, became friends with a Finnish student from Pedersöre whom he met while living in Australia. Lucas visited Finland a couple of times before deciding to move to Vaasa in 2012 and search for a job. “I moved to Vaasa for three-months, visa-free, with the plan to get a job in Finland which would grant a work residence permit to stay longer,” Lucas says. However, he soon realised that getting a job in Finland was not as easy as he expected. Several employers demanded a Master’s degree and he only had a Bachelor’s degree. During his time in Vaasa, Lucas found out about the international programmes offered by the University of Vaasa. “At the beginning of 2013 I decided to apply to the University of Vaasa to study on the Master’s Programme in International Business and I got in,” he says. Representing the programme Daniel Lucas thinks that Vaasa is a pleasant city and he enjoys living here. The MIB programme has also provided rewarding and useful studies. He has not participated in student night-life to a great extent but he has otherwise been actively involved in international student activities.
“I am one of the student representatives of the International Business programme. I work with the other representative to organise a range of events and activities,” Lucas says. Work from the university International student activities helped Lucas to find work at the university. At the beginning of 2014 he was involved in the application process for all international degree programmes at the International Office of University of Vaasa and he now works for the Faculty of Business Studies, analysing the University of Vaasa’s international network of partner universities. “Over the summer, I also got a two-month internship at a family business in Vaasa via the university’s Vaasa Internship Programme for International Students programme (VIPIS).” Doctoral studies at the University of Vaasa? Lucas is currently writing his Master’s thesis and searching for case companies for which he could write his thesis. The future is still undecided. “I want to stay in Vaasa for a while yet. I’ve got good networks both in Finland and in Canada but I could also move elsewhere depending on where opportunities are available.” “On the other hand, I’d also really like to get my PhD at the University of Vaasa.”