Semester abroad in Finland

Despite Corona, some students were able to study abroad for a semester.

We spent the last five months of our semester abroad in Finland. We studied at LUT University in Lappeenranta in southeastern Finland, near the Russian border. We chose LUT because of its sustainable orientation and the combination of sustainability and technology.

At first, we mainly had to get used to the few hours of sunlight and the cold. The sun set at 3:00 p.m., and in the first few days the temperatures immediately dropped below -20 degrees. What surprised us most, however, was Finnish culture. We quickly realized that people in Finland are generally very introverted and prefer to keep to themselves. People rarely greet each other on the street, and social distancing in public was already common here before Corona. However, we found that although Finns usually do not approach you first, they are very open and helpful if you take the first step yourself.

Another new experience for us was the size of the university in Lappeenranta and what it has to offer. With its various cafeterias, its own café, sports facilities, and student associations, it is very different from what we are used to. What we also found exciting was that, because of all the international students, many different cultures and languages come together here. Through group work in our courses, traveling together, and living together, we were fortunately able, despite online university, to get to know the other students and their cultures more closely.

What we liked best about Finland, however, was definitely the Finnish landscapes with their lakes, forests, islands, and the sea. Lappeenranta itself lies between forests on Lake Saimaa, the largest lake in Finland. The walk to university alone in the morning was a beautiful stroll through the forest along the lake. In addition, we had the opportunity to discover the rest of Finland on various trips (organized by ourselves). In winter, for example, we went to Lapland to see the Northern Lights, and as soon as it got warmer, we explored the surrounding national parks.

All in all, we really enjoyed our time here and are sad that we will have to leave our new home again so soon. We can therefore only recommend considering a semester abroad, especially of course in Finland.

A report by Julie (Bachelor’s in Sustainable Management, 4th semester) and Mareike (Bachelor’s in Business Administration – Rethinking Economics, 4th semester)