Studying and training in Finland is a safe, yet rather exotic way to acquire academic and professional experience and achieve personal growth by living in a foreign country in the midst of another culture.
Education is highly valued in Finland, and the high standard of education forms one of the keystones of the Finnish national political strategy. The Finnish education system comprises preschool education, comprehensive school, post-comprehensive general and vocational education, higher education and adult education. Comprehensive schools provide a nine-year education programme (with an optional 10th year) for all children of school age, starting at the age of seven. Post-comprehensive education is provided by general upper secondary schools (approximately three years, ending in the national matriculation examination) and vocational institutions (three years, leading to upper secondary vocational qualifications).
Finnish institutions of higher education are internationally oriented, and the country's excellent reputation in higher education together with the wide range of courses offered in English, attract interest from a growing number of international students. There are more than 300 international study programmes taught in English, which means that you generally only need to know one of the country's two official languages, Finnish or Swedish, if you are interested in studying for a complete academic degree in Finland.
At Lappeenranta University of Technology, as in most of the Finnish universities, the main study methods have traditionally been lectures, seminars, independent work and exams. Studying in Finland is generally regarded as relatively informal. Some students are surprised at the strong emphasis placed on books as a source of information compared with lectures. Many students find the relationship between students and teachers in Finland to be relaxed and informal, and teachers easy to approach. Our university has also a Language Centre where students can engage in additional language studies, which are often included in degree programmes.
The Academic year has two semesters. The Autumn semester runs from late August to December, while the Spring semester runs from January to May.
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