Are you all about science and technology? Would you like to develop your skills and use them to tackle the greatest challenges of our time? VTT might be just the place for you – apply now for VTT Summer of Changemakers 2025 traineeships! 

VTT is one of the leading applied research organisations in Europe. What unites us are curiosity, a passion for learning, and a purpose: to solve the biggest challenges of our time and turn them into sustainable growth and well-being. Our cross-disciplinary community of over 2300 brilliant minds from over 55 different nationalities is focused on creating impact through science-based innovation. Now, we are looking for passionate changemakers – you – to join us as summer trainees.

Our last summer's trainees rated their summer job experience at VTT 4.6/5 in Oikotie's Responsible Summer Job survey. Below are some excerpts from their feedback when asked what was the best part of their summer job:

“Great team, interesting tasks, enough responsibility, and opportunities to make an impact.”
“I got to know a lot of professionals from different fields with this summer job. So, networking is the best part.”
“Interesting projects, nice and helpful colleagues, work-life balance, and equal treatment with permanent colleagues.”

Do you want to be our next Research Trainee in our Structural Materials team? 

As a Research Trainee, your key goals are to support the development of tools and methodologies for circular use of structural materials and components. In this position, you will have an essential role in addressing the challenges related to qualification and assessment of materials for reuse and evaluation of their environmental impact beyond their current lifecycle.

Our team works on the development and testing of sustainable materials for buildings and infrastructures, assessment, modelling and extension of their service life, and developing solutions for their circular use in building products and systems.

What would your responsibilities as a Research Trainee include?

• You will work in the international research & innovation project and collaborate with the partners from VTT and other European organisations to fulfil its goals.
• You will familiarise yourself with the methods and tools for the ageing management, life cycle assessment (LCA) and circularity assessment used in our work.
• You will communicate with Finnish and international organisations about their needs and experiences with the new circular processes such as design for deconstruction, selective demolition, recycling and reuse.
• You will contribute to the development of new solutions and strategies to support decision making in the area.

Who we are looking for?

• You are passionate about improving the quality and environmental performance of buildings and infrastructure.
• You have background in civil engineering (or related areas such as structural, environmental or material engineering, or architecture).
• You have a basic knowledge about the building lifecycle and principles of LCA. 
• You can communicate, read and write technical texts in English. Finnish language is not a strict requirement, but advantage.
• Existing proficiency in programming (e.g. Python, VBA), building design (e.g. in Revit, ArchiCAD, Tekla structures), building information modelling (BIM/IFC), modelling ontologies (e.g. in Protégé) and system dynamics modelling (e.g. in Vensim) is advantage, and you should expect to learn, develop and use some of those skills during your work.

As a person, we hope that you are:

• a curious mind, who is eager to develop and take on new challenges,
• a team player with strong collaboration skills who wants to drive a positive impact in the world,
• able to think independently and out-of-the-box.

What would we offer you?

• Impactful work for the future. As a leading applied research organisation, we are on a mission to bring exponential hope to the world by joining together people, businesses, science and technology. We tackle the biggest challenges of our time – from climate change and resource sufficiency to industrial renewal and smart healthcare – and turn them into sustainable growth. Read more about our strategy – the path of exponential hope.
• Career opportunities, top-level mentors. At VTT, your skills are appreciated and supported with the opportunity to learn from the top experts in their field. You’ll get to discover our community of over 2300 experts representing more than 55 nationalities working across cutting-edge fields of science and technology.
• Meaningful projects, real responsibility. With us, you get to take on meaningful projects and create innovative scientific and technical solutions. We treat all employees as equals and give you real responsibility from the start. VTT is a caring employer that supports your growth and work–life balance and offers a range of well-being services.

What is like to work with us solving the biggest challenges of our time? Check from the video what kind of experiences Aymara, Daniil, Eric and Isabella had from their summer traineeships and what kind of change did they drive.

Apply now and join our community of brilliant minds!

Come, curious minds and clever changemakers! Prepare your CV and cover letter, and send in your application with your transcript of records via our recruitment system as soon as possible but at the latest by 2 February 2025. Let’s change the world for the better next summer.

All VTT Summer of Changemakers traineeships are paid, and the salary is determined based on study credits: for Master's students the monthly salary is between 2600€ and 2800€, and for Bachelor's students the monthly salary is between 2100€ and 2400€. The typical duration of traineeships is between 3 and 6 months, with start dates usually falling between March and June, however the length and the exact starting date can be discussed with the hiring team. 

Please read more of VTT Summer of Changemakers from here: https://www.vttresearch.com/en/summer-changemakers

Interested and want to hear more?

For further information, please contact Senior Scientist Petr Hradil by e-mail to petr.hradil@vtt.fi, or calling +358 40 020 9593 on 15.1.2025, 22.1.2025 or 29.1.2025 from 14:00 to 15:00 (Finnish time zone).

We will process applications as they come in, and fill in the position as soon as we find the right candidate. We will inform all applicants about the continuation of the process during February 2025. Most of the interview will be held in February-March, however they can be started already during the application period. 

We look forward to hearing from you!