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Ask a Students Ambassador Day for new students!

Do you want to know about studying at the University of Helsinki and living in Helsinki? Or do you have questions concerning  for example housing, social life, language or weather in Finland? Maybe you are still wondering whether to participate in the Intensive Finnish Course for new Master’s Degree Students or not. (Btw. Correct answer is, yes you should 🙂 )

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Luckily, you may get answers to your questions from our International Student Ambassadors, who have been in Finland already at least a year. Our Ambassadors will share their insights and experiences in studies, career and life in Helsinki on 28th May on New Students at the UH -FB-page!

Please notice that ambassadors won’t be answering questions about admissions. For admissions info, please check out admission website.

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Working while studing

Close to seventy per cent of University students work while they study – at least during some periods of their academic career; and most of them manage combine work and study. Mian, one of our International student ambassadors decided to share with you his working life experiences.

mian working_pieni(1)When I came to Finland, I got lucky and found a job through a reference in Itella Posti Oy (Finnish Postal Service). I have been working as an early morning paperboy since 2012.  Being a paperboy suits me very well, as the working time is only 4 hours during the night. So that doesn’t conflict with studies really.

Chances to get a job in Helsinki, depend on your contacts, skills, will and, of course, your luck. I have noticed that, if you know the Finnish language, it is easy to get a student job around the city. Otherwise, it might get a bit trickier but not impossible. Not even close to it.

Many of the international students find summer positions at the university and in most cases contract actually continues throughout their studies. Others like me prefer a job that balances mental and physical tasks.

In my experience, Helsinki is the internationalized city with jobs of different kinds to offer. Nevertheless to get one you have to be active. Good places to start job seeking are departments note boards and an official labour exchange website.

Good to know: University of Helsinki Career services provides all UH students with support in career planning, job seeking, traineeships and thesis commissions. Read more about working while studying.

Text and picture:
Mian Awais Ahmad
International student ambassador

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Vappu – celebrating spring and student life!

Vappu_banner_facebookIt is time to welcome the sun and warmth! The 30th of April and 1st of May it is the time of the big carnevalistic spring celebration: Vappu. Spring has finally arrived and you can see people celebrating all over Helsinki. Many will be wearing the Finnish student cap, ylioppilaslakki, which they got when they graduated from high school.
Continue reading “Vappu – celebrating spring and student life!”

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University phone numbers to change

numerot_isoThe numbers for landline phones at the University of Helsinki will change on Thursday 24 April 2014.

The mobile numbers and short extension numbers currently in use will remain unchanged.

What will change?

Phone numbers which currently begin with the digits 09 191 will begin with 02941 after the changeover;

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Meet our Alumna! Miryam’s advice: Listen intuition, value imagination, love a sense of curiosity, and learn how to sympathize with others

Miryam_headshotMiryam Haarlammert
Study field: Art Theory, Criticism, and Management
Graduation year: 2013
Employer and position: Program and Communications Associate at American Architectural Foundation

Hi Miryam, how did you end up in Finland?

I applied to study at the University of Helsinki after working for a Miami-based nonprofit for a year. I wanted to obtain a Master of Arts, and the Art Theory, Criticism, and Management program at University of Helsinki was attractive because it was dynamic and comprehensive. Also, location and sense of place are important to me, and I knew that I would have to study in a different country, with different values and customs, to obtain the type of education I was seeking. Continue reading “Meet our Alumna! Miryam’s advice: Listen intuition, value imagination, love a sense of curiosity, and learn how to sympathize with others”

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Getting things Finnished!

There are many reasons why people decide to study the Finnish language. It might be the language of their favourite musicians, the almost mythical status that Finnish holds in the domain of the complicated languages or the fact that they are living\intend to live in Finland – for me, it was a mixture of all those.

At first, the language can impresses by its uniqueness: as you might have heard, Finnish bears little resemblance with other European languages and its grammar and vocabulary surely demand a certain stretch of mind from most people. But don’t let that discourage you; the Finnish language can be like that untouched thick book in your last shelf, that just enchants you when you decide to read the first pages!

Veruscka with some other Intensive Finnish Course Students.

A great step to help you getting started in the enterprise of cracking the Finnish Language can be the Intensive Finnish Course, offered by the Helsinki Summer School. If you are accepted to Master’s degree programme, you can apply to this course. I have taken the course in 2013 and it was an invaluable experience; here’s why:
Continue reading “Getting things Finnished!”

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Pääsiäinen – Time for witches, mämmi and chocolate eggs

Do not panic if, on the Sunday preceding Easter, little Easter witches — especially girls — dressed up in colourful clothes and painted cheeks and freckles turn up at your door.

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The witches go from door to door carrying willow twigs decorated with coloured feathers and paper. They recite the traditional rhyme: ”Virvon, varvon, tuoreeks terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks; vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!” meaning “I wave a twig for a fresh and healthy year ahead; a twig for you, and a treat for me!”
Continue reading “Pääsiäinen – Time for witches, mämmi and chocolate eggs”

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Meet our Alumna! The research internship convinced Laura to the academic career

laura sibinescu

Name: Laura Sibinescu
Study field: Political Science
Graduation year: 2012
Employer and position: PhD student, Department of Political and Economic Studies, University of Helsinki

How did you end up in Finland?

A few months before receiving my Bachelor’s degree I started looking into Master’s programmes on European studies. I wasn’t really satisfied with the options until one of my professors suggested I check what the University of Helsinki has to offer. This is how I found the Master’s Degree Programme in European Studies (MES), which was by far the best fit for my interests. There was quite a short time between discovering the programme and coming to Finland, so you could say that my decision to move here was pretty spontaneous. But I’m glad I followed through on it. Continue reading “Meet our Alumna! The research internship convinced Laura to the academic career”

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Helsinki stole my heart and transformed me from Erasmus to Master’s Degree Student

katarinaThe beginning of my international master story dates back to the spring of 2011 when I was deciding where to spend my next semester as an Erasmus exchange student. After a very long consideration of all the other possibilities, I chose Helsinki, a nice city with a well-known university. From the point of view of a real ice-hockey fan, Finland itself seemed like a very interesting country and promised a lot of unforgettable experiences. Though, at that time I didn’t know that this place will reserve a special spot in my heart forever. Continue reading “Helsinki stole my heart and transformed me from Erasmus to Master’s Degree Student”

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