Event programme
Learn from the experts and international alumni!
With five higher education institutes and over 40,000 students, Turku is the city of students. But what does the Southwest Finland region have to offer for international talents after their studies? Study and Stay in Turku is a career show where Turku alumni and recruitment experts share their stories and tips to help international talents find their way to build a meaningful life in Turku, Finland.
The event programme for Study and Stay in Turku 2025 (5 November):
16:00 Doors open and the virtual platform opens
16:30–18:00 Live Show
- Start by Hosts Aima Sajjad and Kamran Aliyev
- Meet our hosts Aima and Kamran.
- Keynote with Q&A – Hassan Merghani: “Knock on the right doors: Build friendships to kickstart your career”
- Career development insights from Hassan Merghani, followed by audience questions.
- Interview of Career Experts Nural Idrisoglu and Roza Pambukchyan
- Meet our career experts and hear about their respective career expertise.
- Panel discussion with Career Experts and Alumni Speakers Benjamin Faez and Mahnoor Mahnoor
- Meet our alumni and listen to an engaging discussion between them and the Career Experts about career-building, studies, and work life. Audience can submit questions.
- Wrap-up by Hosts
- Final words and insights.
18:00–19:00 Networking hour with cocktail bites for on-site audience
18:30 Virtual platform closes
On stage:
Keynote Speaker: Hassan Merghani
“Knock on the right doors: Build friendships to kickstart your career”
Hassan graduated from the University of Turku with a master’s degree in Information Systems Science and Entrepreneurship. He currently works as a Cybersecurity Specialist at Ericsson, fighting the “bad guys” on the internet and helping secure digital communications.
During his time as a student in Turku, Hassan was active in different student associations organizing events, workshops, trips, company visits, and other extracurricular activities both within Finland and abroad, which has opened doors for him outside the campus life. He believes in the power of networking to achieve one’s goals—wherever you want to go, there are always people to help you get there!
Event Hosts
Aima Sajjad is a master’s student in biomedical imaging at the University of Turku, currently finalizing her thesis at the Turku PET Centre. Originally from Pakistan, Aima moved to Turku a year ago and quickly fell for its calm nature, honest people, and Finland’s flexible, opportunity-rich education system.
In the lab, she loves turning complex images into clear, quantitative answers; out of the lab, you’ll find her traveling, shopping for small joys, and meeting new people. As for what’s next, Aima is happily keeping the door open, whether that’s an industry role, a PhD, or another big move! Anything that lets her learn fast, do useful things, and stay curious.
Kamran Aliyev only recently moved to Turku and became part of UTU’s Faculty of Technology, studying for a Master’s degree in ICT Cybersecurity. His main goal is to expand his technical skill base and learn from professionals in the industry. The academic environment that emphasizes real-world solutions is what he appreciates the most.
Besides academics, he finds student life in Turku exciting and uses every opportunity it provides. He is involved in Digit and TurkuSec, volunteers as a coordinator with the Red Cross, and serves as the only international student nominated for the Fuusio panel. He enjoys meeting new people and believes that every encounter brings fresh ideas and perspectives that one might otherwise be oblivious to. Turku’s open and dynamic atmosphere makes it an inspiring place for both study and personal growth.
Career Experts
Nural Idrisoglu is currently working as a Regional HR Team Lead at Wärtsilä. After graduating from Political Science and International Relations, she started her career in HR as an Intern at Benetton, where she became accustomed to Talent Acquisition. Due to her eagerness to learn about rewarding and organizational structures, she moved to British American Tobacco, first as an HR Assistant and then as a member of the newly formed HR Shared Services Team.
Her passion for analogue photography led her to the entrepreneurial path around 2011, and she became the Country Manager for Lomography Turkey, a branch of the Viennese analogue photography brand, where she ran the operations for 10 years. During this time, she moved to Finland, became a mom, and in 2021, decided that she wanted to be part of a bigger team once again. She returned to her first career path and joined Wärtsilä’s People Support Hub team in December 2021. In the last 4 years, she moved from a Specialist to Senior Specialist role and recently became the Team Lead for a regional HR team of 10 HR Specialists.
Roza Pambukchyan is a Service Coordinator of Soft-landing services at International House Turku. Since 2021, she has been supporting internationals relocating to Turku by offering personalized guidance to ease their integration. Her work includes helping newcomers navigate local services, providing career and job-seeking support, and connecting people with local networks and hobbies to help them feel at home in Turku. Having moved to Finland about ten years ago—and lived in Turku for six of those years—Roza now proudly calls the city her home. Her goal is to help newcomers discover their own Turku identity as smoothly and quickly as possible.
With a strong background in education and teaching, Roza approaches each guidance session as a learning opportunity—for both herself and the newcomer. She focuses on identifying individual strengths and exploring ways to further develop them. Roza believes that hard work and a systematic approach lead to broader opportunities and long-term success. Before moving to Finland, she studied and worked across multiple countries and continents. This experience has shaped her belief in the richness of multicultural environments and the value of learning from one another through community.
Outside of work, she enjoys a peaceful life with her multicultural family in a picturesque suburb of Turku
Turku Alumni
Benjamin Faez: Bachelor of Business Administration, International Business, at Turku University of Applied Sciences. Currently working as an Educational Counselor at Turku Adult Education Center.
Mahnoor Mahnoor: MDP in Biomedical Sciences with a major in Biomedical Imaging at University of Turku. Currently employed as Junior Machine Learning Specialist at CSC – IT Center for Science and Technology.