Author: Kamil Marwat, Master student at Aalto University

I finished my bachelor studies in 2016 and thus my hunt for master’s degree begun. After going through several programs and universities, the master’s program at Aalto University had caught my attention the most. Finland’s excellent education reputation, her much celebrated boom in IT field and the job opportunities, Aalto University ranking — it’s one way to know, when you know nothing about a university, were all the right indicators to persuade me to choose Finland as my destination for not only next two years, but a place I would be able to call home.

I did not allow the cold, the dark and the loneliness that Finland is otherwise known for come in my way. It was an exciting idea to go to a completely new place which offers one such complete new experience.

It was year 2017 —  the unlucky year when Finland had just introduced the fee for the first time for all non-EU international students, when I began my master’s studies. The concept of paying tuition fee was not new to me, even though it was a huge responsibility and a risk to be taken in the hope of better future and thus I assumed it to be a step in the right direction of my professional career development.

It is important to note that the developing countries have purchasing power of almost 3 ratio 1, meaning one can buy as a much as 3 times in my home country with the same currency in that of Finland. So despite all the enthusiasm, it was a huge amount of money that I needed to arrange. I did not only have to arrange the tuition fee, but the amount needed for my student visa approval for one year.

As I was a recipient of 50% fee waiver scholarship — scholarship? I often wonder! No fees are now called scholarships to make us feel better, but truth be told, it does not. It does not help when you know no one pays tuition fee other than you, even those who came to Finland for master studies just a year ago from the very same country. I feel like it’s just a tool to force me into completing master’s degree in 2 years and still be thankful. I had to arrange 14 220 euros for just one year, excluding the amount it takes to pay the embassy for visa processing, buying private health insurance and other costs incurred during this process.

I as a student, who just graduated with bachelor’s degree, only had my parents to look up to and my relatives to borrow loan from. Not everyone is rich enough to have this huge amount at their disposal. My parents worked their lifetime to build a house that we, me and my siblings, would eventually inherit. It was my only and last resource to pay for my tuition fee. Real estate property requires time to be sold, and I was running out of time, so for now I turned to relatives to borrow loan form with a promise to return this amount soon as our house is sold.

As I began my studies, and met more and more people, I realized how expensive it is for me to study in Finland. I did not have as much freedom to choose a course outside my study plan. Failure was not an option. I couldn’t afford taking ECTs less than 60 in the first year, less than 30 ECTs in a semester and less than 15 ECTs in one period. I had to do it at all cost, and so did I. And thus it happened at the cost of my social, mental and physical well-being. From being happy and excited, socializing and attending events during the orientation week, to restricting myself to lecture hall, the study hub and my room only. It all happened during a span of few weeks only. Having paid so much tuition fee, I felt like betraying my parents for not giving full time — all of my time, to my studies only. It was a huge responsibility. Did my friends feel as much pressure? I do not think so. With each passing month, the feeling of regret for putting so much at stake started to grow inside me.

Finland was always in the news for having an ideal education model, where students are not pressurized and yet still outperform others. It was a role model the world was to follow and learn from. Where competition was discouraged, and collaboration was encouraged. But sadly enough, my experience has been on the contrary. I was put in a tough competition against time for my money. Learning lost a meaning for me, it was all about numbers. I needed to get the right numbers on the right time in the right order.

Unsatisfied with myself, not able to find summer job, I had to fly back to my home country during my first year. It wasn’t a choice that I made happily, but forced into. Who wouldn’t want to gain experience and earn during summer, and that too in Finland? With much of what I experienced, I wasn’t sure whether it is even worth to continue my studies and pay the tuition fee for the next year.

Having set the deadline for us i.e. July 2019, I am not even sure whether I am even wanted in this country. How can I find time, as well as the motivation, to learn the Finnish language in such conditions, which in turn reduces my chances to integrate, when I will have to leave in case I don’t find a job before I graduate? And graduate I must by July 2019.

Finland does no longer seem to be a choice one could strongly enough recommend to prospective students from non-EU. But we must work together, and there is still time to change that.

How is the European Union doing right now, eight months before the European elections? The biggest democracy event of the world is more than half a year away, but it is worth starting to talk about it now at Aalto, too.

The AYY Board visited Brussels in the summer to share with EU decision-makers what is going on with Aalto students and to discuss EU collaboration and the Union’s topical themes, such as globalisation, circular economy and digitalisation. Our entourage also featured a delegation from our partner student union from Tsinghua, with whom we met e.g. Commissioner Jyrki Katainen.

A lot has happened since the EU parliamentary elections in 2014.

The economy of the EU area is growing again, but the unity of the Union has been tested by both the refugee crisis and the unforeseen withdrawal process of a member state. Despite the tensions, the Brexit negotiations have reminded Europeans of how much the EU affects our daily lives.

The ability of us EU members to take for granted the free movement of people, thoughts and things is unique. The central values of the EU are also a prerequisite for world-class educational and research collaboration in the international Aalto community.

According to a recent survey conducted by Taloustutkimus, 89 per cent of young Finns identify themselves as citizens of the European Union, and 81 per cent consider EU membership a good thing.

The survey also highlights the role of the EU as a resolver of global challenges. Our biggest societal challenges, such as climate change and major changes in working life, will not be resolved on a national level.

In the upcoming European elections, a new European Parliament will be elected that is responsible for EU legislation alongside the European Council consisting of the member states’ governments. Hence, Finland’s direction in terms of the EU will also be defined in the national parliamentary election, which also takes place next spring.

The winning party of the elections will lead not only Finland but also Europe: the future ministers will take charge of the EU during Finland’s Presidency period in autumn 2019 and will have the opportunity to influence the Union’s direction. Finland’s future Commissioner will most likely also be decided based on the parliamentary election results.

In other words, it is worth considering the whole election spring as an entity – our collective future will be built on all levels of decision-making.

So, now is the time for the student generation to announce what kind of a future we want.

During the autumn and the beginning of next year, AYY intends to prepare for the election spring by bringing up various future topics considered important by students. What kind of a Europe would you want? The decisions made now will have the most impact on our opportunities, in particular.

Rosa Väisänen
Advocacy Specialist: international affairs and new students

The previous and current boards of the Aalto University Student Union visited China and South Korea to get to know the local student community. In this blog post the Board members open their experiences on the trip.

AYY’s delegation in Beijing

The first week of AYY’s China visit was spent mostly in Shanghai (our Student center delegation spent this week in South Korea, read the blog post) and the second in Beijing, entertained as guests of the Tsinghua university.

The purpose of the trip was to expand views of the participants, and through that the Student Union’s, on the scope of universities and student unions beyond Finnish borders. China offered excellent opportunities for this, due to the differences in cultures.

One of the big lessons on the trip was that despite the differences China and Finland have, both struggle with the same kinds of problems regarding studies. Good examples include getting the international students integrated into the student community and keeping up good negotiating conditions to the universities.

The solutions, however, differ between the two countries. So, the goals of” sharing best practices” and” benchmarking” succeeded well. Expanding your point of view and getting to know various kinds of solutions will be sure to refresh AYY’s activities in the future.

Our delegation simultaneously improved their skills in working in a global atmosphere, meaning learning to account for cultural differences and using different languages in discussing both heavier and lighter topics.

Internationalizing is a key factor in the modern world. What we learned will help us better to act in our ever so increasingly international Student Union, and the message spreads to other actives in the Aalto community.

We had the pleasure of getting to know our hosts, the Tsinghua uni. staff and political figures during various events. We also got to know several corporate companies along with distinct culturally valuable landmarks and places.

Shanghai is an especially interesting center of commerce in China, where we had the opportunity to see the opportunities Finnish people can have in China, and in return bring a Finnish point of view to China and its environs.

Both our trip to China and the upcoming Chinese trip to Europe is being aimed to be funded mainly with outside grants, funds and corporate cooperation. The goals of the trip were tied in many ways on corporate life.

China is an interesting business venture for Finnish and other western companies, meaning it is a potential site for a future career to students of Aalto University. Thus, bringing AYY, the Aalto community and Aalto itself known in a positive way in China is important.

We hope that cooperation will be the edge we need in the future, giving us a better opportunity to succeed in one of the largest economies in the world.

Western interest in general towards China also opens new opportunities for the Student Union in corporate cooperation and enables several important and noteworthy meetings with decision-makers both in Finland, Europe and in China. The meetings will then create new opportunities for the advocacy work our Student Union does.

Finnish students caps on the Great Wall of China

Each trip is of course countered with a return trip, with us acting as hosts. We are anxiously anticipating our esteemed Chinese guests to Finland, so we can expand their knowledge of European university education and AYY’s activities!

Mikael Liimatainen
AYY board member (internationality)

Julius Luukkanen
AYY board member (artistic activities, brand, communications, archives and museum)

Where Finnish people pride themselves in high standard of education, so do the Chinese. Beijing, a bustling city of 20 million people is the third largest in the world, but in technological education their Tsinghua University is ranked number one, unrivaled even by the famous MIT. And just as in any educational facility, they have a student union to improve the lives of their nearly 40 thousand students.

The cooperation between Tsinghua University’s Student Union SUTU with Finnish students started by chance in 2004, when two students and active members of their respective student unions met at a European Conference and decided to bring their worlds closer together. Since then the original party to cooperate with SUTU, the Student Union of the Helsinki University of Technology (TKY) has ceased to exist and merged with other student unions into AYY, Aalto-university Student Union. Despite this, both parties have worked ceaselessly to strengthen the bonds between them. A SUTU delegate visits Finland every year, and in return two of AYY’s boards travel to China every other year.

This year the visit of Chinese students fell upon mid-August. Knowing the Finnish summer AYY’s board members had been worried about the activities they had organised all summer, scared they might be foiled by fickle storms. As Monday came and the guests arrived, they were greeted by the oh so familiar summer drizzle. But they weren’t unprepared, and soon the bleak grey skies were obscured by umbrellas, one more colourful than the other.

First day in rainy Espoo.

The Chinese students’ flight had been long, so Monday’s programme was kept brief: a short introduction of both student unions’ functions, as well as a few ice breakers. A tour around the campus ended in the newly renovated Dipoli, where students met up with newly appointed President of Aalto, Ilkka Niemelä. The night ended on a high note as the company gathered at AYY’s Rantasauna, the seaside sauna. The guests were greeted by an old AYY spokesperson of 2013, Piia Kuosmanen, who had taken her turn visiting SUTU and who now works closely with Chinese businesses in the field of technology. With her lead the two groups talked about the similarities and differences in Finnish and Chinese cultures. Naturally the guests also got a first-hand experience of the Finnish culture, as they got to warm up in the sauna as well as take a dip into the cold, cold sea.

As Tuesday rolled around, so did the sun, finally gracing Helsinki with its warmth. The Chinese guests were given an extensive tour of our beautiful capital, its nature and architecture – most notably Kamppi’s Chapel of Silence, The Parliament House and its surroundings, as well as more industrial areas such as that around Nosturi.

The first company visit planned lead the delegation to Naisasialiito Unioni, the feminist non-governmental organization. Its Secretary General, Milla Pyykkönen, lead a conversation that interested both the Chinese and Finnish representatives. The parties got to hear about the development of gender equality in Finland, as well as Naisliitto Unioni’s project to increase gender sensitivity in early childhood education.

Board member Onni guiding the tour around the campus.

As the weather continued to surprise and delight, the visit continued with a trip to the national park of Nuuksio and its picturesque lakeside. As could be expected, the programme constisted of grilling, sauna and general wandering around the forest. As citizens of an industrial metropolis, the guests were most fascinated by blueberries, right there for their picking.

To balance out the relaxing day surrounded by nature, the next day was filled with excursions to Helsinki area’s businesses, starting with Metso Automation in Vantaa. The company’s Director of Technology, Jukka Borgman, walked the party through the workings of the organization, as well as the physical facilities. Highly automated valve and flow control device producing plant gave our guests interesting view of Finland’s advanced manufacturing industry. The tour ended in lunch in Metso’s own cafeteria.

Board member Pyry explaining the blueprints of Dipoli.

Obviously one excursion a day is not enough, so in the afternoon the delegation headed to Finnair’s headquarters, located at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. A general introduction was lead by Finnair’s VP Group Treasurer, Christine Rovelli, followed by a workshop on the development of Finnair’s services on the Chinese market, facilitated by the Project Lead in Corporate Development, Henrik Balkin. Afterwards Finnair kindly invited the students for snacks and a great view over the whole airport. And as if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, the night ended with a headfirst dive into the culture of Finnish academic table parties, sitsit.

The Chinese guests’ last full day in Finland began together with the chair of board of Espoo City Council, Markku Markkula, who also serves as a chair of board in EU Committee of Regions. He walked the students through the development of the city. The afternoon was spent at Eteläranta which houses the headquarters of Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto, Confederation of Finnish Industries. EK’s leading economist, Penna Urrila, told the delegation about how the Finnish economy is constructed and how it is going to develop in the future.

In the evening the guests had some time to pack up before meeting up for a dinner party that also served as Aalto’s former President Tuula Teeri’s farewell party. The party continued long into the night, but by 5 in the morning the Chinese part of the company had to leave for the airport, accompanied by a few sleepy-eyed members of AYY’s board.

The Finnish boards’ reciprocal visit to Beijing will have to wait until next year. But we are sure that the bonds we built will last and that our visit will be as much of a success as SUTU’s trip here – full of smiles, excitement and mutual appreciation. 再见 (zài jiàn) – it doesn’t mean goodbye, it means see you later!

Text: Noora Vänttinen/Katarina Vesikko

Photos: Petteri Heliste

Students from outside of the EU/EEA need to have a residency permit to start their studies in Finland, and having a private health insurance is one of the requirements for getting a residency permit. Degree students of all nationalities are entitled to a home municipality in Finland and can use public healthcare services. Students from EU member countries can use public health care services with a European Health Insurance Card. All university students who are members of any student union can also use the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS/YTHS). However, international students do not have access to KELA benefits (unless they work in Finland for a certain time period).

Aalto University Student Union (AYY) in cooperation with the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY) has conducted a survey on the use of these healthcare services and health insurances among international students in Finland. The survey was produced by the research foundation Otus. The anonymous survey collected 475 answers from students in Aalto and Helsinki universities, 246 of which were degree or exchange students from Aalto University.

In the survey we wanted to find out how well international students know the health service providers, how do the health insurances work and what kind of channels are used to get information on these issues. In the next sections we will first go over receiving care, then health insurances and issues with these.

Receiving treatment

In this section we will present results on how well international students received treatment. One of the questions was how well international students received required health care services while staying in Finland. These results are covered in table 1.

Table 1. Have you received the required care or health services in Finland? (n= 303)

There is a clear difference between students who have come from EU/EAA countries and students from outside EU/EEA in attainment of health care services. Only 64% of non-EU/EEA students said they felt they got the required treatment always or on most occasions, whereas 81% of EU/EEA students report the same.

Out of the students from both EU/ETA and other countries those who did not always receive the care they needed brought up different reasons. These results are represented in table 2.

Table 2. If you have not always received required healthcare, how often did you receive care despite these reasons? (n= 475) (NB. there was an option to choose several reasons)

The main reason for not getting treatment among participants was not knowing what their insurance covered. 64% of the respondents felt that unawareness of these issues lead to them receiving required treatment sometimes, seldom, or never at all. The other major reasons were not being aware of available services and being deemed not eligible for aid by health care services.

Health insurances used by international students

In this section we will go over different health insurances used by international students and their experiences with applying for compensation and dealing with insurance companies. These questions were asked only from students from outside EU/ETA for whom the insurance is required.

There are several health insurance providers international students use. The insurance recommended by Finnish authorities and universities is SIP Insurances, according to a tendering process done in the early 2010s by a consortium of universities. SIP Insurances have a market share of 26% among the respondents. As seen in table 3, other popular insurances are Swisscare (27%) and International Student Insurance (13%).

Table 3. Health insurance provider (n=323) 

The respondents were also asked about the process of acquiring an insurance. Only 38% of the respondents felt they had received enough information regarding the contents of the insurance and the terms of compensation, as seen in table 4. Buying an insurance does not seem to be a difficult process for the respondents, but it seems that students just get the insurance for the sake of getting the residency permit – without really knowing how the insurance functions or what its coverage is.

Table 4. Opinions on getting the insurance among students with insurance (n= 323)

As seen in table 5, the biggest problem of getting insurance was not knowing what kind of insurance one should buy, which 35% of respondents found to be an issue. 30% felt it was difficult to find information on the different available options. According to the official report the most popular source of information were university pages (32%), Migri web pages (22%), friends (21%) and Study in Finland web pages (19%).

Some students (4%) found that their general health, such as pre-existing conditions made it hard to get an insurance. This is extremely worrisome and against the principle of equality.

Table 5. Issues when getting the insurance (n=323)

Table 6. shows the issues stated above as complied into different insurance providers. Note that in some of these the amount of answers was very low.

‘Table 6. Insurances as complied by different providers.

Conclusion

International students are required to have a private health insurance in order to commence their studies in Finland, but they are left alone with the problems they face with insurances. There is not enough information provided by the authorities, Study in Finland page or the universities, and when compared to similar pages in other European countries, the level of detail on Finnish pages is rather low.

Finnish authorities and universities only thinking about providing international students with degrees is unsustainable. A more holistic approach to internationalisation of universities is needed in Finland. Putting efforts into developing degrees and teaching is important, but if basic services like health care, banking or immigration services have grave problems, Finland is hardly a dream destination. What needs to be taken into account is the whole experience of integrating international students into the Finnish society, and problems with basic needs such as healthcare reflect negatively on the image of Finnish education.

International students have the right to a well-functioning, affordable and accessible insurance, as well as proper information on healthcare and health insurances. Issues with health care and adequate compensation for health care costs need to be taken very seriously. If Finland truly wants to welcome its international students, all parties involved need to step up their game. A new tendering process is needed, as the health insurance now recommended by the universities and authorities has the gravest problems and lowest customer satisfaction among students. Immigration authorities, universities and the National Agency for Education need to sit down together and start developing solutions.

Milla Ovaska, Specialist, International Affairs

Aalto University Student Union

contact: international(at)ayy.fi