‘The current trend is that vessels are designed more and more specifically for particular markets, and this highlights the importance of both foresight and flexible design solutions’, states Liina Pölönen, MSc in technology.

The topic of her master’s thesis, which was carried out for Meyer Turku Ltd, was Space optimization as a solution for cruise industry future challenges.

‘Space optimisation is a very effective tool because by using space efficiently both the costs and environmental impact of operations can be reduced at the same time’, Pölönen explains.

According to Meyer Turku Oy’s Head of Ship Theory Mikko Ilus, the master’s thesis by Pölönen was quite exceptional, partly because of its interdisciplinary approach.

Master’s thesis might lead to a permanent job

Businesses have many different motives for commissioning master’s theses. The most important thing is that the thesis writer is able to focus on solving a particular problem for a long enough period of time and without pressure to produce results.

‘On the other hand, this is an essential part of personnel development, as half a year gives the student time to develop themselves and learn about the demands of working life and about Meyer Turku as a company’, Ilus points out.

Also, the business is able to assess the master’s thesis writer’s suitability for new tasks, and Ilus believes that all master’s thesis writers are very promising candidates for permanent job positions.

Getting a job with Meyer was also the final outcome for Pölönen, who started work last autumn as a project engineer in the Meyer Turku Sales & Design Department.

Living in Turku, studying in Aalto University

Pölönen graduated as a naval construction engineer from Turku University of Applied Sciences and completed her master’s studies in marine technology at Aalto University while still based in Southwest Finland.

According to Pölönen, FITech improves study opportunities in Turku and works really well for students like herself.

Mikko Ilus is also a fan of FITech, and says that FITech clearly improves students’ opportunities to develop themselves in a practical way.