Meet Olesia, a current Master's student at the University of Turku and an UTUambassador 2023-2024!
"Hi! I’m Olesia, a first year ambassador and master’s student at MDP Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State. I came to Turku from Russia, where I worked as an English teacher, illustrator, and volunteering projects leader. Before applying to UTU, I did a master’s in Psychology, doing research on gender bias and inequality in connection to languages we speak. I wanted to learn more about how different countries address discrimination, and Finland is a great example of a country fighting for human rights and equality. Finland is also well-known for its unique education system, so, as a teacher, I was excited to see how it works from the inside.
Coming to Turku I was afraid I’d struggle to combine full time studies, relocation, learning Finnish and my work. However, the schedule at my programme is really well-planned and teachers are very motivating, so that I ended up taking extra courses. I also have some time left for my hobbies: before I even bought a bed for my apartment in Turku I bought a bike! The city and nature here are so beautiful that I cycle over 30 kms every weekend discovering new places and learning more about Finnish culture. Feel free to get in touch!"
Instagram: @o.komarova.art
Olesia's study experience
From the first class at the MDP I got hands-on experience learning to work in various statistical programmes with real-life datasets. This really helped me build up the confidence in my professional skills. The wide range of research topics available on the programme, along with the rich and diverse backgrounds of the teachers, helped me widen the outlook on my future career paths. I am looking forward to completing my internship during the second year of the studies. As an essential part of the programme the internship allows students to gain work experience even before graduating from the university.
If "equality" is more than a trendy word for you. If you question existent policies, want to compare, analyze and find ways to improve the life of people in any social group – be it children, workers, immigrants or even prisoners. The MDP teaches advanced skills of quantitative statistical analysis of social data and provides an interdisciplinary perspective welcoming students from various backgrounds, including Social Sciences, Politics, Psychology and many more.