Bringing students and business together, in a shared and relaxed environment, the ice can be broken much sooner, allowing for true insights into how individuals operate, solve problems, collaborate and innovate with those around them.
LABeko2 ‒ network, develop, internationalise, succeed (LAB 2023) seeks to collaborate with entrepreneurs, startups, established businesses both local and international. Creating tangible networks can be facilitated at LAB University of Applied Sciences between business and student.
Hackathon events attract the most eager students with the courage to showcase their knowledge and interest, allowing for quality insight into the interests and motivation of the participants.
There is a clear benefit for international students, to introduce themselves to local business, making networking opportunities happen. As well, It is possible for international businesses to network with local Finnish students, providing an international business network in Lappeenranta and the South Karelia region. Getting to know LAB students can also provide fresh ideas and new perspectives for businesses while showcasing the potential in South Karelia.
An example of practical collaboration
On Tuesday, 14th November, LABeko2 ‒ network, develop, internationalise, succeed (LAB 2023) collaborated with PikaPay, in a pilot hackathon event. The goal was to build a network between participating students and PikaPay ‒ a young start-up company, founded by three students at LAB University of Applied Sciences, their vision, to make self-service available everywhere (PikaPay 2023) using their innovative self-service mobile app ‒ by providing students the opportunity to show their talent in problem solving, innovating and presenting their ideas.
The students were presented two tasks provided by PikaPay and had two hours to innovate in a relaxing, collaborative environment. The students showcased their skills in either marketing or sales, and the event ran for 5 hours in total.
The participants were introduced to the PikaPay founders. During the event, students had the opportunity to approach the founders and ask for advice or opinions throughout the innovation process, while getting to know each other in a relaxed environment.
Events like this aim to bring a diverse variety of students together both Finnish and international, to cultivate networking among students and businesses. While the focus of the pilot event was marketing and sales, the hackathon concept could be applied to a variety of fields and companies, based on the interest of the company or students.
LABeko2 project at LAB strives to cultivate entrepreneurship, networking, innovation and internationalisation. The door is open for companies and entrepreneurs, to network with Finnish and International talent available at LAB, by providing students the practical opportunity to express and showcase their knowledge, under the criteria of the potential companies’ specific needs.
Author
Karl Osborne is a part-time project worker in the LABeko2 project at Lab University of Applied Sciences.
References
LAB. 2023. LABeko2 – network, develop, internationalise, succeed. LABeko2 – verkostoidu, kehitä, kansainvälisty, menesty. Project. LAB University of Applied Sciences. Cited 21 Nov 2023. Available at https://lab.fi/fi/projekti/labeko2-verkostoidu-kehita-kansainvalisty-menesty
PikaPay. 2023. About Us. Cited 21 Nov 2023. Available at https://www.pikapay.fi/about-us
