Summary of Career Dinner 

Organized by IFSA and IFSA SAN 

After a long time, IFSA and IFSA SAN (Supporter and Alumni Network) organized another Career Dinner on the 28th of April, 2023. The aim of Career Dinners is to introduce different career opportunities for forestry students after graduation. For this, IFSA and IFSA SAN invite IFSA Alumni that are working in different fields to share their story and career steps before reaching their current jobs.

At the last Career Dinner, we welcomed three incredible speakers to our event: the first speaker we invited was Mikko Nivala to talk about his IFSA past and his career. Mikko currently works as a Solution Owner at UPM Biofore (UPM Forest) and focuses on sustainable forestry. In his presentation, he highlighted the importance of networking during and after studies, and the importance of hands-on experience, e.g. through internships, to develop unique skills. The second speaker we welcomed was Sarah Dickson-Hoyle, who is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia. While Mikko was able to provide great insight into working in the private sector, Sarah shared her experiences in the social and educational sectors and how she discovered her passion for working with people, such as in communities, through IFSA. The third and last speaker we welcomed was Florent Kaiser, CEO of Global Forest Generation and passionate “Ecopreneur.” In his key messages to the participants, Florent highlighted the importance of friends and a good network, not only in our personal lives but also in our professional lives. In this context, he was very happy to have met many people in his close network during his long time at IFSA. After each presentation, the participants had the opportunity to ask the speakers questions or ask for advice for their own situation.

Overall, around 35 participants from various regions joined the event. Based on the positive feedback, IFSA and IFSA SAN are planning to organize the next Career Dinner within the next few months. We would like to thank everyone for joining, and a special thank you goes out to our amazing speakers!

Author: Johanna Klapper