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Gap between university services and other services

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Gap between university services and other services

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It could be hard to switch "service provider" from university services to national services. The information might be spread out on many government sites.

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Helpless feeling, when time to start studies is running out, embassy is telling to contact WFS, and WFS is not able to handle application due to backlog of applications. Students sometimes send messages to their countries embassies in Finland for help.

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during covid-19 all friends moved back to their home cities and had to find new friends (hard)

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found hobbies mainly through student housing company (clubs)

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What it is for? What will you get with it? What are you allowed to do with it (healthcare, ID, bank account..) What citizen services are you entitled into?

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information from the local events, from the university, through studies

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would stay, if you get a job or your living in general, enough language skills

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you get information from you own university. About doctoral-studies there is not that much information available how everything goes.

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..has good local services and english-speaking staff but you do not get services or you dont know about those services (help to write a cv or look for jobs). Services are there but after studies (not for traineeships or part-time jobs)

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would be useful for arranenging things

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Not clear because degree students and exchange students have differents services

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Play an important role before arriving and after arriving to Finland

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Not clear what kind of insurance was suitable and where to get it and what it was covered compared to requirements. Had to get a really expensive insurance just in case.
Mental health issues are not covered by many insurance.

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People look at you strangely when you sit down in front of them in public transport and smile when you make eye contact. Usually they are looking to see who is sitting in front of them when you sit down. Out of respect I look at the floor or my phone when traveling so not to make "locals" uncomfortable with basic human interaction.

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Banks needed printed evidence of certain documents. Getting access to printing services is confusing and unknown to most people arriving for the first time.

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Having to reapply and not being able to apply for the length of the study period is problematic and costly for students.

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This is more of a question, will underemployment happen here for migrants who have studied? If not hired directly by the university or through a trusted contact, are the only jobs that are more easily available less skilled and not connected to the field of study? I know of international students working the night shift to deliver at Posti or in restaurants to make ends meet. This is not relevant work experience in their industries to help future employment.

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Trust is a foundational concept of Finnish civil society. It is also reflected in employment. Employers seem to one someone that has been vetted, usually through a trusted contact or organisation. Not having this can make applying for a position in your industry difficult.

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Many jobs or summer places require Strong Finnish language skills. For example, Reaktor was recruiting for summer jobs. I knew 11 people that applied and 10 did not speak finnish, it was the 1 person that spoke finnish that was accepted for an interview. So more clearly stating the language requirements as well .

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This was a relatively straightforward process for me in 2018. If I had any questions I would contact student services and they would guide me. Some issues I had were that contacting the university was difficult because of the limited opening hours they had. If I attempted to contact someone in my school and they did not pick-up the phone, it would be redirected to someone else from another school. So it was difficult at times to get an answer to some questions.

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Logic and structure of Finnish Supermarkets are different from ones in Australia/Malaysia/UK/Germany/France. Also the product offering does include domestic foods which can be totally foreign if you've never been introduced to them.

Understanding the different products and the ingredients. Vary rarely do they have information in English. So I have spent a lot of time standing in the supermarket and translating things. Especially if you have dietary restrictions too.

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Finnish job seeking websites could provide more services for the english speaking job seekers, since such websites in the Finnish version look far better organised and offer more options 

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Finnish job seeking websites could provide more services for the english speaking job seekers, since such websites in the Finnish version look far better organised and offer more options 

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If you need to deposit cash into your bank account, you need to have proof of origin, such as withdrawal receipt, or Foreign Exchange receipt. This information is not shared anywhere until you are trying to deposit the cash.

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HOAS does not accept cash payment, as many international students may do. So they have to ask a friend to transfer the money. AYY does through their office. And via private, that agreement has to be made with the person you are renting from.

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HOAS and AYY was not able to give an answer about housing with enough advance notice, so I had organised private accomodation for my own peace of mind. So some information that a housing offer will come in a timely manner. I had a fear that I would not have time to get housing because by July/August most of the housing would be gone.

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https://jyu.jobteaser.com/fi/dashboard

https://thehub.io/

https://jobs.workinfinland.fi/

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Cost of living requirements have made it challenging for students wanting to continue their studies and who have had their income sources reduced due to the pandemic.

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not all students have housing organised before arriving. Emergency housing that is of reasonable cost will be a big help. This way students can feel safe and supported as they begin their studies in a new and foreign place

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Where to keep your bags between staying in a hostel and moving into your housing

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Discovering that I was not able to purchase things online because my bank wouldn't authorise the transaction. This was because I did not have a Finnish ID card. So this also impacted my ability to log-in to other websites and meant i had to spend €60 euros to get this Finnish ID card from Poliisi. This was only valid for as long as my visa was, so I had to pay for this twice, approximately €110.

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Banking was straightforward, with the exception of Danske Bank which required an appointment in advance. I walked into Nordea bank and set-up an account with my passport, residence permit card, ID number, and confirmation of enrolment.

I have heard that some students don't always receive their ID number with their residence cards and need to get it from DVV  or VERO. This takes some time and students are not able to establish a bank account immidiately.

There is some waiting time involved before the account can be live and requires that you already have a Finnish mobile phone. Not all students get a Finnish mobile due to the extra expense they cannot afford.

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usually, by the time close to the arrival, the students are actively messaging with tutors, follow different Facebook groups of the local city community, so they are quite prepared. But generally, a lot of students face the problem of arriving in the empty apartment, and especially now when they have to remain in the quarantine - that is a huge issue 

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usually, by the time close to the arrival, the students are actively messaging with tutors, follow different Facebook groups of the local city community, so they are quite prepared. But generally, a lot of students face the problem of arriving in the empty apartment, and especially now when they have to remain in the quarantine - that is a huge issue 

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Bank transaction fee was not clear and asked the university for clarification. I was given a number and added that to the transaction. In the end there was more money taken in the form of fees.

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I have applied to New York University & Royal College of the Arts, London. Application process was defined by their forms. Quite straight forward and similar to Aalto's. Requiring you to establish an account, submit information and documents.

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I submitted my application with a motivation letter, some test scores etc on the studyinfo.fi portal and instructions were made very clear on the university website and studyinfo portal as well.

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The location of my study campus had changed, the information had not been updated on the Programme website, so I organised housing for the old campus and not the new campus.

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Searched a limited number of websites to find housing costs

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Information on living in Finland was a bit of the tricky issue because every city is different and most of the information I found was not telling about Jyväskylä, but abut Helsinki, and the smaller cities are a bit different from the capital. 

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Information on living in Finland was a bit of the tricky issue because every city is different and most of the information I found was not telling about Jyväskylä, but abut Helsinki, and the smaller cities are a bit different from the capital. 

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Cost of living was considered at the same time as considering the studies

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findamasters.com, mastersportal.com were a few degree aggregators that I found the course on. 

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findamasters.com, mastersportal.com were a few degree aggregators that I found the course on. 

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As the previous commenter, I have also visited a friend who was studying in Lappeenranta SAIMA AMK, and I understood that this type of studies and wellbeing that students have in Finland, are the best:) 

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As the previous commenter, I have also visited a friend who was studying in Lappeenranta SAIMA AMK, and I understood that this type of studies and wellbeing that students have in Finland, are the best:) 

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Provided helpful information on how the application process was

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I submitted my application via the Aalto University platform.

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The course was something exclusive to Finland, which is what guided my choice.

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University of Jyväskylä had the concept of student ambassadors for each masters course, which made it easier to reach out to current students. The website of the university was enough to give basic information.
However, I did find some blogs on student life from JAMK which were helpful though they were almost 2-3 years old.

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Googled "Industrial Design Master's Helsinki" and was taken to a degree aggregator website.

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I visited Finland to meet a friend and saw Human Centred Design implemented in real life. Peaked my interest to study here

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In Russia there are such services like "Nordic School" and "I class" in Saint-Petersburg and Moscow. They help young people to apply to the foreign universities and mostly the Finnish ones, for example JAMK has the partnership with Nordic School that Russian students can do the entrance examinations in St-Petersburg for the Applied Sciences Universities, Also, these companies have all the information about the universities on their websites and can help with the application for certain fee. They also provide consulting sessions on the living experience and studies. 

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In Russia there are such services like "Nordic School" and "I class" in Saint-Petersburg and Moscow. They help young people to apply to the foreign universities and mostly the Finnish ones, for example JAMK has the partnership with Nordic School that Russian students can do the entrance examinations in St-Petersburg for the Applied Sciences Universities, Also, these companies have all the information about the universities on their websites and can help with the application for certain fee. They also provide consulting sessions on the living experience and studies. 

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Received a positive result at the beginning of April. One week later, I booked an appoint through the Finnish embassy in Malaysia website, the first available was 6 weeks later. I was able to complete my application on enterfinland.fi before my appointment. I had to provide extra information because the proof of income/support needed to be liquid and locked into an investment account. One submitted, i waited and received my card about 4-6 weeks after verifying my identity.

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Some things have changed for example, Kortepohja which is a housing  society in Jyväskylä, now lets you do the bank transfer from your domestic bank to their bank account for the payment of rent every month.
Additionally, last year, I also remember being able to pay the student union fee for JYY (which is the student union for JYU) in cash or via my domestic bank account.

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Did something surprise you?

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When did you start the immigration process? Was it easy to confirm your place and pay the fees?

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When did you start the immigration process? Was it easy to confirm your place and pay the fees?

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Was it easy to use Studyinfo? Did you attend an entrance exam online?

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Was it easy to use Studyinfo? Did you attend an entrance exam online?

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Was everything available on "official" sites, or did you look for students' opinions, blog posts etc.? What info did you look for in general?

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Was everything available on "official" sites, or did you look for students' opinions, blog posts etc.? What info did you look for in general?

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Did you find EnterFinland easily? Did you find everything you needed on EnterFinland? Was the residence permit accepted in time?

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Bank account, ID-card..

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Think of staying in Finland after your studies. Could something make your life easier after your graduation? 

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Think of staying in Finland after your studies. Could something make your life easier after your graduation? 

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When you planned your studies, did you plan to stay in Finland for work? Has your view changed?

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How did you first "find" Finland? Did you decide on Europe first?

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How did you first "find" Finland? Did you decide on Europe first?

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Left to right is a timeline of applying, studying and living in Finland. Focus on this workshop is to find services, information sites or networks that are helpful during the timeline.

1. Think about what was easy and what was difficult in that step. For example in finding information, making an application or gathering the documents needed.

Add your thoughts by pressing the "+" button under the column. Think of all the good and the bad, and add a solution if you have an idea. You can also comment on other ideas.

2. Think what service, information or network would have helped you get through that part? Or did you find some service extra helpful? You can think outside the box - the service you need might not exist yet. Add your thoughts to a new note or edit your previous notes.

Contact us at opi@csc.fi

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Getting an apartment, arriving and finding your way into your new home

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Getting an apartment, arriving and finding your way into your new home

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Was someone there to greet you?