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Post It Notes are still important part of software development

First of all, I am really happy that I was selected to the Giant Leap Internship program. I will spend my summer here in the Helsinki office and I will be work in the Software Development unit in the Weather Business Area. I started working in the beginning of May, while most of the other Giant Leapers will join Vaisala in the end of May or beginning of June.

My background seems to be quite different compared to what most of the other people in Vaisala have. I’m currently studying fourth year at the University of Helsinki. As a Major I have been studying Geography and Geoinformatics (GIS).  As a minor subjects I have studied e.g. computer science and environmental studies. Actually one of my new colleges mentioned that I’m most likely the first geographer in the Vaisala’s Helsinki office.

As one might guess, my Giant Leap project is related to the Geographic Information Systems (Also known as GIS). The plan of my project is to design and build a working & highly automated GIS process, which will handle few basic operations. For me, the project sounds really interesting and it is very inspiring to know that Vaisala will actually use the system I will be developing. My project is also almost perfectly in line with the studies I have been doing at the University.

So, how is my typical day in Vaisala? Well, the most constant thing of my normal day is the daily meeting with my project supervisor. My project supervisor is located in the Birmingham office in the UK, so we “meet” online. We’ll have a short call every morning and we’ll discuss what I achieved yesterday and what I will do today. These first two weeks have gone really fast and I have already learned a lot! First few days were mainly about getting known to the area, people, systems and software used in Vaisala. Now during the second week I have been mainly planning my project and learning some important aspects of the tools I’m going to need.

Overall, I’m very pleased that I can spend my summer here in Vaisala and I’m really excited about my Giant Leap project.  During the first two weeks I have already met wonderful and really inspiring new people. I’m also very excited to meet the other Giant Leapers!

Jesse Hietanen

Giant Leap 2015

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1. Figure out what you’re good at 

Figure out what you’re good at and what gets you excited. These are usually the things you’ll become the best at. To avoid thinking what you SHOULD be good at, think about the moments you get into a flow mode, think about what you like to read about in your free time etc. You’ll soon discover what you could be doing. Be proud of “your own thing” and become the one to turn to in your respective field.

How I figured it out? I majored in Finance at Aalto University School of Business but soon realized I’m also super interested in people, systems, and solving big problems. Now at Elisa I get to do just that: I identify organization-wide challenges, try to find the root causes by interviewing with people, and then present findings and recommendations to executives.

2. Figure out where your strengths can have the biggest positive impact

Now think what problems you might want to be solving, such as healthcare, education, innovation in organizations, or digitalization in traditional industries. Don’t just follow your classmates and do what you SHOULD be doing with your background, but go back to your special strengths and think which companies or non-profits might need your help in their challenges. Go for challenges, whether big or small, in which you’ll have a big impact!

How I figured it out? During the last year year of university, I got excited / concerned about the elderly people. I wanted to get acquainted with that space so I volunteered to hang out with lonely old people, participated in an online class in which I pursued my own elderly care startup idea, and participated other elderly care related events… Until I met an elderly care startup founder I wanted to work with!

3. Figure out with whom you’d like to work

Having figured out who you are and what you’d like to work on, approach the people you’d like to work with. Call or email them, refer to where you previously met (if you did), and tell them you’d want to work with them on this specific issue. Recruiting is difficult and risky for companies, so it’ll make a big difference if you’re being active yourself and showing how you might add value for them.

How I figured it out? Going back to the startup founder that I met at a random elderly care related event, I knew I would like to work with him: he was a pioneer in social media in Finland and wanted to make a revolution in elderly care. I contacted him on LinkedIn saying it was great to meet and asked whether he’d need my help in sales and customer development. He said he had thought the same – and I started working there. For me, one of the biggest factors when choosing a job are the people I’m going to work with. I want to be working with the best of the best to learn the most.

Watch and hear what other young people at Elisa think about working there:

Hilla Pyykkönen

Finding and pursuing opportunities at Elisa Entertaining Services

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Year 2014 was a tough year in European economies. In particular at our home ground Northern Europe. Many companies struggled to meet their growth expectations or even to keep the level.Let me share you an opposite story. We at Neste Jacobs have grown and been profitable over all these years and when it has become harder we have been doing even better. How is this possible when most of the industry leaders complain their business is going lousy due to external circumstances?

Well, it is understandable that any company can suffer for a short period of time due to unforeseen circumstances. But for any longer period it is just an excuse. How have we been able to succeed during these tough years then?

We have formulated a clear and simple strategy, clear and simple vision, we have cascaded these throughout the organization. Everyone in the company needs to understand these crucial things.

We have invested in our people, we have opened new offices and we have not given up when facing the first setback. Quarterly-based business is not taking anyone to success. It is much longer term one has to look for!

So what are our success rates then?

Looking backwards some three years we have grown our annual order intake, turnover, capacity and profits all in the range of +30% to +100% depending on the item. We employ and give full time employment to 500+ more engineers than just few years ago. This all by organic growth.

We are not intending to stop here but keep humble and long term work ongoing.

”When the going gets tough, the tough gets going”

Happy and prosperous New Year to All!

Jarmo Suominen
CEO

Apply to be part of great Neste Jacobs team! Recruitment for summer internships now open at https://careers.nesteoil.com/en/indexNJ.html

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Highlights of a day in Vaisala product development. Pictures and stories are by our former Giant Leap summer interns Timo V. and Timo K. who are now developing products for our industrial customers.

CEN Offering is the place where ideas are developed to actual final products. To accomplish the goal, hard work and smart people (you?) are needed. And some coffee.

It’s surprising how many fields of science are covered in Vaisala. We can start from thin film chips and wonder how their nanometer scale layers interact. The spectral range of one micrometer is full of information. The inaccuracy of one millimeter can ruin your miniaturized optical measurement and ten centimeters may mean a lot in the dynamics of measured fluid. How is electricity conducted through these structures? Is heat dissipated well enough? What are their optical properties and how do they respond to ambient conditions? Why are the results of computer simulations different to experiments? And the most important question: How could a little giant leaper know all of this?

First of all, you can’t and you are not even expected to know.  But, if your studies have dealt with such subjects you will learn. And it’s a great motivator that these problems have a true meaning for real products. Vaisala really invests in product development and is therefore a very interesting place for students starting their working careers.

Vaisala’s own cleanroom facilities allow us to design and test different thin film structures for our sensors. The mysterious peak won’t stay hidden from Timo K.

In addition to different fields of science and technology you may find yourself working on different levels of R&D. It can be basic research focusing on e.g. literature research, computational simulations and early phase prototyping. Or it can be closer to final products having the emphasis on reliability testing, their statistical analysis and improving the processibility of different parts. Both hands-on tasks and data handling are needed. All these steps affect each other so you are encouraged to follow also your colleagues’ work and report results of your own. All in all you will see how your skills are valued. And so they are not only the products that are developing but also your own competence.

Trust me – I speak from experience. I started here as a Giant Leap intern 18 months ago and have already faced the topics mentioned above. And this has been only everyday life of the controlled environment business area. Vaisala’s other business area, weather, would broaden the playground even more. Sure your path will be different but not less diverse. I had a master’s degree in physical chemistry when I started and now my know-how has extended to areas I knew nothing about before.

Timo Venäläinen / Giant Leap intern 2013

After a few test rounds the chip structure is optimized, as Irene (Giant Leaper 2010) here has just found out.

I started my career with Vaisala as a Giant Leap intern in the summer of 2013. I must admit, that after four years of intensive studying at the School of Electrical Engineering of the Aalto University my mindset was rather technical. At those times, if someone would have asked me about which study field is the most important, I would have told them hands down that it was technology and engineering. I was, to some extent, a bit narrow minded.

Fortunately, during the summer internship my eyes began to open up. One of the best part about the Giant Leap internship is the diversity you get to be a part of: your fellow interns are not only from your field of studies. During the joint project review sessions, we got to learn what other schools are actually about in addition to getting to know each other. It didn’t take long for me to push my prejudice aside and acknowledge that also non-engineers can be super smart and that there’s a great professional demand for them! Shortly after this I began to realize, that Vaisala is actually filled with pretty talented people. It was very important for me to learn that a company consists of much more than merely product development. Since I had been focusing only on engineering in my studies, it was a real eye-opener to actually see the slot that engineering takes in the big picture of a company. Seeing the big picture also helped me to find my own role in the company.

In further tests Timo V. (Giant Leaper 2013) makes sure that the electrical properties of the chips are ok. Yep, it’s linear!

It has been over a year now since the summer internship ended for me. Since then, I’ve completed my Master’s thesis for Vaisala and I’m currently working here as a Research Scientist. I’m very fortunate to have an interesting position, where I can fully utilize the knowledge I’ve spent so many acquiring at the University. It’s very motivating for me to be able to contribute to the sensor chip development in one of the leading MEMS sensor companies. Regardless though, of what you learn by getting your degree, the learning never stops. The ability to continuously learn is perhaps even more important than the traditional competence which we all learn at school (although you always need a strong basic knowledge of your field).

Vaisala is a great place to be when it comes to learning new things. Our wide product range necessitates an equally wide knowledge range, which means that we have a lot of professionals in the company. No matter how tricky of a problem you’ll run into, you can be sure that within a 10 minutes walk you’ll find someone with extensive knowledge on the issue. It’s hard not to enjoy working in a company where you’re surrounded by cool and smart people.

Timo Kerola / Giant Leap Intern 2013

Almost ready! Should we prefer a white or blue package? Plastic or metal? Just make sure it’s RoHS compatible.

The application period for Giant Leap Summer Internship  program 2015 starts on January 8^th and ends on February 8^th 2015. For more information, visit www.vaisala.com/giantleap and find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/VaisalaGiantLeap to stay in the loop of the recruitment process.

Vaisala is a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement. Vaisala employs over 1,600 professionals in 15 countries, and serves customers in more than 150 countries each year. Vaisala’s technologies provide information on weather and other environmental phenomena for meteorologists, road authorities, wind farms, and tightly controlled industrial environments, for example.

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Last week Neste Jacobs was awarded the Best Summer Trainee Employer of the year 2014 in Finland. The winner was selected by the jury consisting of students of Akava and chaired by the Minister of Labor, Mr. Lauri Ihalainen. In the selection the jury emphasized the equal treatment of the summer trainees. In the jury argumentation Neste Jacobs stood out in respecting the young employees. The summer trainees earned reasonable salary and their well-being at work was taken care of throughout the whole employment.

I am truly happy that our summer trainees have felt so that they wanted to propose Neste Jacobs to have this acknowledgement. It also makes me feel very humble. We need to keep on listening carefully to our employees and be ready to do our very best that the joy of work is present in our working environment.  The respect from our trainees must be earned every day, in all the projects that they work for.

Summer jobs in Neste Jacobs for next summer will be opened in January 2015 on our website. Take a look, you might find an interesting opportunity to be part of our professional teams and grow your expertise with us. For all our summer trainees next summer, I would like to say already at this point: You can be sure that we are thinking about you. We care that you will feel valued in every way in our company. We in Neste Jacobs HR are already preparing for your onboarding activities so that you will feel welcomed. And you can be sure that we will be doing our very best so that you also would feel that you have had the very best summer job.

Miia Lehmuskoski,

VP, HR

Neste Jacobs

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Ostin ensimmäisen oman kotini 22-vuotiaana – lähes seitsemän vuotta sitten. Halusin tehdä asuntokaupat as soon as possible, sillä se jos mikä on fiksua säästämistä, ajattelin. Ja kukapa nyt haluaisi maksaa vuokraa toisten taskuihin ikuisuuksia, en minä ainakaan. Löin kaupat lukkoon unelmieni rivitalokaksiosta vain päivä sen jälkeen, kun olin allekirjoittanut elämäni ensimmäisen vakituisen työsopimuksen. Nopeaa toimintaa, mutta ah sitä onnea päästä maalaamaan omia seiniä.

Rahoitin kaksioni lainalla ilman sen suurempia säästöjä. Satunnaisia töitä olin paiskinut jo useamman vuoden ajan opintojen ohella, ja kertyneistä säästöistä suurin osa, myönnettäköön, hupeni enimmäkseen kaikkeen turhaan. Hupskeikkaa, ylioppilasrahatkin sain hassattua alta aikayksikön; laitettakoon se vaikka lievän shop-a-holismin sekä valkolakin tuomassa hurmiossa varatun Kreetan matkan piikkiin. Matkustelu on itselleni ehdottomasti yksi parhaista syistä käyttää säästöjä, mutta ainakin vaatekaapin uumenia parempaan talteen olisin voinut osan silloisista rahoistani laittaa.

Harvinaisen hyödyllinen sanahirviö  

Olin kuullut mainittavan lyhenteen ASP, mutta sen tarkoituksesta en tiennyt mitään. En siis tiennyt, että tällaisen ASPin voi aloittaa 18–30 -vuotiaana, ja että sen avulla olisin voinut ottaa pankista vähemmän asuntolainaa tarpeisiini nähden. Siis lyhentää pienempää kuukausierää, maksaa vähemmän korkoa!

No, tänä päivänä ASPin tuntee jo hyvinkin moni. Lyhenne tulee siis sanoista asuntosäästöpalkkio-järjestelmä – mikäs sen mukavampi sanahirviö. Selvälle suomen kielelle käännettynä sillä tarkoitetaan ensimmäistä omaa asuntoa varten säästämistä. Äärimmäisen helppo keino laittaa rahaa sivuun ja saada tätä kautta asuntolaina paremmin eduin ja ehdoin. Jos olisin täysi-ikäisyyden kynnykselle kurkoteltuani tiennyt asiasta, olisin päämäärätietoisena tyttönä ehdottomasti avannut tilin ja laittanut pesämunaksi edes osan ylppärirahoistani. Neljä vuotta olisi ehtinyt säästämään ennen kauppakirjan allekirjoittamista.

ASPin suosio kasvaa – ja syystä

Finanssialan keskusliitto kertoi vuoden alussa asuntosäästöpalkkiota hyödyntävien ensiasuntojen ostojen olevan kasvussa. Hyvänä esimerkkinä toimii viime vuoden lokakuu, jolloin ostettiin eniten ASP-lainalla rahoitettuja asuntoja lähes kahteen vuoteen. Nuoret siis kiinnittävät enenevissä määrin huomiota oman taloutensa ja tulevaisuutensa suunnitteluun – suunta on oikea. Ja itse en ihan heti keksi ASPia houkuttelevampaa ratkaisua.

Lainakatto on asia, joka varmasti tulee kasvattamaan ASPin suosiota ja merkitystä nyt ja lähivuosina. Valtiovarainministeriön valmisteleman lakiehdotuksen mukaan asuntolainoille asetettaisiin lainakatto heinäkuusta 2016 lähtien. Lainakatolla tarkoitetaan sitä, että pankki saa myöntää asunnon hankintaan lainaa enintään 90 prosenttia lainavakuuksien arvosta – loput 10 % on siis annettava omasta pussista tai hoidettava muilla vakuuksilla. Ensiasunnon ostajien kohdalla lainakatto tulisi olemaan 95 prosenttia. Esimerkiksi 180 000 euron hintaisen ensiasunnon hankintaan tulisi olla omaa rahaa tai vakuuksia 9 000 euron arvosta. Melko iso summa heittää tiskiin tuosta noin vain, eikö?

Summa summarum, omaa asuntoa varten säästämiselle on olemassa painavat syyt. Ja ehkä säästetyn summan suuruuttakin tärkeämpää on ymmärtää se, että suuret hankinnat vaativat säästämistä ja oman talouden hallintaa. Pankista saa toki lainaa, mutta lainan ottamisen jälkeen raha muuttuu omaksi. Ja mitä vähemmän sitä tarvitsee käyttää oman kodin hankintaan, sen parempi. Näin jää rahaa omien seinien maalaamisen lisäksi ehkä myös Vepsäläiseltä hankittavaan mööpeliin.

Avaa ASP-tili Helsingin OP Pankkiin – vuodeksi ilmainen vakuutus

Aalto Yliopiston opiskelijana ASP-tili kannattaa avata Helsingin OP Pankkiin, sillä tällöin saa maksuttoman Easy-vakuutuksen vuodeksi. Lue lisää ja varaa aika konttoriin osoitteessa op.fi/asp.

Oon (lähes) kolmekymppinen, kolmekymppinen… toimi itse ennen sitä!

Hanna Leijala

Myyntipäällikkö, OP-Pohjola

hanna.leijala@op.fi

Finanssialan keskusliiton tiedote 2.1.2014

Valtionvarainministeriön tiedote 4.2.2014

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Taneli blogged about his experiences from working at Vaisala, the leading company for environmental and industrial measurements. Having educational backgrounds in Industrial Engineering at Aalto, Taneli first joined Vaisala in 2008 as a Summer Trainee in the production. Currently, Taneli works as a Product Manager for airport weather systems.

Starting career as a Summer Trainee in the production

My Vaisala path started in summer 2008 after my first study year, when I worked in manufacturing in industrial instruments assembly. After gaining some work experience at Vaisala, I applied for the Giant Leap internship program next year and was selected. In my project, I conducted a market study on how weather observation data can be used in applications for building automation. The internship definitely met my expectations, as my project was challenging, and I also learned a great deal about the project work generally in corporate environment. During that summer I also got to know interesting people with whom I still keep in contact with.

Growing into Product Manager responsibilities

After Giant Leap, I was hired for a project-based position in which I worked half on product list pricing and half on coordinating internal training for the weather sales personnel. Currently, I have been working for one year as a product manager of our airport weather system. This weather management system is based on complex technology, so I am fortunate to be able to learn something new every day. It is also very motivating to work with such an important issue as aviation safety. My tasks include, for example, sales support and future targets planning, and I am also responsible for the sales tools and the product support material.

Putting studies in Industrial Engineering into practice

I studied at Aalto University School of Science and hold a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, corporate strategy as my major and communications technology as my minor. In general, problem solving skills and the ability to search for information are the most valuable skills that I have learned. Working in a bigger company like Vaisala, you have to be innovative and interested in finding solutions to problems. Therefore, it is essential to be able to see and manage the bigger picture, however not forgetting to find out the details. An important learning experience has been the difference in how things are done in the business world compared to the academic one – you have to always take into account the existing resources, whether it’s money or time. That teaches you to have a healthy perspective in your work that everything shouldn’t and can’t be done perfectly.

Based on my own experience, taking new responsibilities and work assignments is well supported at Vaisala. For me going forward has also been a natural way to develop myself in my career. I have been happy with the amount of responsibility I have been given and the chance to utilize the knowledge I have learned. I enjoy my work, and not least because of my versatile job description: besides supporting the sales personnel with their inquiries, I work closely together with my team and other units across the company.

Vaisala employs over 1,500 professionals in 15 countries, and serves customers in more than 150 countries each year. Vaisala’s technologies provide information on weather and other environmental phenomena for meteorologists, road authorities, wind farms, and tightly controlled industrial environments, for example.

Application period for Vaisala’s summer jobs continues until March 31. If interested, get to know more about summer job opportunities here!