Peppi – Master's student in Human Neuroscience

Meet Peppi Pihlajaniemi a current Master's degree student at the University of Turku and an UTUambassador 2026-2027!

"Hi, I’m Peppi Pihlajaniemi, a Human Neuroscience master’s student at the University of Turku. I completed my bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology in Hungary.

I’ve always found the brain fascinating, which is why I chose to study psychology in the first place. During my studies, I became increasingly curious about the biological mechanisms behind how we feel and how the brain gives meaning to our experiences. That’s what led me to neuroscience, which is also such an exciting and rapidly developing field right now (I mean, the Nobel Prize, hello?!). Advances in technology are constantly opening up new possibilities for research, and I'm really excited to see what discoveries the future holds!

When I first discovered the Human Neuroscience programme at UTU, I remember thinking, “Okay, this is just perfect! The course content really clicked with me, especially the Clinical Neuroscience module, the intersection of neuroscience and medicine, and the wide range of fascinating electives. I could genuinely see myself getting excited about all these subjects. On top of that, Turku was already my favourite city in Finland, so it felt like the perfect fit.

I’m a creative person with a passion for music, songwriting, fashion, and modelling, but I also love dancing and staying physically active. I’m always curious to try new things, meet new people, and explore different interests. Who knows, maybe I’ll find a way to combine neuroscience, technology, and creativity in my future career!

Feel free to ask me questions, share your thoughts, or come say hi on campus. Above all, let’s all remember to enjoy these university years!”

Lets connect on: Instagram

Peppi's study experience

How is your study experience at UTU and what services/aspects have influenced that the most?

I have really enjoyed my experience at UTU so far. The community here feels very close. Our class is quite small, which has made it easy for everyone to get to know each other, and I feel like we've become really close in a short amount of time. The professors and other staff also genuinely seem to care about the students and want to help us to progress in our fields, so the whole program has a very welcoming and supportive atmosphere. Turku is also such a big student city, with so many different opportunities for us students. There are always new things to discover and get involved in, which I really enjoy. I feel like I've already learned so much and I've only just started. The courses challenge me in a good way. And I also really appreciate the opportunities we get, including visiting labs, meeting researchers and networking. Overall, studying neuroscience at University of Turku has been really motivating. The classes are interesting, and since the curriculum is so up to date, I feel like I am gaining skills that will be so valuable in the future.

To whom would you recommend your programme to?

I would recommend this programme to those who are interested in neuroscience and want to gain practical skills for working in the research field, because here you feel like you're not just studying it, but actually gaining skills that you can apply in real life. At the University of Turku you feel like you're at the centre of this research. The curriculum is very up-to-date, and you will gain a lot of hands-on experience with different brain research methods. Coming from psychology background myself, I also really appreciate the focus on human neuroscience and how many courses there are in Clinical Neuroscience.