Employee experience management for international employees with diverse backgrounds: Facilitating the Integration of International Academic Workers into Finland
Xiang, Beibei (2024)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024053119340
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024053119340
Tiivistelmä
This thesis is to identify the career challenges of international academic workers and to find possible solutions and considerations to promote integration in Finnish society. This thesis explores the reasons and basic principles for the internationalisation reform of higher education institutions, how the academic career system has been affected by internationalisation, what negative flaws exist in the career development path of tenure pursued by international academic workers, and what multiple requirements academic workers face.
Career challenges for Finnish academics include but are not limited to fixed-term contracts are common in Finnish academia. This thesis uses qualitative research methods to interview three international academic workers working at Lapland University of Applied Sciences as a case study. The Finnish Union of University for Researchers and Teachers conducted a job satisfaction sur-vey among more than 500 members in 2015 and conducted a comprehensive survey and analysis of the job satisfaction of international academic workers. Recruitment of academic staff is also restricted by the Universities Act. The recruitment of some positions, such as the recruitment of outstanding professors, does not even require the announcement of job vacancies.
The thesis also points out a limit to the career development of academic workers. There is no more space for development beyond the four stages of a research career. Career development depends largely on teaching and re-search achievements and related indicators, which are also related to obtain-ing research funding. This thesis also analyses the working environment and training received by international academic workers on the job. It also presents self-reports of academic workers’ experiences of working and living in Finland, as well as challenges encountered in the workplace, such as racism, discrimination, and overloaded workloads.
Career challenges for Finnish academics include but are not limited to fixed-term contracts are common in Finnish academia. This thesis uses qualitative research methods to interview three international academic workers working at Lapland University of Applied Sciences as a case study. The Finnish Union of University for Researchers and Teachers conducted a job satisfaction sur-vey among more than 500 members in 2015 and conducted a comprehensive survey and analysis of the job satisfaction of international academic workers. Recruitment of academic staff is also restricted by the Universities Act. The recruitment of some positions, such as the recruitment of outstanding professors, does not even require the announcement of job vacancies.
The thesis also points out a limit to the career development of academic workers. There is no more space for development beyond the four stages of a research career. Career development depends largely on teaching and re-search achievements and related indicators, which are also related to obtain-ing research funding. This thesis also analyses the working environment and training received by international academic workers on the job. It also presents self-reports of academic workers’ experiences of working and living in Finland, as well as challenges encountered in the workplace, such as racism, discrimination, and overloaded workloads.