Did you know that even if you come to Finland from another country to study full time you can travel for an exchange abroad?
Best destinations from Finland are USA, California, South Korea and France.
Kaisa Nikku, LUT International Service coordinator
Every year the amount of international students who would like to study abroad grows. Selections are made by student ranking which includes:
1. Study program compatibility (if there are available courses in a foreign university in your field and they match your study program).
2. You credit score and exam marks (better scores = better chances to be selected).
The exchange program to Europe is ERASMUS and it’s funded with about 1000 euro per exchange semester. Usually this amount fully covers round trip and accommodation.
Destinations other than EU countries are supported by university grants. For example when going to Asia you get about 700 euro.
Every year there is a lottery at LUT. Winner gets an exchange place without competition. The popularity of the program is extremely huge. Both Finnish and international students would like to experience studying and living in another culture and environment.
I studied in Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia and got grants to exchange twice, from Vienna University of Technology (Austria) and Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium).
I’m happy of my international experiences. Now I have really close friends from Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. It helps me in life to be so international minded and cultural experienced =)
Study risks
There is also a backside of going to an exchange, so it’s better to be prepared to face unexpected circumstances earlier than later:
Many students have experienced conflicts in study programs only after they have moved abroad. If it hasn’t been fixed in time it will be difficult to accept study credits at the alma mater university after coming back.
For example, I’ve had a suitable bachelor course in my first exchange in Vienna which has been accepted by my home university. When I’ve arrived to the first lecture the course has been taught for Masters students in German language because there hasn’t been enough of international students. There hasn’t been any other substitution, so I had to make an exam only after the arrival back to Tomsk in the following semester and study all the group work by myself. It’s been very tough because we have had many ongoing courses with exams at the same time.
There might be much more work to do after you come from an exchange semester back, so be ready for that.
