Lari, 22, from Finland

Why did you choose Novia in Turku as university among others in the city?

Hello, I am Lari and I’m 22 years old. I’m currently studying on my third year for a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in Novia. The main reason for me to study in Novia in Turku is the language. Swedish being my mother tongue. Studying in Finnish would be more challenging but not impossible by any means

There is another university in Turku that operates in Swedish, namely Åbo Akademi. I did apply there as my first choice, however I am by no means regretting my decision in coming to Novia instead. Novia was sold to me as a university that’s focused on more practical application over the theoretical and that has always sounded just like me.

What do you think about the courses in your faculty?

In short, I like them. I’ve always been interested in how businesses operate and how building one’s own brand is done in practice. My specialization being marketing focuses more on communication with customers or other businesses as opposed to accounting that does more technical number-diving. I’ve learnt a lot from our courses, a few courses of law here and there, while somewhat dry, have been very educational.

What do you like about the Novia lifestyle?

Definitely the practicality. Novia has a tool for grading called the Key Learning Note (KLN). In most courses we write a KLN, instead of a test or an exam, where we reflect on the contents of the course, what we’ve learned, what we struggled with and we are encouraged to give our opinions and feedback regarding both the contents and the lecturer.

Novia also has a very casual setting which I like. Students and teachers call each other by their first name and all the teachers are very eager and helpful to answer any questions or discussing the contents of their courses. They have a teaching philosophy of showing the results of their students in the grades, not in their behavior towards the students. Everyone is friendly and polite.

What will you say to a potential exchange student who wants to come to study at Novia?

If you want to experience the Finnish education system with a practical spin Novia is the place for you. There’s no shortage of projects where you can apply all the things you’ve learnt, and everyone is friendly. And don’t be shy to join the extracurricular activities like ‘sitz’ (which is basically a party with drinks food, singing and lots of laughing in typical Finnish-Swedish fashion).