Personal Erasmus Report
Marlon Foppen – m.foppen@student.rug.nl 16/01/2018
University of Groningen Groningen
BA Media Studies University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences
During the first semester of my third year in the bachelor programme of Media Studies, I went to Helsinki, Finland, to complete my Erasmus minor abroad. In this report I will discuss my
experiences at the University of Helsinki, reflect on the courses I followed and the city itself, as well as other overall experiences during my minor abroad. I will further address some other observations and recommendations that are in particular of interest for students that might be interested in completing their minor at the University of Helsinki. I would be happy to answer any questions regarding living or studying in Helsinki.
Studying at the University of Helsinki
While choosing the destination of my Erasmus Minor abroad, I paid much attention to the bachelor programmes and courses available within the partner universities of the University of Groningen. I was particularly interested in studying in Scandinavia / the Northern countries, which drew my attention to the University of Helsinki and the courses they had to offer for international students. The wide array of courses in the field of Media Studies and Political Sciences became a big part of the reason to apply for this university. Through the courses I eventually chose and completed, I was able to move away from my background in Media Studies towards a more multidisciplinary field of Communication, Journalism Studies and Political Sciences and Communication. All of the courses I followed were quite different compared to previous courses in my Bachelor programme, but all (slightly) touched upon areas in the Media Studies discipline; introducing me to multiple new insights on other concepts besides my own degree. In my first block I took the following courses; Media Landscapes and Journalism in Transition, Comparative Perspectives on Political Phenomena and Political Opinion. These courses mainly touched upon areas within Political Sciences and Journalism Studies and introduced me to some very interesting and new topics. These first experiences with following courses at the University of Helsinki, introduced me to the collaborative working- and studying environment within the university. Much of my seminar courses were based on group work and class discussions, in which we often discussed certain cases which we learned to approach from different perspectives. This was mainly due to the international character of my courses, and the numerous nationalities of my peers which resulted in some interesting thoughts on related topics. This was also clearly present in my second block’s courses which were Gender, Politics and Society, Media and Diversity and Global Media and Diversity. These courses were mainly based in Gender
Studies and Media Studies, which in some ways touched upon my previous courses in Groningen.
Overall, I much enjoyed the courses offered by the University of Helsinki and thought the education to be of a very high and professional level. The courses I took were very well organized and clearly structured, which helped me to create a better understanding of the main concepts and topics of my chosen courses.
The good experiences I had with the courses offered by the University of Helsinki, also applied to my overall experience with the university and its services. In the introduction week, a group of students told us everything about the university and its faculties, the buildings of instruction, contacting University staff, communication with Student Services, and everything else that was important for us to know. They helped us to get started in Helsinki and to get familiar with the university amongst others. Before I took off to Helsinki, the university made sure I had everything arranged before starting my Erasmus minor. Once my application was complete, they gave me the chance to pick an accommodation of preference within one of their student homes. Once I received the message that I was offered one of their studios, they made sure I was well informed about the process of studio rental – which made everything go smoothly. My student home was close to the centre and the University, which made it the ideal location for studying in Helsinki. Any problems that we may have encountered in our student homes, we could directly notify the personnel of the housing organization about. Overall, I found the accommodation and my overall experiences with the University to be very good and well organized, which made my stay in Helsinki to be very pleasant.
Besides that, any contact with the University of Groningen also went very smoothly considering any changes in my learning agreement or other questions regarding my minor abroad. Both institutions made sure I was well informed about any steps to be taken and were always open for questions or advice.
Practical information
Besides my experiences at the University of Helsinki, I would also like to reflect on any personal experiences and practical information regarding my Erasmus minor in Helsinki. I knew from the start that living and studying in Helsinki would not be as affordable as living in Groningen. I saved up some money and took some extra student loans in order to afford living in Helsinki. As an
estimation of expenses, I would say that I have probably spent a total of 4000 euros in four months’
time. The Erasmus fund was clearly really helpful to me, regarding financing my stay abroad. My expenses on groceries and rent were considerably higher than in Groningen, which caused my monthly costs to increase quite a bit. Though, because I did not stay for a very long period, I could finally manage this short increase in expenses. During my Erasmus minor abroad, I did not encounter any other problems other than some financial challenges. The Finnish people are very proficient in the English language, so there were no problems with communication in Helsinki. I tried to learn the
Finnish language for the sake of integration, but this was quite a challenge for me, unfortunately. For any students considering going to Helsinki for their minor abroad, I would definitely recommend trying to learn a bit of the language because it is a fun process of getting used to the country and its culture. Any other advice would be to plan as many trips as you can to neighbouring countries or other parts of Finland, so you can really explore the area around Helsinki. I would also definitely
recommend applying for housing via the University organization, since it is the best way to get to know other international students when you are living in the same building. This made it very easy for me to join events and to meet other students with whom you can explore the city with. Something quite obvious but worth mentioning is that you should definitely consider the season you are travelling in; it could get pretty cold in the North, so make sure you are prepared for the worst weather scenarios.
Besides that, I found studying and living in Helsinki to be a great experience with lots of fun and memorable moments. I would definitely recommend other students to choose Helsinki as their Erasmus destination!
