weitere Erfahrungsberichte für Finnland
Land:
Finnland
Universität:
Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Rovaniemi
Semester und Studiengang:
3. Semester Bachelor Tourismusmanagement
Aufenthalt:
wintersemester 2016
Über die Universität:
The university is well organized and during our orientation week we received lots of advice and help to have a good start in Finland (for example how to get the Finnish identity code). The only thing I would change is the free pick up date, because it is exactly one day before the orientation week begins. That gives you no time to settle in without a rush and to explore the city of Rovaniemi beforehand.
The university itself is very nice and modern, there is a big library where you can print for free. The cantine offers big meals (bread, salad, soup, main dish plus drinks) for 2,40 euros, which is nothing compared to the regular prices in Finland. It is actually cheaper to eat in the university than to precook at home!
The way of studying in class is different from studying at a German university. Already on the first day you will get a lot of assignments and deadlines, but then again the semester finishes way earlier. I also had to get used to constantly work in groups again, as only some of the assignments had to be worked on individually.
Betreuung vor Ort:
On the free pick up day we already had the chance to meet our tutors, who welcomed us at the airport and after the arrival in Kuntotie (apartments of the exchange students) they led us to our rooms. The next day they picked us up again and walked all the way to the university to show us the route. After the first orientation day was over, we immediately contacted our tutors and asked them to help us find a bike. They had lots of advice for us and bargained for cheaper prices. Later in the semester, they organized a free get together weekend in a cottage somewhere in the woods, with games and meals. All in all, we could always contact them for help and I really appreciate all their kind efforts.
I had a shared room in a shared apartment from DAS and I recommend you to apply for one as well. Even if it would have been nice to have a living room and not just the kitchen as a possible area to sit down, there is no reason to complain for a rent of 120 euros per month. We also had two bathrooms and WIFI. Six persons per apartment seems a lot, but we had a great international experience together and became friends that will definitely see each other in the future. What should be enhanced by DAS is that there are no utilities whatsoever, neither in the kitchen nor in the bathroom, so you have to buy towels and kitchen utensils upon arrival. That also applies for the bedroom, as there is only a mattress, which means: bring your own pillow and bed sheets as well as a sleeping bag (that you could also use for trips).
Tipps:
I highly recommend you to come to Rovaniemi, Lapland if you like to explore the best school system of Europe and get to know the Finnish way of living! As I love snow and as winter is my favourite season of the year, by hindsight I would have loved to start another semester in January, as the real cold begins in that month. But we were also lucky this year, because we had the possibility to experience an early winter in late November! You should definitely try to do all the winter activities you usually cannot do: snowmobiling, a husky and a reindeer sledge ride, hiking in the snowy landscape, looking for Northern lights,... and beside the winter season, autumn in Rovaniemi is beautiful as well! In total I participated in three larger trips: the one to St. Petersburg was perfectly organized by ESN Lapland and I suggest you to sign up for it as soon as you can. The other two trips were by car and by train with a group of friends and made me end up on the Lofoten, Norway (if you love hiking this is the perfect destination) and in Helsinki and Tallinn (the standard trips that everybody does :-)).
I also recommend you to get the monthly unlimited internet of SONERA for 20 euros per month, as it always has a better signal than any wifi and is the cheapest option of being able to stay in contact with your family and do research wherever you want to.
You should also consider that Finland is a rather expensive country. Therefore you should definitely save up a lot of money beforehand.
A bike is essential as the distance between the university, the apartments and the city centre is rather long.