Bioproduct technology student Sea Pekki has been involved in many things. In 2022, he was the chairman of the Wood Processing Engineers Youth Forum and thus a member of the PI board. In the same year, he was elected as the University of Oulu's student of the year.
"The recognition came mostly from being active. In the Process Guild, we tried to create a sense of community in distance learning even during the corona period and use creativity so that we could organize events that were within the restrictions. It was rewarding to work in PI – students were listened to and their perspectives were taken into account. At the same time, we had the opportunity to get to know students in the same field from other universities," he says.
Pekki had work experience in the forest industry from three previous summers, but this year an internship opened up exceptionally in Germany.
"I was on a spring student exchange in Singapore, and I didn't know exactly when I would be returning to Finland. That's why I became interested in Metsä Group's international engineering internship - it was a suitable two to three-month position for me, and I could start a little later than summer jobs usually do," he says.
This year, Metsä Group sent a Finnish intern to almost every one of its factories in Europe for the first time, and Pekki was able to work at Metsä Tissue's Düren mill. He was given his own project, where he learned about the mill's water cycle and how a paper machine works, among other things.
"The factory's process engineer guided me through my work tasks and also told me about his own projects, so I learned a lot this summer. It was interesting to see how problem situations are solved and what it's like to work abroad - it was really good to get a glimpse of that even as a student."
England did well
Meri Peki believes that working at a German factory was very similar to working in Finland, although it must be remembered that immediately after Singapore, familiarity was certainly more pronounced than usual.
It helped that I had a good grasp of the basics of German, but I also did well in English.
“It was educational to be able to use English so much. My technical vocabulary in German and English developed effectively,” he says.
It also helped me settle in Germany that a Finnish intern from another factory lived in the same city.
"He and I spent a lot of free time together. In such a short time, we didn't have time to get to know the locals that much, except for our work colleagues to some extent, of course."
Studying abroad in Singapore was a more exotic experience.
“Studying was very different from here. The teaching was of high quality and the teachers seemed genuinely interested in the students learning. On the other hand, lectures could be late and, for example, group work could only start at ten o'clock in the evening. Local students worked really long days, but we exchange students managed to take small trips and see more of Asia. Singapore was a good base from which we visited Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.”
Studies continue
Although Pekki enjoyed both the exchange and the internship, he only had time to visit Finland in between, so during the last week of work he started to feel homesick.
"It's nice to be back in Finland now, but I wouldn't rule out going abroad again," he says.
"I am really grateful to have had this opportunity. I hope that the international internship will continue and that other students will also get to try working abroad."
Pekki still has one year left of his master's studies, and then it's time for his master's thesis.
“I would love to do my master's thesis at a forest industry company – that would be a natural fit.”
