Inter­na­tion­al­is­ing Student Union POKA

The Student union POKA of Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences is strongly involved in the Cultural Diver­sity of Study Paths project. For POKA, the project is developing:

• Inter­na­tion­al­iza­tion and inter­na­tion­al­iza­tion skills of the student union
• Partic­i­pa­tion and empow­er­ment of inter­na­tional students in decision-making
• Forms of peer support for inter­na­tional students
• Karelia for all –activies, commu­nal­ity, network­ing and Finnish students’ internationalization

The first step: Inter­na­tional Division

POKA is strongly bilin­gual and equity and the “come as you are” theme have long been reflected in POKA’s activ­i­ties, commu­ni­ca­tions, services and strat­egy. However, as the number of inter­na­tional students in Karelia UAS has increased, the need to increase the oppor­tu­ni­ties for non-Finnish speak­ing students to partic­i­pate in deci­sion-making and admin­is­tra­tion has been recog­nized. We see increas­ing the partic­i­pa­tion and active involve­ment of inter­na­tional students as an impor­tant next step for the well-being of the whole commu­nity. As Aicha Manai said in her lecture on Diver­sity in the Work­place (9 April 2024), a diverse commu­nity provides differ­ent perspec­tives and there is strength in that. This is how we in “Karelia for all” want to work and make deci­sions together, so that every­one feels part of a diverse community.

The first step towards truly bilin­gual (Finnish-English) deci­sion-making and partic­i­pa­tion is POKA’s Inter­na­tional Divi­sion, which will be estab­lished in May 2024. The Division’s mission is to act as a messen­ger between inter­na­tional students and POKA’s Board and Council of Repre­sen­ta­tives, to support Degree Tutors and VIPs (Atmos­phere on Caring) in their role and to bring together inter­na­tional and Finnish students. In spring 2024, the inter­na­tional students have had a nice active atti­tude towards working together and devel­op­ing, and the divi­sion has also aroused their inter­est. The next step is to hold POKA’s first bilin­gual elec­tion of Council of Repre­sen­ta­tives in Novem­ber 2024. The devel­op­ment work will be based on the knowl­edge of the student unions and will be further shared with the whole student unions’ community.

The devel­op­ment of inter­na­tion­al­iza­tion skills for POKA’s trustees and employ­ees is carried out in coop­er­a­tion with Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences. The project’s micro-studies on topics such as multi­cul­tur­al­ism, diver­sity, anti-racism work and cultural and linguis­tic aware­ness will provide the actors with tools. An infor­ma­tion package on general issues and support needs of inter­na­tional students will be compiled for POKA’s actors in customer service work, also drawing on the guide­lines compiled by National Union of Students in Finnish Univer­si­ties of Applied Sciences – SAMOK in spring 2024 and will also be distrib­uted for use by Karelia’s various services, such as jani­to­r­ial services.

Peer support activ­i­ties combine and connect

At Karelia, peer support activ­i­ties between students include Degree Tutor­ing and VIP (Atmos­phere of Caring). Degree Tutors are mainly 2nd year students who act as tutors for incom­ing 1st year students in Inter­na­tional Busi­ness, Indus­trial Manage­ment and Infor­ma­tion and Commu­ni­ca­tion Tech­nol­ogy. Degree Tutors act as expe­ri­ence experts and provide peer support on arrival in Finland and Joensuu and on start­ing their studies. They intro­duce new students to Finnish culture, campuses and study methods, and intro­duce students to each other. The project’s focus on meeting inter­na­tional students and empha­siz­ing inclu­sion is already visible in the increase in the number of students apply­ing to become Degree Tutors in spring 2024.

VIP students are selected from each start­ing group of students. VIPs sense how the group is doing and what kind of discus­sion open­ings or support might be needed in the group. We see it as some­thing worth trying to combine tutor and VIP activ­i­ties – joint peer support activ­i­ties for the start­ing group. Combin­ing these activ­i­ties is also aimed at bring­ing more students from differ­ent year groups together. Together we are more!

Network­ing through cooperation

A fairly exten­sive network of coop­er­a­tion has already been built around the Cultural Diver­sity of Study Paths project in Joensuu. In order to support students’ network­ing and commu­nal­ity, coop­er­a­tion has already been estab­lished during spring 2024 for example with Talent Hub Eastern Finland, INVEST, Tule­vaisu­u­den työkyky, Tarmo, Univer­sity of Eastern Finland, Riveria, City of Joensuu, Helposti Joen­su­uhun, Joensuu district multi­cul­tural asso­ci­a­tion, Joensuu Library, North Kare­lian Society for Social Secu­rity, Student Union of the Univer­sity of Eastern Finland ISYY, Kilta ry… Coop­er­a­tion with differ­ent actors brings holding power to the area and increases the inter­na­tion­al­iza­tion of Finnish students by bring­ing students together in differ­ent activ­i­ties. How about an orga­ni­za­tion fair, a new students’ event, an ice fishing trip, student forums, immi­grant coffee or a buddy activity?

The project will develop POKA’s Into free time activ­i­ties in line with the wishes of inter­na­tional students. We will bring activ­i­ties to where the students are, on campus, during their study days: filling “lask­i­ais­pul­lat” (buns), zumba during lunch break, karaoke and crafts. Events and free-time activ­i­ties are also high­lighted as the most impor­tant factor for inclu­sion in the student partic­i­pa­tion survey conducted by the City of Joensuu in spring 2024.

However, simply bring­ing Finnish and inter­na­tional students together in the same space is not enough to promote network­ing. Students must have a common mission and a common goal. The best way to create coop­er­a­tion is to inte­grate joint activ­i­ties into studies. A project week for Finnish and inter­na­tional students linked to the working life, combin­ing a Commu­nity Work course for social work students with support for inter­na­tional students, and buddy-class activ­i­ties are exam­ples of activ­i­ties that will bring students together during the project. The Commu­nity Work course will be devel­oped in spring 2024 for autumn 2024 by Mervi Väänä­nen, an intern from the Cultural Diver­sity of Study Path’s project. In the pilot of the buddy-class activ­i­ties, we will connect the start­ing IB, IM, ICT and language-supported nursing groups with the corre­spond­ing Finnish 2nd year student groups. To be success­ful, the pilot requires commit­ment from the student groups, the POKA and project coor­di­na­tors, and the teach­ers. By bring­ing Finnish and inter­na­tional students together, we will make our exper­tise visible and learn from each other – home-grown inter­na­tion­al­iza­tion at its best.

#monikult­tuurise­topin­topo­lut and #kare­li­aforall

Getting inter­na­tional students to become active actors requires targeted commu­ni­ca­tion and face-to-face encoun­ters. From autumn 2024 onwards, the “Karelia for all” slogan will be strongly visible on the new tutors’ T-shirts. We hope that the shirts will bring a smile to the faces wher­ever tutors are working to welcome and support new students!

You can follow more of POKA’s activ­i­ties related to the project on Insta­gram @varmapoka, #monikult­tuurise­topin­topo­lut and #kare­li­aforall.

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Author:

Tiia Kyllö­nen, Project Special­ist, Cultural Diver­sity of Study Paths -project, Karelia UAS / Special­ist, Student Union POKA, [email protected] / +35850 438 9071