ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A VIABLE CAREER OPTION FOR FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN FINLAND

ABSTRACT Eugene Chiboma. Entrepreneurship as a viable career option for foreign/international students in Finland. Helsinki, Autumn 2016, 62 p., 2 appendices. Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki Unit, Degree Programme in Social Services. UAS This research seeks to find out if entrepreneurship is a possible career option for foreign students in Finland. The theory part of the study includes review of some of the earlier theories on entrepreneurship and some of the measures the Finnish government has put in place to motivate and encourage entrepreneurship in Finland. The research methodology used involved conducting three qualitative interviews of a semi-structured nature. The first interview was a case study of a successful foreign entrepreneur based in Helsinki. The interview with a Finnish student entrepreneur, who started her company upon graduation, and a focus group interview with three Finnish Master level students, who have decided to take up entrepreneurship as a career, were used in the triangulation process of validating the claims of the foreign entrepreneur. The findings indicate that for the foreign national’s job dissatisfaction and the difficulty in finding employment that befits their qualification are the main motivating factors for taking up entrepreneurship. The challenges the respondents of the individual interviews both Finnish and foreign mentioned were high taxes, low sales and high operation costs. The research has shown that entrepreneurship can be a viable career option for foreign students in Finland. However, it requires perseverance and understanding that it requires a high degree of commitment and hard work, belief and confidence. The reliability of the findings is enhanced by the fact that triangulation was used for validation. This thesis is useful not only to foreign students wishing to take up entrepreneurship but also to the educational institutions in terms of giving career guidance to their students, and government agencies tasked to encourage entrepreneurship as a means of enhancing economic growth but also a solution to unemployment. Key words: entrepreneurship, career, foreign students Qualitative Researc