Swedbank's Collaboration with the University of Tartu’s Industrial Master’s Programme in IT Proves Successful

The University of Tartu's Institute of Computer Science is offering the Industrial Master’s Programme in IT for the sixth year running. This practical programme connects companies with talented Master’s students, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Swedbank’s Talent Acquisition Manager, Karin Vahtre, emphasised the programme’s value for both the company and the students. “We give students the opportunity to tackle experimental projects, allowing them to test ideas and help us assess whether certain methods can enhance our other projects,” she explained. Vahtre noted that most Swedbank employees have academic backgrounds, and the programme provides a great way to share their expertise while maintaining strong ties with the academic community.

Through the Industrial Master’s Programme in IT, students familiarise themselves with the partner organisation, work within a team, and apply their academic knowledge to real-world tasks under the guidance of an academic supervisor. Vahtre highlighted the energising effect of having young, curious minds in the workplace: “It’s always refreshing and inspiring to view our processes and ways of working through the eyes of those just starting their careers. It gives us a chance to think about improving our daily work and becoming more innovative. Teaching is also one of the best ways to learn.”

Swedbank participated in the programme for the second year, working with computer science student Mert Bektaş, who wrote their Master’s dissertation on a topic crucial to the company: An Approach for Generating Realistic Synthetic Transaction Data. The research analysed how to create synthetic data for graphs and evaluated methods for comparing synthetic and real data. This research helped Swedbank better manage sensitive data by developing secure synthetic versions for analysis. “The student’s work taught us how to perform evaluations and helped us measure how realistic our synthetic datasets are,” Vahtre said. This year, the company accepted two students in the programme: Anti Karumaa and Annabel Hiiu. 

Swedbank strongly encourages other companies to participate in knowledge transfer programmes. “The University of Tartu’s Industrial Master’s Programme in IT prepares students well for entering the job market and provides companies with access to academic expertise and emerging tech talent,” Vahtre added.

We are looking for partners to participate in the programme in 2025! To join the Industrial Master's Programme in IT, create a position by January 15. Please contact Mari-Anne Suurpere with any questions and instructions for joining the programme. More info on our website.