You must meet these general eligibility criteria to apply for an EDUFI traineeship:

  • You are a Finnish citizen or you have a permanent residence permit in Finland. Your main reason of residence in Finland cannot be studying or another temporary reason.
  • You are a full-time degree student (Bachelor's or Master's degree) at a higher education institution in Finland or abroad.
  • If you  are a recent graduate, the placement should start within one year of your graduation date. Please note that as of 2027 spring application round recent graduates are no longer eligible to apply. 
  • Please note that there is a limited number of placements you can apply for if you are not fluent in Finnish.
  • You can only be selected for an EDUFI traineeship once. If you have previously received a traineeship grant from CIMO, or since 2017 from EDUFI, your application cannot be considered.
  • An EDUFI grant cannot be paid at the same time as an Erasmus+ grant for the same trainee placement.
  • You must be at least 18 years of age.

Exceptions to the general eligibility criteria are mentioned in the relevant placement description. 

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There are three traineeship programmes:

  • Finnish diplomatic missions abroad
  • Finnish cultural and academic institutes
  • Team Finland Knowledge Network

During each EDUFI call for applications you can apply for one or two placements within one traineeship programme. For example, if you apply for a traineeship in Finnish diplomatic missions, you can list two different diplomatic missions you are interested in.

The locations, tasks and grants in these placements are determined in advance. Mark your preferred position as your first choice on the application form, because you can only be pre-selected for one placement. Applicants will be placed to their secondary choices only in exceptional cases.

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The duration and dates of the traineeship are indicated in the placement description. Traineeships normally last from 4 to 6 months.

Placements offered during the February call usually start during the summer or early autumn of that year. Placements offered during the September call will start at the earliest in January of the following year.

Please note that there is a limited number of placements you can apply for if you are not fluent in Finnish.

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We organise two calls for applications each year, the first of which starts in February and the second in September.

The next application round will run from 17 September to 1 October 2026.

  • Available placements will be published at the latest at the start of the call for applications.
  • All applicants will be informed about the results of the pre-selection by email at the latest in the end of April or November for spring and autumn application rounds, respectively.
  • Those selected will receive an EDUFI grant, the amount varies according to the host country.
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  1. Make sure that you meet the general eligibility criteria.
  2. Select a traineeship position that best supports your future plans and that best matches your education and training, possible previous work experience, your language skills and other qualities.
  3. Write a good application on time. Make sure you have all required annexes and reserve time for writing your motivational letter. The online application form will close at 16.15 (4:15 PM) Finnish time on the application deadline date.
  4. At EDUFI, we pre-select applicants who, in addition to meeting the general eligibility criteria, best match the criteria set by the employer and the criteria and requirements listed in the placement description. We normally pre-select 3 to 7 applicants for each position.
  5. You will be informed about the results of the pre-selection by email.
  6. Employers make the final selection. If you have been pre-selected for a placement, be prepared to be interviewed. Interviews are normally done remotely. The employer may interview all or only a few of the pre-selected applicants.
  7. When the employer is a Finnish diplomatic mission, you will be security checked with your permission. A security check will also be carried out if you will be working in the premises of a diplomatic mission even if you would be working for another organisation.
  8. Employers will inform all pre-selected applicants about the final selection.
  9. You don’t need to apply for an EDUFI grant separately. Once the employer has confirmed to us that you have been selected, we will send you information about the grant.
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Pre-selection of applicants is carried out by the Finnish National Agency for Education in accordance with the following criteria:

  • Applications are assessed based on the eligibility criteria for the EDUFI traineeship and the criteria specified in the placement description.
  • We select applicants whose qualifications and experience best match the criteria outlined in the placement description.
  • Priority is given to applicants who do not yet have comparable traineeship experience with a Finnish organization abroad.
  • If two applicants are assessed as having an equal level of competence, preference is given to the applicant who is further advanced in their studies or has recently graduated.
  • An applicant who has indicated the position as a second choice may be selected only if there are few first-choice applicants and none of them adequately meet the required criteria.

Employers make the final selection of trainees.

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The common e-mail address of the EDUFI traineeship team is edufi-harjoittelu [at] oph.fi.

The persons responsible for the different EDUFI traineeship programmes:

Finnish embassies abroad: Päivi Jokinen
Finnish cultural and scientific institutes abroad: Ulla Härmä
Team Finland Knowledge network: Anne Siltala

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