Aalto International Talent Program mentor Matti Aksela: I recommend participating to all companies

This year the Aalto International Talent group mentoring programme brought Finnish employers and international students together for the seventh time.

The programme enables employers to present their career paths and build meaningful connections between international students and their personnel.

Outokumpu’s mentoring group was led by Aalto University alum, VP, AI and Enterprise Intelligence Platforms Matti Aksela. Aksela is an experienced mentor who has seen the benefits of internationalisation and a diverse working environment in his work.

‘Different backgrounds bring different ways of thinking and thus better opportunities to find new and innovative solutions. In order to build diverse teams, we need more international talent,’ Aksela says.

Internationalisation does not, however, happen by itself and, according to Aksela, it must be supported at different levels. 

‘That is why I have taken part in the Aalto International Talent Program for several years already.’

According to Aksela, everyone whose career is even slightly more advanced has a lot to offer students, even if they may not immediately think so themselves. He recommends participating to all companies that want to develop diversity and learn.

‘I constantly gain new perspectives from discussions with students. They ask questions I would never have even expected. What could make you think and learn more effectively than that!’

Conversations briged the gap to working life

Participating companies receive a ready-made set of themes and a schedule framework on which they can flexibly plan mentoring meetings. At Outokumpu, the discussions covered topics such as job hunting, recruitment, AI and data science, as well as career prospects in the field.

Cecilia di Francesco, a student from the School of Science, found the discussions related to Finnish work culture particularly helpful.

‘We talked about flexible working hours, remote and hybrid work practices, communication styles, and work–life balance in Finland. These are aspects of working life that can be hard to fully grasp through studies alone. Hearing about them directly from professionals made Finnish working culture feel more approachable.‘

The group met both online and at Outokumpu’s offices in Helsinki. During the visits, students met other data scientists working at Outokumpu and heard their career stories.

‘As a student, it can be stressful to try to figure out what your future career should look like. It was really reassuring to hear that many professionals had changed career paths or focus areas several times themselves. It made working life feel less linear and showed that it’s okay not to have everything figured out right away.’ 

A session on CV writing also helped the students.

‘Matti reviewed our CVs and gave us practical and honest feedback, which was really useful and encouraging. Thanks to that, future job applications no longer feel so intimidating.’ 

The Aalto International Talent Program made the transition to working life feel more tangible and approachable. Di Francesco appreciated the open discussions and Aksela’s support throughout the program.

‘Matti was always ready to answer questions, and it felt like he genuinely wanted to help us. For students, transitioning into working life can feel overwhelming, especially in another country, so having that kind of support meant a lot.’ 

Registrations are now open

Since 2020, more than 1,000 master’s and doctoral students and over 40 companies have participated in the Aalto International Talent Program. Many mentoring companies return year after year, but new companies are also more than welcome.

‘We want to offer more international students the opportunity to build connections with employers and find their path into the Finnish job market. We hope their expertise will stay in Finland and benefit Finnish companies and society,’ says Program Manager Kaisa Paasivirta from Aalto Career Design Lab.

In 2026, over 170 master’s and doctoral students, as well as 18 mentoring companies and organizations participated in the Aalto International Talent Program. The mentor companies were ABB, Borealis (now Bourouge International), City of Espoo, CGI, City of Helsinki, EY, Fiskars Group, Huld – Part of Gofore Group, Kemira, Konecranes, Metso, Nokia, OP Pohjola, Orion Pharma, Outokumpu, SSH Communications Security, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Valmet.

Companies and organizations can register for the Aalto International Talent Program 2027 until 15 September 2026. Read more and join us!