Meet the new Student Ambassadors of South-West Finland
19.05.2016
Eleven students from the universities of Turku were nominated as student ambassadors of South-West Finland on 11 May 2016 at Turku City Hall.
Muhammad Umer (TUAMK), Christina Athanasopoulou (UTU), Veronika Bauer (ÅA), Minghui Gao (UTU), Ionela Cioaca (UTU), Eftychia Giatsiou (UTU), Emrah Yildir (ÅA) and Tarek Omran (UTU) were nominated as brand new student ambassadors of South-West Finland (from left to right). Kyung-Yeol Chun (Novia AMK), Anna Skuratova (UTU) and Muhammad Yousaf (TUAMK) are not pictured.
The Ambassador Network of South-West Finland is an initiative that aims to support the internationalization of the region through its international talents. On 11 May 2016, eleven international degree students from University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku University of Applied Sciences and from Novia University of Applied Sciences were nominated as student ambassadors.
– The Student Ambassadors have been very carefully selected based on their communication skills and motivation. They all have the desire to connect their home region with Turku and be part of a multicultural team aspiring to make the region more international, says Céline Charpentron, project manager at the Brahea Center.
The mission of the Student Ambassadors is to promote South-West Finland as a study destination and to increase business opportunities in the area through internationalization.
– We are really proud to have you as Student Ambassadors, said Saara Malila, Director of Communications at the City of Turku, at the nomination ceremony.
The six student ambassadors from the University of Turku:
Christina Athanasopoulou is originally from Greece, but has been living in Turku for seven years. Currently she is doing her PhD in Health Sciences (eHealth), has her own YouTube channel and loves promoting Turku.
Ionela Cioaca is from Romania and moved to Turku a year ago. She sees her student ambassador role as a deeply rewarding opportunity and a chance to be the face of South-West Finland in Romania.
Minghui Gao is from China and arrived in Turku in 2008. She is currently studying International Business at Turku School of Economics, is working as a journalist and loves gastronomy.
Eftychia Giatsiou is from Greece and is doing her MA in European Heritage, Digital Media and Information Society. She was inspired to join the Student Ambassador Network in order to be a part of a multicultural environment.
Tarek Omran was born in Abu Dhabi to Egyptian parents. Currently he is a PhD student at the Institute of Dentistry and wishes to take advantage of his travels abroad to promote the region of South-West Finland.
Anna Skuratova was born in Russia and is currently doing an exchange period at the University of Regensburg in Germany. She is doing a double degree MA and is very motivated to promote the Finnish education system.
The student ambassadors will attend regular meetings and competence training sessions in addition to public events and company visits.
The Ambassador Network of South-West Finland is an initiative of the cities of Turku, Uusikaupunki, Rauma and Pori (within Intercity Collaboration of South West Coast of Finland, Finnish abbreviation LOURA) and the POLKU project.
EH
Photographer: Katri Haapalinna