Education is key to success. Every day many people face challenges and make decisions to study further and upgrade their knowledge. Yet getting a study place is not easy, and everyone faces challenges when applying for a study right.
In Finland there is an organization called Open University. it’s an association of fifteen Finnish universities which give access to courses for everyone who is not a student at a university. People have opportunities to study same courses which are taught on Bachelor’s and Master’s programs but at a different time (usually on evenings and weekends). Courses are taught in English, Finnish and Swedish and most of them are of undergraduate university level.
Price
Usually courses through the open university are subject to a fee. At LUT the rate is 10 euro per one credit. A course with 6 ECTS would cost 60 euro.
For whom are the courses in the Open University?
In Finland education is very appreciated and one can study lifelong if he or she wants. Elderly people take courses in order to learn new knowledge, they also improve the process of education by adding their comments and feedback.
Many people start to study after they have made a career and would like change their profession, and it’s quite common to meet an adult student in your group. What I like about it is that students treat each other equally and adult people feel themselves comfortable to study with young people.
Young people benefit from studying at the open university too. Every year new students remain without a place in a university (like if they didn’t pass entrance exams or moved to another city). They can study first-year courses in a chosen field from the Open University and become regular students the next year. That way they manage time efficiently and don’t need to study from the beginning after they finally get in. Credits from open university courses can be accepted to the degree studies.
I studied the course Philosophy of Science, 7 ECTS through the open university at LUT in order to apply for PhD in the School of Business. It’s a prerequisite course for everyone who would like to continue higher education.
