New exchange students arrived on campus
Over a hundred cheerful international students started their exchange studies at the university in the beginning of January. Their two-day orientation took place 4-5 January.
Cyrus Ma
Despite the damp weather, the exchange students waiting for the start of their orientation course were in high spirits.
Cyrus Ma from Hong Kong came to Turku for one semester to study mathematics.
- I wanted to experience something totally new before graduating after this semester. I hope I’ll get a lot of new experiences and friends, Ma summed up his expectations.
Simone Lehner
Simone Lehner from Austria studies education and wanted to come to Finland to acquaint herself with the famous Finnish school system.
- I’m also excited about meeting new people and experiencing a foreign culture. I’m going to try to study Finnish. It can’t be all that hard, Lehner smiled.
Alicia Bani, another student of education, came to Turku from France.
- I like the snow and the Nordic countries. I’d love to travel in the North while living in Finland. My boyfriend studies Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, and I’m interested in visiting these countries myself, Bani says.
Alicia Bani
International university
Rector Keijo Virtanen opened the orientation course by welcoming the exchange students to Turku. In his speech, Virtanen talked about the university’s rapid internationalisation during the past twenty years.
- At the end of the 1980s, about 20 exchange students arrived in Turku every January. Now the number of students has risen to approximately 120, Virtanen says.
After the opening speech, the orientation continued with lectures on studying, accommodation and the Finnish culture. The students learned e.g. about the Finnish education system, the organisation of the university and the possibility of taking courses from several faculties.
Text & photos: Karoliina Kerppo
Translation: Suvi Kauppila