The Career Day in Umea University

Uniaden is one of the biggest fairs for students in Sweden aimed at students’ and graduates’ employment. It is held each last Tuesday of January in a small city of Umea in the north of Sweden since 1994. The fair’s aim is to give students and companies a possibility to communicate.

One of the distinguishing features of the fair is the fact that the communication between students and employers goes not as an interview, but as a talk of two interested parties. The companies that take part in the fair pay considerable fees for the participation. In the result they obtain a big profit. As the organizers of Uniaden explained: “After hiring an employee, he makes profit for a company only after some time – it takes from about 3 to 6 months. This happens as the company incurs losses during the workplace organization and salary payment. However, at the moment company doesn’t know what the employee can do and which work suits him best. As well the employee doesn’t know what work he will do, if he is capable for it and if it brings satisfaction to him. In case of disappointment the majority of employees leave the company before starting making profit for it. As opposed to this, in Uniaden both future employees and employers have a possibility to look for what they need without spending time and money for attempts and mistakes. Thus the employee will make profit for the company already after month’s work.”

It’s not obviously for companies to hire students for regular work – they can propose them to work half-day or summer work, or just a possibility to write their thesis on the basis of the company’s work. This is done for student to see possibilities which a company can give him and for company to see what student can bring to it as a worker. Many employers pay students for writing their thesis on the basis of company’s work depending on the thesis assessment in the university. If an enterprise is interested in hiring a student, they can talk in a special negotiations room. Each year some new idea is implemented in Uniaden.

This year organizers of Uniaden tried to realize the idea of many-colored badges. Each color corresponds to some speciality. Thus passing by a company’s stand student will see which specialist it needs.

But many companies attend fair without need in employers. For example, representative of Volvo, where many workers were fired because of crisis, says: “We work for future, though we have some problems now, the crisis is temporary, and when it will end we’ll need a lot of qualified specialists. Then why can’t we search for them right now?”

The exhibition organizers also mentioned that the fair works like advertising of companies, as Uniaden is attended by thousands of students. This is much more efficient and profitable than e.g. placing ads in newspapers. Organizers of the fair say: “This is the same as in the shop, only “purchase” is a job in the company, and the “goods” sold by university is its students’ knowledge and skills. First that attracts attention by entering the fair is a huge number of students and companies. The fair is attended by more than 75% of the whole university, and it makes Uniaden one of the most visited events of the academy.

Among companies that visited it were international giants like Volvo or IKEA as well as many Swedish local enterprises. Organizers consider presence of big companies on the fair to be a big achievement, as they serve as a magnet owing to their authority on the market – a lot of other enterprises will attend the fair after seeing them on it.

Fair’s organization completely depends on students, and each year one student becomes free from lessons especially for all-day work on the fair. This student becomes a leader of the project. He can choose several students as helpers. This team becomes Uniaden’s organizers. Team of Uniaden 2009 consists of 10 people. Each had his role – leader, leader’s deputy, PR manager, logistics manager, responsible for the fair catalogue, advertising manager, manager of contact with companies, afterparty organizer, exhibition coordinator, manager of contact with sponsors.

To organize Uniaden, one needs about 1 000 000 kronas. The fair is sponsored mainly by students’ unions (about 50%). Also financial support comes from companies that launch the fair (average fees for each company is more than 20 000 kronas) and sponsors (not always money gathered from enterprises are enough – for such case they look for 1-2 sponsors each year). University costs are used as well. It also gives a place to settle a fair (this year it was canteen), students that help to equip a place for fair, and accompanying students for companies.

Students’ unions are organizations, which enters each student at the moment of university entering and depending of the speciality. For entrance one must pay a small fee which goes to the union fund, from which they take money for events for students like Uniaden. To take part in UNiaden, a company should pay 14 000 to the University’s fund. It includes:

• - area of 2 m²;
• - 1 socket of 230V;
• - table;
• - Internet access;
• - 2 tickets to the dinner;
• - 1 page in the catalogue;
• - lunch for two people;
• - hotel – university transportation;
• - one accompanying student.

Accompanying student meets the company representatives in the morning before the fair, helps them to organize a stand and accompanies them during the fair. Moreover, companies can pay for assignment of additional services. For additional payment company can have:

• - additional area of 1 m² – 1000 kronas;
• - additional lunch – 650 kronas;
• - dish for candies – 25 kronas;
• - tickets to the bar – 35 kronas;
• - flowers – 250 kronas;
• - stand for brochures – 350 kronas.

Almost all companies used additional services. Also many companies organized contests where one can get prizes. It was organized to get students’ interest in company’s stand and activity.

As it was mentioned before, the fair is completely organized by students. They make everything, from contacting enterprises to advertising campaign. Preparation to Uniaden takes 9 months from April till January. About 150 students are involved, 10 of them manage the process. Others mainly help on the day of the exhibition: accompany enterprises and help in solving of administrative issues. That’s how the organizational plan goes:

• - February: searching for the new project leader and providing him with the information about fair.
• - March – April: search for the organization team, discussion of the theoretical issues.
• - May – July: search for the enterprises that will be interested in participation and sponsors. Sponsorship is not only a financial help. They search for sponsors in electricity, furniture branches etc. Except financial help sponsors pay about 50 000 kronas. For this sponsor company gets advertising support during Uniaden. This year Uniaden didn’t succeed to find sponsors and was held at the expense of the organizers’ resources.
• - August: discussion of the fair, making a plan and schedule of organizers’ work.
• - September: meetings of team, sending of invitations to the enterprises. Then they call to the invited enterprises regularly to know their decision and to specify organizational issues.
• - October: the communication with enterprises continues.
• - November: beginning of the fair’s catalogue preparation. Search for accompanying students.
• - December: negotiation with sponsors. Pause due to winter holidays.
• - Middle of January: 2 weeks before exhibition they call to enterprises again to specify if they take part in Uniaden and discuss organizational issues.
• - End of January: 2 days before the exhibition they mark places where the enterprises will place their stands. 1 day before the exhibition (18:00-21:00) the stands are placed. After the fair the students’ survey is held.
• - February: communication with the next Uniaden leader, passing the experience to him.

The perspective of the Career Day implementation in NMetAU

To organize the Career Day the following is required:

• - to begin the preparation to the exhibition not later than 6 month before it. The search for the enterprises should be done first.
• - to decide the date, format and enterprises number of the exhibition.
• - to make agitation work among students. The exhibition information should be spread inside the academy by means of newspaper articles, announcements on stands and academy web-pages. Announcements should include the information about the aim of the exhibition and the enterprises which will take part.
• - to analyze enterprises which could cooperate with academy both as exhibition participants and sponsors for joint projects realization. Well-known companies & companies with big potential should be selected.
• - at the moment of the exhibition preparation one should speak to enterprises and tell about the event idea for their understanding of the exhibition aim.
• - to cooperate with students. One should select initiative, punctual and devoted students.
• - the academy’s administration should also be initiative.
• - in Uniaden companies’ costs go to student unions. In Sweden each faculty has its union. Owing to Uniaden they receive financial support for other projects. In NMetAU Career’s Day should be aldo paid in future. The fee shouldn't be high, but it should cover the expenses.

Swedish experience will help us to make the Career’s Day on the high level, as it showed us the system of the exhibition creation and told about the way from the first day until the ultimate goal.

All nine months we were working for the one day.

- Eylive Hagg, head of Uniaden 2009.

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