Barbara Krasser

I spent my semester abroad in Oulu which was one of the greatest experiences in my life. Going there all alone, living four months in another country and speaking English every day scared me a bit before I left but soon I recognized that I don’t have to be scared and that this was the best decision I could have made. I learned to know some Finish students who are really friendly and always a helping hand. Especially I want to mention that my tutor Elina was a great help in the first weeks.

I attended the Oulu University of Applied Sciences where I had a lot of interesting courses, not only business courses but also mechanical engineering courses. What I recognized is that the teaching methods are completely different to Austria. In Finland they place value on learning independently and nearly everything we learned was from group works and projects.

In Oulu I lived in a student’s dormitory near the University with all the other exchange students. I learned to know so many people with different cultures which was really interesting for me because I like to “compare” the different norms and values of the different cultures to try to understand how people live and see the world.

So, if you are thinking of going abroad to Finland you should be prepared to meet great people, to go by bike everywhere and even when it is snowing, to experience the cold and dark weather, to see the Northern Lights, to do ice swimming and to go to a lot of stunning trips!