Finnish Academia

[yoshimi]

I'm just starting to put out some feelers for what will hopefully be a move to Finland next year (ish). I have (of course) been enquiring in more official locations, but I think there's no harm in seeing if any of you learned ladies and gentlemen can help me out.

I am English, currently in the process of completing a PhD in Political Science (main area of study being nationalism), do not speak any Finnish (speak [i]basic [/i]Swedish), and am hoping to find employment in any Finnish University/research institute.

Does anybody have any knowledge of Finnish Academia, and can advise on my likely chances of finding a post? How much teaching is conducted in English? What is the call for non-Finnish researchers?

I am, in addition, a qualified TEFL teacher - what's the score with TEFL jobs in Finland these days.

Thanks for hearing me out. Have a nice day.

[sinikala]

Don't know about the humanities area... but you could start by looking at the EU R&D website. http://cordis.europa.eu/ BTW I'm not even sure if FP7 covers political science, perhaps you already know? http://cordis.europa.eu/erawatch/

What do you mean by "post"? Are you looking for a post doc for a couple of years (decent chance, it's how I got here)... or are you after something long-term like a lectureship (much harder).

I guess your best chance is to get in on an EU funded project, a few years ago the funding for some of those projects was targeted to increase mobility of EU workers, so the institutes had to employ foreigners.

Language of tuituion... IMO, they prefer to teach modules in Finnish.. of the professors I've spoken to on the subject, it seems that majority believe that the students are entitled to be taught in their mother tongue, if possible.

TEFL jobs others can answer... but it's something everyone and his dog can do, so competition is surely high.

[cwcnow]

TEFL jobs others can answer... but it's something everyone and his dog can do, so competition is surely high.

True! But can everyone and his dog do it WELL?

[sammy]

TEFL jobs others can answer... but it's something everyone and his dog can do, so competition is surely high.

True! But can everyone and his dog do it WELL?

The answer is a resounding no, and that includes the native speakers! Language skills themselves do not make anyone a good teacher.

On the NBE website you'll find some info on foreign qualifications recognition in Finland...

http://www.oph.fi/info/recognition

[yoshimi]

Thanks for the replies - much appreciated.

sinikala - I do not, to be honest, know myself whether Political Science is covered. Thanks for the link.

In terms of what do I mean by "'post". I should probably elaborate a bit on my situation. I'm currently in the second year of my PhD, for which I have a three year fully-funded scholarship (I intend to complete within that 3 year time period). My, admittedly fairly sketchy, plan is this: I will move to Helsinki in June (when the teaching term has finished) and live rent free (I have access to a family "summer house" in Brunakär) for perhaps 2-3 months. In this way, I will be living in Finland whilst still receiving my UK studentship. Apart from a return to London for 12 weeks teaching from Oct-Dec, I hope to make the move to Finland permanent thenceforth.

So...to get back to your question - I would be very happy to receive any temporary post-doc position. I am of the belief that if I can get a couple of years experience in a Finnish university under my belt, my Finnish horizons should expand considerably. If I may ask: what, in your opinion, are the prospects of myself securing a post-doc position? And for how long would said position likely to be for? Are universities generally keen for their post-docs to contribute to teaching?

To those replying regarding TEFL - What, in your opinion, would be the opportunities for someone with extensive teaching experience (teaching political science at a University of London institute rather than in TEFL) looking for TEFL work in Finland? If I could prove myself to be an especially good TEFL teacher (as I believe I could), to what degree would this actually bump me ahead of the competition?

Thanks again.

[blaugrau]

Some academic posts are advertised on http://www.aarresaari.net , the best option would be to look at the recruiting sites of different universities, eg.

http://www.uta.fi/ajankohtaista/avoimet_virat.php (Vacancies University of Tampere, and on the right hand side you find direct links to the vacancy pages of other Finnish univeristies, including the Swedish speaking university in Turku, Åbo Akademi).

I have an inkling that in social science related fields there might not as often be openings to non-Finnish speakers as e.g. in the natural sciences. I am myself in a social sciences field and work fully in English, however, the job ad I reacted to was written in Finnish and mainly geared to Finnish speakers. (However, I'm a research assistant, not a postdoc). Another problem could be that some assistant posts etc. involve some administrative tasks, which then again require fluent Finnish skills.. so it can be tricky.

Maybe try monitor the ads and teach yourself enough Finnish in order to recognize which job ads are for your field.

[sammy]

To those replying regarding TEFL - What, in your opinion, would be the opportunities for someone with extensive teaching experience (teaching political science at a University of London institute rather than in TEFL) looking for TEFL work in Finland? If I could prove myself to be an especially good TEFL teacher (as I believe I could), to what degree would this actually bump me ahead of the competition?

Hmm, I don't have any first-hand experience in this so I'll just clarify a bit - IF you're looking for a teaching post at schools, universities etc (ie public sector), then you'd most likely need to have you qualifications recognised - see the above NBE link. although it might not be essential for temporary jobs.

However, it could be a different ballgame in the private sector - language training at companies, etc. Others here have quite possibly been there, done that so the floor is theirs

[sinikala]

I would be very happy to receive any temporary post-doc position. I am of the belief that if I can get a couple of years experience in a Finnish university under my belt, my Finnish horizons should expand considerably. If I may ask: what, in your opinion, are the prospects of myself securing a post-doc position?

I have no idea how it goes in the humanities. Your projects are generally not supported by industry, so I assume, less money available for projects, and so more competition than in science.

I suggest you go to google ... do a keyword search of - political science EU project Finland.

this throws up a load of pages about old projects... I don't know anything about your field... but I'd look for guys with a history of participating in EU funded projects and contact them directly, check if there are any up-coming project applications for which you might be suitably qualified 12-18 months down the line.

You said you have gone down more official lines, perhaps you have already done this.

And for how long would said position likely to be for?

Post-doctoral contracts can be decided by the professor or be limited by the funding body. I did 2 years before moving to industry, one guy before me did the maximum 3, another guy wanted to stay only for 1 year.

Are universities generally keen for their post-docs to contribute to teaching?

My experience here was similar to in England. As a Ph.D. student in England we had to supervise undergrad pracs and tutorials. We didn't have to lecture though. I don't remember any post-docs lecturing in England either.

Here, I was asked to supervise in the labs... 2 mornings per week IIRC but I didn't even have to do the marking of reports... just make sure that the students didn't kill themselves