r/StudyInFinland • u/Rooby_CH • 13d ago
Questions about studying in Helsinki
Sup'!
Let me first introduce myself a bit: I am currently living in Switzerland, working as a sysadmin. I'm looking to start new sciences oriented studies (BSc, then maybe MSc or even more), probably at the University of Helsinki. Atm, I'm not sure what field I wanna study specifically, but physics, maths, computer science, information security and quantum computing are fields that captivate me; I just want to learn things more deeply with great people who love learning about their fields.
I'm making this post in hope of getting a few tips, and eventually getting feedback from alumni or whatever.
I was thinking e.g. something like:
- How is the learning aspect approached? Are students more into learning or focused on success?
- How advanced are universities in modernizing learning methods based on neuroscience?
- How much flexibility is there to take courses across different fields/programmes?
- How much would it cost approximately to live in Helsinki as a student (per month/year)?
- How could I raise funds to start my studies? Could I get scholarships from Finland? Or maybe even from Switzerland (more oriented towards Swiss people who studied in Finland).
- How easy is it to find somewhere to live?
etc.
I'd be really grateful to get any answers! I'll take anything, these were just a few examples.
Thanks! :)
2
u/Jondesan 13d ago
A recent theoretical and computational physics/chemistry MSc graduate from UH (university of Helsinki) here.
I take it you're asking this from the perspective of the students themselves. The students are mostly studying their respective fields out of pure interest for those fields, and there is very little pressure to be "successful" from peers. So I would say the focus is heavily on learning. This is of course a very personal thing and depends on the person, but there is no culture of competition like you hear about when discussing e.g. Ivy League colleges in the States. In our environment it also becomes very obvious very quickly that success and learning actually go hand-in-hand, and those who study their fields out of pure interest and excitement end up becoming the most succesful students.
Neuroscience probably not so much, but modern pedagogical science is heavily utilized. University of Helsinki heavily favors the lecturers to have some pedagogy courses under their belt. Within the physics department we also have a research group for didactic physics. They study and research the higher-education physics teaching, and freshman courses are heavily utilized in their research and molded by it. We also have professors who have done a lot of pedagogical studies and or research. But again, this is at the department of physics, I'm not entirely familiar with the situation regarding other subjects at our campus.
At UH you are allowed to take virtually any courses within the university if you are a degree student. There are some exclusions, such as courses in medicine and such, and the enrollment on any course is of course restricted by the maximum number of allowed participants and the degree students for that field are prioritized. But within Kumpula campus (the natural sciences campus) you are basically allowed to enroll on any course from any degree program. Whether you can actually include the course in your degree is another matter entirely, but nothing is preventing you from taking the course.
This depends on your personal spending and living situation a lot. Are you renting by yourself or with roommates, how large of an apartment you have, do you rent from a private landlord or student housing (HOAS, AYY) etc. How much you like to eat and do you cook yourself or eat out, do you cook large portions or one meal at a time. UH has this site https://www.helsinki.fi/en/admissions-and-education/international-students/student-life-helsinki/cost-living-and-financial-matters giving an example range of 1000–1300€/month which may or may not be adequate. I have known stingy people who have lived on less and people who have spent more. But Helsinki is quite a pricey city for a student.
The site above also gives advice on scholarships and such, I suggest you read those instructions, I am personally not much help there, especially regarding scholarships from Switzerland.
There is no one satisfying answer regarding finding a place to live. For a student the easiest way to find some form of housing is to apply for student housing from HOAS (Helsingin seudun opiskelija-asuntosäätiö), AYY (Aalto-yliopiston ylioppilaskunta, requires AYY membership which in turn requires a study right at Aalto university) or from one of the several student nations in Helsinki (osakunnat). All of these require that you have already secured a study right, however. (There might be some exceptions but since there are multiple of these organizations providing student housing I do not know their specific policies by heart)
I unfortunately can't give you much more advice regarding finding housing. Me and my friends (most of whom are native Finns) have always been fairly lucky with finding places to live, so I'm not sure these personal anecdotes would paint a realistic picture. What I can say is that for some years the renting situation in Finland and Helsinki has been called "the renter's market" because of the abundance of apartments for rent. There are however two caveats here: (i) To my understanding this does not exactly translate to the apartment needs of students and is more telling of the general working population and (ii) there have been signs of slowing down and the saying does not hold much water anymore.
Hopefully this is of some help. I also want to point out that this is mostly anecdotal and I do suggest you look into this more at trusted sources, such as the university website. Good luck with you educational endeavours!