Hannu Kujanpää and Lauri are soon-to-be graduating students, who completed their practical training at Pinja in the summer 2021. Both have continued to work at Pinja after the practical training period and, thanks to the employer’s flexible working hours scheme, both of them also hope to graduate alongside work. For many, an internship offers a convenient bridge between studies and employment in one’s own field.
Every year, Pinja offers an internship job for several tens of students in its different locations in Finland. Most interns have already progressed relatively far in their studies or will soon graduate, and many of them also continue to work at Pinja in a full-time or part-time job after the training period, flexibly according to each student’s preferences and use of time.
Hannu Kujanpää from Jyväskylä and Lauri from Kuopio have also completed their internships at Pinja. Hannu studies at the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (JAMK) to graduate as an Information and Communication Technology Engineer and Lauri will become an IT Engineer from the Savonia University of Applied Sciences.
Both completed their internships at Pinja in the summer 2021 working as coders in the OE business area. Hannu was a member of a team developing a Novi product and Lauri was involved with a Gema product. Both of them praise their internship application for its surprisingly straightforward process.
– In the spring, I applied for an internship job in my own field from several companies; at Pinja, the process advanced really smoothly. In the advertisement that I found on the internet, they were actually looking for a permanent employee, but fortunately I decided to apply for the job anyway. The application process advanced fast and I was quickly informed of my selection, Lauri remembers.
– It was the same in my case, things proceeded very fast with Pinja. In fact, I was first contacted by Pinja HR only a few hours after submitting my application, Hannu says with a laugh.
Internship starts with a thorough induction training
Both Lauri and Hannu say that they have received good induction training at the beginning of their internship. Different areas of the job were reviewed together with several different Pinja employees, including the tools used, the code itself and its reviewing, and matters to be dealt with in scrum meetings.
Both Lauri and Hannu find it particularly pleasing that during the internship at Pinja they have been able to perform real work, for real customers and to a real need.
Both agree that, in addition to the contents of induction training, a personal active approach helps to get down to work.
– I received a lot of valuable information and tips by reading independently and asking questions actively. Particularly in the beginning, I preferred going to the office in Jyväskylä, which may have partly lowered the threshold to ask about unclear things, Hannu describes.
However, for both of them, things have run smoothly even when working remotely, and their team members also work in different parts of Finland. Thus, the physical location is of little importance for practical work.
Both Lauri and Hannu find it particularly pleasing that during the internship at Pinja they have been able to perform real work, for real customers and to a real need. They feel that their input has produced genuine benefits.
– For me, it was a good way to get down to work when we first had to deal with small bug tickets, this means correcting individual lines of code and similar tasks. It has been great to notice how much I have learnt during these months and how my professional skills have improved. Gradually, I have started to see the wider picture of customerships and entities to which my own work is related, Lauri states.
Interns of the summer 2021 have now completed their practical training and many of them have continued to work at Pinja after the summer. According to Hannu and Lauri, combining work and studies has succeeded well as Pinja has provided flexible arrangements according to the needs of studies.
Lauri is now a third-year student and continues at Pinja as a part-time employee advancing his studies at other times. Hannu is completing his fourth year and will graduate soon, so he has continued to work full time after the practical training period in the summer.
– When I applied for a job at Pinja, I actually applied for both an internship and a possibility to carry out my master's thesis project for the company. During the internship, we searched for a possible subject for the thesis with my supervisor, and now I would have a final idea to propose to my school, Hannu says.
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