Finland University of Jyväskylä

Transcription

1 Report 1 I wrote a motivation letter and sent it to the Master coordinator together with my transcripts and CV. There was a problem with housing in Jyväskylä and the Eurasmus grant, but the employees of the helped me out with those problems. academic There was a mandatory introduction course most students took online and I already finished the Dutch academic courses for the Master. Little, I bought the mini dictionairy 'Hoe en wat in het Fins'. I worked in the weekends to finance the exchange and my family supported me. The Eurocampus program was already fixed, there was no choice or room for different courses. I chose however to enroll in an extra course, the Survival Finnish course. I dropped one of the 15 courses because ESN planned a trip to Lapland. I participated in the Eurocampus program, Utrecht is one of the 10 European Universities who contribute to this program. Every week we had a different course taught by one of the teachers of those universities. The quality was therefore different each week. Some teachers expected too much and others too less. Overall, the quality was good. The Finnish teacher was very helpful and would help with anything. Untill now no problems. The first week was introduction week. It was fun and there were a lot of parties and BBQ's. I had a very nice mentor and she took as to our appartment, showed us Jyväskylä and helped us with everything. Eventually we became very good friends. Despite the placement trouble in the beginning, my appartment was very nice (Roninmäki). It was in the middle of the forest next to lakes and a few very big supermarkets. It was 15 min by bike to the University. Roninmäki consist of 7/8 building with mostly international students. I was lucky with my very clean German roommate.

2 Some appartments had 3 or 4 rooms, but I shared my appartment with only one other girl. We had a big kitchen and balcony. Every building has a sauna! But there were only 2 building for laundry, so that was not enough. Every month there is a M builing party, so if you live there, you won't get any sleep once a month. The surroudings were beautiful and in the autumn you could pick berries and mushrooms in the forest. There are lots of sport oppurtinities in Jyväskylä. Especially in the winter, when you could ski and snowboard in the area. Other things to do are hiking, outdooring, sauna, BBQ. ESN Jyväskylä organizes a lot of fun trips, such as cruise to St Petersburg, trip to St Petersburg, Moskow & Novograd, to Lapland, Baltic Sea cruises or just picking apples fest or pre Christmas parties. Jyväskylä is famous for architecture, you should visit the Avar Aalto museum. The university of Jyväskylä provides a host family program, which was for me a great experience because you really get to know Finnish people and their culture. My family let me taste all kinds of traditional food as blood sausage/ pancakes and we went hiking in the forest and BBQ'ed at a cabin. Try to buy a 2 nd hand bike immediately, otherwise you have to buy a very expensive new one. The university also provides Finnish language courses, try to take survival Finnish or Finnish 1. It is so much fun and afterwards you can communicate with locals. Finland and especially Jyväskylä is amazing. The Finnish language is very funny and interesting to learn too. If you want to go somewhere different, special, mysterious and unexplored, you should go here. Even if you are not a big nature fan, the trees, lakes, hills, saunas and active lifestyle of the Finns will change you in a relax person. If you like big cities, noise and crowds, then you should not go. Make as many trips you the time will give you, be as actives and outdoor if you can and enjoy the beauty of Finland. Try to make Finnish friends because they are the sweetest. Please go to Jyväskylä! As the Finns says: 'Finland is not a place but a state of mind'. Report 2 Since Eurocampus is a special program and takes places every year in another country, I am not sure how useful some subjects can be for other students. I wrote a motivation letter and based on that I was accepted for this program. I had to register myself at the University of Jyväskylä, which was quite easy, and request the Erasmus grant, which took most of my time. I did not recieve that much support from the home university. They didn't sign my form correctly, so I had to redo everything again. I advise you to start with this forms as soon as you can, cause it take more time to fill in and getting approved than you think.

3 academic I had no at all and in the end it was not needed. There was a possibility to do a full time Finnish language before the start of the semester, but I did not participate, since I was doing my internship that month. I worked beforehand at my internship and worked in the weekends to save some money. I did not receive studiefinanciering. I think that if you have saved some money + studiefinanciering + ov-vergoeding + Erasmus grant is enough funding for you stay in Jyväskylä, if you don't do too many crazy thing. Jyväskylä is more expensive than the Netherlands, especially alcohol. So if you want to party and travel a lot, I would advise you to save some more money. Everything was very well organised, the program was on beforehand sent to us. Classrooms were excellent. It was clear to me that the organisers are running this program already for a few years. The Eurocampus was quite intensive and a lot of work, but not very difficult. Very good, there were visiting hours where you could go and ask questions, but they were also very well reachable through . Everytime something important had to be arranged, the send me an . I got 30 ECTS, but has not received them yet (I am only 4 days back, sounds acceptable). I got a tutor, who helped me with everything you could think of: she was there when I arrived at the station, had already my keys and information of my appartment and brought me there and much more. There was also an introduction week, full with courses with e.g. how to bike in Jyväskylä, information about the computer systems, how to adapt to the Finnish winter, sports in Jyväskylä, etc. Very interesting!! Nice appartment (I stayed in Roninmaki), shared with two roommates. Very comfortable room, sometimes a bit noisy. I would buy a bike, cause it is around 4 km to the campus and even furthur to the city centre. It was a pity that other students appartments (Kortepohja) were on the other part of the town. Sometimes it was quite far to bike to a party. Washing and drying your clothes is free! There is enough to do in Jyväskylä! People are friendly and eager to help you and let you know when there are nice activities. My classmates invited me to the 'ontgroening' of the freshmen, which every student has to do or just a simple night at a cafe. Besides that, ESN is very active and organises a lot of events. And also the trips to St Petersburg,

4 Lapland and Stockholm are one of the most special events during my stay. Join ESN and you have to start a conversation with Finnish people, since most of them are used to keeping to themselves and are bit shy to use English. But once you get to know them, they are extremely kind and warm. Definitely. Everything was so well organised. You just have to have no problems with the climate, cause then it is a perfect stay for your Erasmus. It can quite rain in Finland and when it is finally winter, very slippery! Report 3 I applied for the Eurocampus master program for which I was going to take a fixed set of courses. I received from the University of Jyväskylä instruction how to enter my courses through the website 'mobility online'. It's important to fill in all the requirements BEFORE the deadline or it will cause you a lot of trouble. In addition to this, I had to hand in the signed Learning Agreement of the UU. I had an appointment with the Dutch coordinator Jan ten Thije as a for the EUrocampus. academic I had to complete an online course as a for my master. The master program was in English. I decided not to follow the Survival Finnish Course at the University of Jyväskyla, though I heard later it was quite fun. I had some savings plus applied for the Erasmus funds. Please note: Finland is EXPENSIVE! I certainly recommend you to save some money before you go! As I had a fixed set of courses to follow, I had no trouble. Good! I had no troubles so did not have to ask for support. Though University of Jyväskylä really is an excellent university so I have no doubt they'd offer good support.

5 I think I got all the credits? We'll have to see.. Excellent! In the first week before the courses start an extensive welcome program was organised. During the week you will discover the campus, student associations, the student union and where everything is. THere were lectures given on how to adapt to the Finnish life, how to cope with the darkness/cold in the winter, what kind of sports you could take, what your rights as a student are, what the biking rules are in Jyvaskyla Basically everything you need! The best thing was the tutor system: you'll be sorted in a small group of a tutor who will contact you before your departure and will pick you up in Jyväskylä and bring you to your appartment. He/she will be there for you for the rest of the semester to answer your questions and help you. I lived in Myllyjärvie in a KOAS building: it was a spacias, modern and clean appartment that I shared with two other flatmates. It was a really good apparment with laundry facilities and a sauna and roughly 15 minutes biking from campus. Supermarkets are located 15 minutes biking as well and there were bus stops near. I heard Ronimaki is a nice place to live as well, the buildings are more old fashioned though there are a lot of parties and sometimes it can be quie noisy. Kortapoja is good as well, though it depends in which building you are. Jyväskylä is quite small and doesn't offer the same as bigger cities do. However, it is a lively student city so there are sufficient number clubs and some bars that keep you satified. There are really a lot of activities organised every week so I never got bored. ESN is really active in organising trips and activities, many international students organise activities/parties and there are other activities as well. The first two weeks are the most important: go to as many activities as you can in order to meet new people with whom you can hang out/party with later. There is a lot to do if you're open for it! Regarding the weather, in November it will rain quite a lot so make sure to bring waterproof shoes/jackets (Finnish people don't really care about fashion, more about comfort anyways). It will snow here in December and sometimes can get quite cold. Personally I didn't really mind the darkeness as I exercised a lot (free gym) and went outside a lot. Vitamin D pills help as well. Finaly, I really recommend getting a bike ASAP as it gives you a lot of freedom (plus the bus is expensive). Definitely! THe university is well organised and there are a lot of facilities for students. There are many activities organised to keep you busy. Moreover, Jyväskyla is probably the safest place I have ever visited! However, keep in mind it is a small city. Make the most out of your exchange :)