Tag: Technology
Incoming Student Story: Márton Eke from Hungary
“I did my exchange semester at Metropolia in autumn semester 2022. I studied mechanical engineering. Back in my home university Óbuda University in Hungary I study industrial product design. I had heard that Metropolia is very modern and new university and I thought it would be a great place for me. Studying at Metropolia was a bit different to how it is in my home university. The classrooms were modern and it was noticeable that every technology that we could need was available. The teachers were also very flexible and supportive. I did altogether five courses out of which one was Advanced 3D-modeling and Optimization. That class was amazing, we had every software we could need for it. From one course we also did a trip for an exhibition in Tampere for Mechanical Engineering. However, the best thing about my studies was the course Innovation Project. We got a real-life project from a company and got to see how they work. We were talking with the CEOs about the budget and their needs and got to see how everything works in the industry. We had support from the teacher and the company and it felt like proper work for the first time in my life. We were treated like engineers. Library on campus was very convenient and the student restaurant and food were amazing. I love that we could get milk for free and even freshly made hamburgers from there! In Finland card is used a lot for paying and it was only possible to pay for food with cash in the cafeteria. In Finland everybody knew English and it was wonderful. I did a Finnish course and learned some basics. Finnish people were very welcoming. Student union METKA organizes a lot of parties for students and participated to some events. This kind of student culture does not exist in Hungary. Overalls and badges are very nice and create a culture and tradition. I had a bit trouble finding an apartment as HOAS did not work out for me. In the end I found something and Erasmus+ grant was helping with the costs. I did a lot of things within Helsinki and traveled also to cities of Tampere and Porvoo. I also did a trip to Estonia. As a Hungarian who has never seen the sea it was a huge experience to on the sea. I went also to bars to play billiards. A lot of Finnish people seem to love that and singing karaoke. During the exchange I learned to live by myself and take care of myself. I got a lot of Finnish friends. Before this I didn’t have international friends so this really opened my eyes. Everybody has different opinions. Exchange also shaped my future plans. It was good for me to break out of my comfort zone and see all the possibilities. Altogether it was a life-changing experience. Tips from Márton: Plan everything beforehand! Apply for a flat early enough Watch for your financials, price level in Finland is much higher
Incoming Student Story: Rafał Bartosiak from Poland
Rafał Bartosiak participated in an exchange semester during academic year 2021-2022. He was studying Electronics in the Field of Technology. Doing an exchange semester abroad was an obligatory part of Rafał’s degree program in his home university Lodz University of Technology in Poland. The exchange process started with an internal application period and Rafał was chosen to apply to Metropolia. “For a couple of years, I had been interested in how it looks in Northern Europe and I wanted to hear Finnish language myself. I also wanted to experience one of the best education systems in the world as well as be in a country where I can easily manage in English”. Finland turned out to be a great destination for Rafał who prefers cold and wanted to see nature. Study Experience at Metropolia Study experience in Metropolia surprised Rafał positively. Metropolia as University of Applied Sciences offered a different kind of perspective to a traditional university: studying is just not about the theory but especially about using it in practice. Learning methods did not differ much to his home country as they included both group and individual work, but lab working was freer in Metropolia. Electronics courses are worth 15 ECTS In Metropolia and exchange students participate on two courses during the exchange semester. Rafał found the big course sizes good: “It was nice to be able to focus only on one subject specifically at once”. Rafał also noticed that students don’t get pressed to study in Finland but they are expected to take responsibility over their own schedules and success. Rafał got to be a part of the Finnish student union tradition to Metropolia’s student union METKA. He took part into some events organized by METKA but the best thing was to be able to wear the student overalls. In the spring semester the biggest event was the Vappu (May 1st) celebration. METKA also organized tutoring for exchange students and Rafał also had a tutor who was, for example, welcoming him on the airport and brought Rafał to his student dorm in Finland. Free-time and Finnish Experience Rafał enjoyed especially the Finnish nature and sauna during his stay: “I fell in love with sauna and in the end went to sauna twice a week!”. Rafał was amazed by the amount of forests in Finland and the good air quality even in Helsinki city. He was also able to travel a lot within Finland: he went to Lapland and saw the northern lights as well as to Turku and Tampere. Helsinki itself offered also a lot of nice destinations, such as Seurasaari, Suomenlinna and Mustikkamaa islands, as well as the important landmarks Helsinki Cathedral and Temppeliaukio church. Besides this Rafał also traveled to the Baltic countries and Lofoten in Norway. Tips from Rafał: Go to sauna a lot - most student houses from HOAS have a common sauna that students can reserve for free! Try to travel a lot - go especially to Lapland in the winter! Apply for a tutor Use the HSL app for public transport
Incoming Student Story: Bence Márta from Hungary
Bence Márta did his exchange semester in Metropolia during academic year 2021-2022 and was studying Electronics in the Field of Technology. He wanted to live in a bigger city and experience a different style of life as he was used to in his home country Hungary where he studies on a bit more rural campus of Óbuda University. Helsinki seemed like an interesting option as it is a big city but still a calm place. On top of this Metropolia offered interesting and fitting courses and his choice was clear. Study Experience at Metropolia After the acceptance Bence started to learn basic sentences in Finnish, using for example Duolingo, and read things about the Finnish culture. As the spring semester in Finland starts already in the beginning of January, he had to do a lot of exams for his home country in December so he can come to Finland and focus only on the studies in Metropolia. Studying in Metropolia turned out to be less stressful than at home. Electronics courses in Metropolia are worth 15 ECTS and like other exchange students, Bence also chose two courses for his exchange: “It was good to have big concepts and focus only on one thing at the time. With the big courses there was no need to multitask all the time”. Students were organizing their tasks independently with the deadlines and teachers were supportive. As Bence had to continue studies home parallel with the exchange, the flexible arrangement also gave him the opportunity to finish the assignments earlier, giving time to do the studies for the home university while still having a decent amount of free time. The fact the Electronics studies were not only for exchange students, helped a lot with getting to know some local students. Best things about studying in Metropolia were getting to know some Finnish students on the classes as well as doing group work: “Everybody had their strengths and you could learn things from each other”. In addition to the Electronics studies Bence also studied some Finnish in Metropolia: “It was hard! Luckily there was some similarities to Hungarian. But in the end, I could understand some basics and tried to use it in basic situations”. Free-time and Finnish Experience During his free-time Bence traveled a lot and visited different places, such as Turku, Oulu and Santa Claus village in Rovaniemi. In addition to this he visited the Baltic countries on a trip with other exchange students and also Norway multiple times during organized trips and by himself and was able to improve his language skills. Helsinki Metropolitan area also offered a lot to visit: a lot of parks, Suomenlinna Fortress Island as well as Nuuksio and Sipoonkorpi National Parks. Bence also got a taste of Finland in forms of food like Mämmi, the Finnish Easter specialty, salty liquorice and famous Fazer chocolate. Tips from Bence Apply for a tutor Try to get to know Finnish people - they are amazing once they warm up! Visit also other cities in Finland, not just Helsinki Don’t spend too much money on alcohol but rather on traveling Try to spend as much time in the nature as you can
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