Mobility specification

Country:Finland

Institution:University of Helsinki

City:Helsinki

Program:Erasmus+ for study

Activity type:Study

Academic year:2024/2025

MU faculty/department:Faculty of Pharmacy

Study level abroad:Master

🎓Hit the books! How do you rate the university experience?

Can you enroll in a course where you can learn the local language?yes

Does the university offer enough courses in English?it's alright

Are your credits converted?no

Was there anything in the teaching methods that surprised you?The biggest difference in Finland compared to studying at MU was in the number of presentations, group work, writing and defending seminars, etc. At first I was a bit stressed about it, but by the end of Erasmus I realized that I had memorized the material better with this system. Then at the end there wasn't as much emphasis on the exams, which made the exam process a little less stressful. I would say that I ended up liking this system, even though I was really nervous about it at first.

Does the university offer international students' programs and activities outside of lectures and seminars to help them integrate more quickly?Yes, there was a lot. Even though I didn't get involved in most of the stuff, the range was wide, there was certainly plenty to choose from.

In which areas does the university offer support for students with special needs and strive to be inclusive?Psychological counseling
Barrier-free access to classrooms and dormitories
I haven’t noticed

💸Did you have to rob the bank?

Try to take a guess at what your monthly expenditures were:18000 CZK/month

Did you stay in dorms?yes

What about unexpected expenses? Did anything surprise you?For me a rather unexpected and unpleasant expense was the return ticket. I recommend booking your flight well in advance and watching the weight of your luggage, even if you might send a lot of stuff home by mail. For the price I flew from Helsinki to Prague, I could have easily gone to New York :D

Do you have any tips on how to save money?Finland is an expensive country, so it was quite difficult to save money, but in general, for example, to shop at cheaper stores (Lidl, Prisma) or to use student lunches (in Helsinki, the Unicafé chain, which had some cafeterias open on Saturdays). In Finland, chop shops are also very popular, where you can also find good quality clothes or, for example, home furnishings cheaply.

🗺 Learn the ropes in a new city

How well did you manage to communicate in English?perfectly

How does public transport work in the city?runs like clockwork

And what about transport outside the city?runs like clockwork

Where to find connections? How to buy a ticket?For public transport in Helsinki, the HSL app, where you can also buy tickets (no student discounts, we had to have a special HSL card and buy a monthly ticket at the branches), outside Helsinki I used VR and Google maps.

Did you deal with any health issues during your stay?no

🤠Help create the perfect bucket list

What is a must-see in the city?I found Helsinki to be a great city to live in, but the historic center was small and could be walked around in less than a day (from the center I would probably mention classics like Helsinki Cathedral, Uspenski Cathedral, Kauppatori, Vanha kauppahalli). What's really worth a visit is Sompasauna (a classic Finnish sauna right in Helsinki) and the national parks within easy reach of public transport (Nuuksio and Sipoonkorpi).

What are the must-visit trip destinations?To the national parks in Finland, there really is a lot to choose from.

Share your best experience:For me, as someone who is an introvert and absolutely loves spending time in nature where he is undisturbed by anything, it was a great experience when we rented a cottage for a weekend in the middle of Finland's untouched nature. We were able to use kayaks to sail around the endless Finnish lake without meeting another person. Every evening we heated up the sauna and swam in the ice lake (before Erasmus I wouldn't get into water that was less than 20 degrees, and after Erasmus I have no problem hardening off in 2 degree water). It was great for me to relax and spend time with friends, but there were a lot of great experiences, it's hard to pick just one.

💅A nugget of wisdom to make the life easier

Did you need to handle a visa?no

How did you get to the place?Plane

Is there anything to watch out for before the trip?Perhaps the only thing that is useful is to study public transport. My first experience with public transport in Helsinki was when the driver yelled at me for boarding through the back door, because you can only board certain buses in Helsinki through the front door so the driver can check your ticket. But otherwise Helsinki is a very nice city and all the information is easy to find. From the airport you can get to the centre by train, which runs every 5-10 minutes, and from there it's very easy to get anywhere (except perhaps if you arrive in the middle of the night, then public transport runs less frequently, but you can use a taxi for example, which surprisingly wasn't too expensive by Finnish standards).

Can you pay by card?everywhere

🥳Summary

Whew, what a ride! 😮‍💨 Thanks so much for taking the time to complete our survey and for sharing your unique experience. Just one last thing. 🙏 How would you summarize your trip in one or two sentences?Erasmus was a big step out of my comfort zone, which gave me a lot of positive experiences that I will draw on a lot.