Samlink from the Eyes of Summer Talents
Every summer, a group of enthusiastic summer employees join to reinforce Samlink’s teams. The talents of the summer of 2023, Johanna, Aleksanteri, and Noora, value the diverse learning opportunities, effective leadership, and flexible work at Samlink – not to mention their colleagues’ sense of humor!
Johanna Virkkunen
In the summer of 2023, Johanna, a student of computer science at the University of Jyväskylä, worked as part of the Kettu team that is responsible for the internal systems of Samlink. She joined a project focused on migrating the internal Wiki system to a new cloud-based version. During the data migration project, Johanna learned a lot, such as reading security documentation, technical documentation, and cost estimation.
– In my role, my ability to notice minor details, ability to focus, and open-mindedness were beneficial. Almost the entire project involved learning new things, so also my information retrieval skills were advantageous, Johanna said.
Johanna emphasizes that at Samlink, a summer employee doesn’t need to be an expert beforehand; the work teaches the necessary skills. Assistance is always available, and colleagues are happy to provide guidance.
– On my first day of work, I remember thinking, how could one workplace have so many nice and humorous people! Besides my colleagues, the standout features at Samlink were the diverse learning opportunities, job flexibility, and the Epassi benefit, which I used to buy a few months of gym membership and visited the Ateneum museum, Johanna recalled.
Aleksanteri Skaniakos
When Aleksanteri applied for his first job in his own field in the spring of 2022, he ended up as summer employee at Samlink. The experience was so positive that when he was invited to return the following summer, saying yes was an easy decision.
– In my role I developed and maintained interfaces. I’m not a programmer by training, and at Samlink, I’ve had the chance to learn a lot about application development in practice. Every day brought something new, and learning new things and developing skills was the best part of the summer, said Aleksanteri, an information systems student at the University of Jyväskylä.
According to Aleksanteri, a summer employee at Samlink should have above all courage, a willingness to learn, and logical thinking ability.
– You don’t have to be overly social, but it helps to success at work when you dare to reach out to new people and ask for help. Courage also involves daring to try, and in Samlink, you don’t have to fear failing. Experimentation also proactively initiates learning processes, he advises.
Noora Jokela
Noora, a student of computer science at the University of Jyväskylä, attended the DuunIT job fair in the spring of 2023, where she noticed Samlink’s booth. She applied for a summer job at Samlink and started a few months later as a summer employee in the Repo team. Noora received thorough training for her role and quickly dove into work, developing both Samlink’s internal report tool and her own skills as a coder.
– In my role, I was able to put the knowledge I gained from university courses into practice and strengthen my coding skills. Throughout the summer, I had the opportunity to work on increasingly challenging tasks – it always felt great to see the code come to life! Noora exclaimed.
Even though Noora spent most of her time at the Jyväskylä office, she thinks the possibility of remote work and flexible working hours were excellent aspects from the perspective of a summer employee as well.
– After the summer, I was offered the opportunity to continue as a part-time employee at Samlink while working on my thesis. The atmosphere in the work community is positive, and the job description is interesting, so I decided to seize the opportunity! Noora rejoices.