Meet Aditya, a current master's student at the University of Turku and an UTUambassador 2026-2027!
"Hello! I am Aditya. I am a student of the MDP in Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State programme.
I am from a small (well small by Indian standards) city in India called Alwar. I studied Economics at the University of Delhi, after which I worked as an Analytics Consultant for about three years.
During my work life, I realized that I did not wish to stay in that industry for the long term. I wanted to explore what research in social sciences could look like. That was when I came across the INVEST programme at UTU. What made me apply was the fact that the programme is truly multi-disciplinary, with research areas of the department ranging from sociology to demography to public mental health.
The best thing in university studies for me so far has been the non-hierarchical and open classroom environment. The academic community here is very supportive, and help is available to every student. All you have to do is ask for it!"
Aditya's study experience:
Studying at UTU has been incredibly fun! For me, the journey has been much more about what has happened outside the classrooms. When I moved to Finland, I did not know a single person in this country. The best part about my experience at UTU, therefore, has to be the sheer abundance of opportunities that have come my way to meet so many people! Through some courses at CELCS, I have made friends who study Drug Discovery or Mechanical Engineering. Through career services, I met a psychologist who is studying to become a teacher :). Through campussport, I have met some amazing badminton players from Taiwan. I have also been pleasantly surprised to find out what a vibrant student culture Finland and Turku have to offer. I have participated in a number of student activities and events, and that has made my student life really memorable. Through my own student organization Sosklubi, I have met some of my best Finnish friends! In my experience, UTU has provided a very organic environment for new connections and friendships to form, which I value greatly as a young individual in a foreign land.
MDP in Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State is a programme that imparts skills in social sciences research. If you are looking to pick up skills in quantitative methods, and if you are interested in learning more about topics like demography or inequality, then this programme could be a great place for you! The research focus of the programme also makes it an ideal platform for future PhD candidates.
I have a background in Economics. I also took a number of math and statistics courses during my studies in Delhi. After that, I worked in analytics consulting for about 3 years, before deciding to move to Finland. I chose the INVEST programme because I wanted to use my quantitative research skills to study issues of social science, and INVEST allows me to do that.
I find the flexibility in studies here very unique. Students get to choose how many or few courses they want to take in any given period. I think that is very nice, because every student has different life circumstances and commitments, so they get to tailor their study plan as needed.
For the immediate future, a PhD looks very likely. I feel like I want to get more experience doing hands-on quantitative research and coding, and a PhD could give me good opportunities for that. For later, I do like the idea of teaching, so staying in academia could be an option. But still a long way to go before I make up my mind about that.
Student events! Finland (certainly Turku) has such an amazing student culture. I think that provides a very natural and low-threshold balance for studies.