ERASMUS REPORT
Host University: University of Eastern Finland, Finland
My mobility period at the University of Eastern Finland lasted 6 months. During this time I took 14 courses which were of high relevance to my studies. The courses I completed at the University of Eastern Finland were the following: Experimental Linguistics laboratory course (5 ECTS), Brain Plasticity (3 ECTS), Statistical Analysis in Linguistics (3 ECTS), Linguistics Reading Circle (3 ECTS), Language and Autism (2 ECTS), Language in Schizophrenia (4 ECTS), Neurolinguistic aspects of aphasia and developmental language disorders (2 ECTS), Eye-tracking and Brain Imaging (2 ECTS), Methods in Speech Research (2 ECTS), Statistical Analysis for Linguistics 1 (3 ECTS), Neurolinguistics (3 ECTS), Elementary Finnish and Finnish Culture (3 ECTS) and Psycholiguistics (3 ECTS). The total amount of ECTS points I earned were 42.
The Finnish education system is quite known and praised. Based on my experience I can say that the praise is well deserved. The quality of education is high, the lecturers/ professors are professional yet friendly and approachable, the material provided is easily accessible, relevant and up to date. Everything is available via Moodle, the online learning platfrom for UEF and the library offers free copies and printers. Next to Moodle, UEF has developed an app called "Tuudo", which shows the calendar for the day, the classes, the rooms and even the lunch menu offered by each student restaurant.
The first week of my stay in Joensuu was the Orientation Week. The head of the mobility services welcomed the new exchange students and informed us about all the services provided by UEF. Most of my questions were answered during the orientation week, as student organizations presented their activities and were helpful in letting us know about university processes. The student union provided not only information about the university but also about the life in Finland and specifically in Joensuu. They organize activities and trips, lectures and language lessons.
Student accommodation in Joensuu is provided by "Joensuun Elli", which is a housing company that has a partnership with the University of Eastern Finland. It is relatively easy to find accommodation, however, students should
apply early. The rooms offered by Joensuun Elli are affordable and the housing units are clean and comfortable. The application can be filled online and the agency informs the students about the outcome of their applications within the time frame of 2 months. The only issue I faced had to do with my room's furniture. Even though I had applied for a furnished room, I ended up receiving an unfurnished room. This made my first week in Joensuu stressful and expensive.
Before the mobility, my home institution provided me with information about my exchange period abroad via emails. The application to receive the Erasmus mobility grant was well organised and intuitive. I browsed through the UEF website in order to find out more about the expenses I will have and the additional costs that would not be covered by the Erasmus grant. I estimated my expenses via online searches and articles about life in Finland. Even though the student accommodation was affordable (around 220€), life in Finland is very expensive. Grocery stores and restaurants have very high prices. Nevertheless, UEF offers student lunches for only 2€. Every day and even during the weekend, students can choose from a variety of different lunch menus and a free salad bar for a very low price. This does not only save the students money but also time, since I was able to focus more on my studies without having to worry about preparing my everyday meals.
I did not face particular problems during my period abroad. The Finnish language is difficult and one cannot learn it during 6 months. However, Finnish citizens are quite fluent in English and I did not encounter severe problems whenever I wanted to communicate.
My study experience in Joensuu was overall pleasant and valuable. I did not only learn a lot about Linguistics, which my field of study, but I also experienced a different educational system in another European country. I had the chance to interact with new people, acquire new knowledge, make friends and realize how wonderful it is to broaden your horizons. I truly value the opportunity that was given to me and I would repeat it anytime in the future.
