Trainee projects tailored to interests

At Teknos, there are many opportunities for students and recent graduates with various backgrounds. In the Teknos Trainee Program the projects are designed according to the trainee’s interests and studies. Read below Heidi, Noora, Katja, Mari and Sanna's feelings after the traineeship and their thoughts of the projects they were assigned to. 

“When I started at Teknos, I had just graduated from Jyväskylä University School of Business, where my major was Leadership and Management. I am especially interested in HR, more specifically, in recruitment, job satisfaction and well-being and I feel like my interests were taken well in to account during the traineeship", says Mari Jylhä, HR Trainee.

"My main project was to conduct an employee opinion survey globally, and I also took part in HR projects in Finland, such as organizing well-being training for supervisors and developing recruitment”, Mari continues. 

Mari was the only one from the Teknos Trainees 2019 that had already graduated, the rest of the trainees are finalizing their studies.

Heidi, Sanna, Mari, Noora and Katja enjoyed the Teknos Trainee Program and the projects they got to lead during the summer. 

Digging into customer experience

Business Intelligence Trainee Noora Kuisma studies Information and Service Management at Aalto University. During the summer Noora had the opportunity to dig into Teknos customer experience, amongst other things. 

"I worked on a store concept. The goal of the project was to create a unique customer experience, offer better tools for our sales representatives and to enhance our image as a sustainable, high-quality brand. I also completed some other tasks related to business intelligence and supportive decision making, such as a market and competitor analysis, and a gap analysis of strategic plans".

Also Heidi Saarikko, Procurement Trainee, studies at the master’s level at Aalto University School of Business.

"At the moment I am finishing up my other master's degree from Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering where my major is Chemical and Process Engineering. I aimed to land a trainee position where I could combine both of my degrees, and I feel like I achieved that".

"My main project was to conduct a requirements engineering study for an upcoming supplier relationship management system. The study involved, for example, to conduct interviews and workshops. I was also the chair for our six-membered Project Team. Further, I developed a buyer’s guide for procurement and purchasing practices and made a document for category management instructions”, Heidi explains. 

Continuing with a related thesis

While Mari, Noora, and Heidi had business-related projects, the projects of QEHS Trainee Katja Holopainen and Sanna Korhonen, trainee in the R&D department, were more related to chemistry and engineering.

"The aim of my factory hygiene project was to harmonize and improve the cleaning and microbiological analysing methods. During the project I created, for example, a survey to map the current state of waterborne production sites’ factory hygiene, did benchmark visits and interviews in other companies, and got acquainted with related literature", Katja explains. 

The trainee position ended up with an opportunity to write a Master's Thesis for Teknos. 

"I am looking forward to the next steps of the project; and I am continuing as a Master’s Thesis Worker to finish up my studies at the University of Oulu where I am studying Bioprocess Engineering", Katja tells. 

Utilizing study knowledge at work

Sanna again, had the opportunity to do real laboratory work and to put her knowledge from school into use.

“During the summer I did method development for testing outdoor durability of industrial wood coatings. The project included preparing and examining samples, testing mechanical properties of different paints, and reporting to my supervisors".

"During the summer, a lot of new data was obtained, and initial conclusions were made about basic properties of paints and the changes they undergo during drying".

"It felt great to put the knowledge I have obtained from school to practice. I am studying Formulation Chemistry at a master’s level in Lyon, France but I have completed my bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Helsinki”, Sanna says. 

Take a sneak peek into some Trainee moments on Instagram: @teknoscareers! or read a wrap up of the Teknos Trainee summer 2019.

// Heidi, Noora, Katja, Mari & Sanna