Uniting Companies, Employers and International University Talents (UNICOM+)

We promote employment and entrepreneurship among international students

Duration of the project

1.1.2025 – 31.12.2027

Source of funding

ESR+

Total funding

151 140 €

The UNICOM+ project aims to utilise the extensive labor potential of highly educated international talents in the South-West Finland region more efficiently, thereby addressing the current and future deepening skills shortage in the area. Due to their background, international talents face greater challenges in integrating into working life compared to native Finns and are under a greater threat of unemployment upon graduation.

As increasing number of international talents seek employment already after starting at higher education (HE), a solution to the labor problem must be sought in collaboration between the area’s higher education institutions and public employment and entrepreneurship services. Due to this, the project will work closely with the new employment areas in Turku and Salo.

The partner organisations are the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi and Turku University of Applied Sciences. They develop, pilot and integrate new services in their respective universities to facilitate the access of international talents in higher education to the open labor market, employment in existing companies and organisations, and support them in their entrepreneurship endeavors. Through the services developed and implemented in the project, international talents are also better prepared to utilise the public employment and entrepreneurship services.