To begin with, the reason I came here is that my previous school (which prepared students for studying abroad) recommended me Rovaniemi as a good place to study tourism.

When I came here, I realized that there is a huge gulf of differences between China and Finland. For example, Chinese schools are more focused on theories and Lapland UAS gives practical lessons along with theoretical background. Also in China, we mostly listen to the teacher not asking any questions, and here, we often have discussions and we can express ourselves when we have group-work; then we need to communicate and speak out our own ideas. At first, it was strange for me, but later I even liked this method. 

I think asking questions is a good way of learning. Another difference which I noticed since coming here is the honesty and friendliness of the people around. People don’t hide anything from you.

When you move to a country with a different lifestyle, you need to take care of yourself BY yourself. You cannot rely on your parents anymore. So, I think, since I came here I have become much more independent in many ways. By that I also mean that studying here makes you also more open-minded and you learn to accept different cultures and learn from your friends.

For me, it was very hard to get adapt because I wasn’t confident of my language skills and wasn’t that outgoing. But it changed. Lapin AMK has provided me with a wide range of opportunities. One of them is a semester abroad, I went for an exchange to Ireland where I made new contacts and gained even more knowledge. By the way, the exchange programs also give grants to students, so it’s affordable to go abroad either for studies or the training.

My future plan is to do the Master Degree and then return back to China. I think international experience is important for work and I want to work in tourism, maybe, as a tourism manager. But first, I should finish my Bachelor thesis here.

Before the thesis, when I had free time, I used to visit my friends and we went to the city center or I could simply go outside for a walk – the nature here is very beautiful and the air is fresh. During the first 2 years, I often went to the swimming pool here. Rovaniemi is relatively big and all the distances are walkable even if you don’t have a bike or a bus season ticket.

I like that as a student, you also get some discounts and the student rent is lower than it is normally. Personally, I use the VR student card. Of course, with the student union card you get many more benefits, but VR card is enough for me. I get discounts while travelling and when I go to the swimming pool in Rovaniemi.  

-Tang Tian, DPT'13 - 

Hello, Nadine, how are you doing?  Hi, I'm ok, thank you!

So, can you tell us, where you come from? Sure, I'm originally from Petrozavodsk, the capital city of the Republic of Karelia in Russia.

How did you end up here, in Lapland UAS? I applied to the university for the first time in 2013 (back then it was RAMK), at that time, I was not accepted but I did not give up and I decided to prepare for another application period the whole year. I tried applying again and succeeded.

Was Lapland UAS familiar to you before you came here? The whole education system is completely different from my country's, so it took me some time to get used to this system. The difference was not only in the system of education, but also in the atmosphere of the class.

What subjects do you like the most? I prefer subjects that include company visits or projects, where you should plan an event. Last year, with my group (DPT'14) I organized a Vappu warm-up party. We all worked as a team and got some nice feedback. Moreover, we often visit local companies and it helps us to understand all features of tourism business in Lapland.

What kind of study methods are used in your degree program, and what methods do you find the most effective? I consider myself as a practical person, so I study more via practice. I want to say that making projects helps us not only to learn material, but also to know how to work as a team; and I'm sure, it will help in future. Each group-work we have in our program is always different from the previous one. Personally, I like when working in a group requires creativity. One of my favourite works is «Arctic – non Arctic», a photoshoot that we made with my team.

What you like the most in Lapland UAS so far? Lapland UAS gives you an opportunity to make your schedule personalized, so you can study the subjects you want. If you study in International Business, but you want to have some lectures from the Tourism program – you can do it. The same thing is with our Master Degree Program and Bachelor Degree Program. You can do your Bachelor along with having lectures from the Master Degree Program. 

Why would you recommend your degree program/ Lapland UAS to others? Why tourism? As for me, I gain knowledge from both lectures and practice. I think it helps to understand what obligations you would like to have at work in your future; or if you even would like to start your own company.

Why Lapland UAS? Here you can study in international atmosphere that helps to develop all skills that you will need for the future job. Moreover, you have an opportunity to study abroad or to have an internship outside Finland. In Lapin AMK, it doesn't take long until you consider it your home!

How do you think the graduation of DPT/Lapland UAS will help you in future employment? After 1 year of studies, I understood that I am in the right place to study, and after my graduation I will find a workplace. Now, I already have work experience in Finland and abroad (thanks to Lapin AMK), and, for me, finding a job is not gonna be a problem.

Do you think your studies here will help in your future career progress? Sometimes, I think about becoming an entrepreneur in tourism sphere. Here, I have the subjects that will help me to understand what are new trends in tourism and business market,for example, what exactly demanding customers want nowadays.

How would you describe Lapland UAS? Study environment, school in general etc… Here we have international atmosphere, we are all from different countries. We all speak several languages but communicate in English with each other. We have different events, where we meet new friends. In addition, we study each other’s cultures and bring something new to each other’s lives. So, join us be fired and iced, have Nordic factor!

Thank you, Nadine, and good luck with your studies!

1. First of all,be committed be committed to your studies
2. Be motivated to learn (you need to have passion as a driving force)
3. Listen attentively and pay attention to detail.
4. Follow all the instructions (follow the provided guidelines always)
5. Study (have a properly scheduled diary that you follow)
6. Self-discipline is a key element in following a properly scheduled diary.
7. Try your best to meet deadlines.

    Lastly, develop a positive attitude and always crave for success!     

- Nhandara Heath, Lapland UAS, HYVO II -

Here, it’s both! At Lapland University of Applied Sciences, you can combine studies and fun so, that they don’t affect each other. At Lapland University of Applied Sciences, spare time is not a problem. There always are some events, meetings, “nights-out” and sport activities, where you can mingle with international as well as with the local people. Just an advice for you: “if you wish to have enough time for both fun and studying, you need to manage the business of yours very well!”

Tip#1
Certainly, it depends on the kind of person you are. Whether you are a “company person” or a quite introvert, it will influence how much time you dedicate to socializing. Therefore, one of the main suggestion I can give to you is to write your personal diary/organizer, where you will mark all of your classes, deadlines and meetings. This will 100% help you to combine school and university activities. It also will release your head from the stress and overstimulation – you will clearly see, how busy you are and make plans accordingly.

Tip #2
Next, mark not only your tasks but also pleasant things in the diary – “small prizes”, with which you can reward yourself for meeting a deadline on time or completing just a small task. This technique is recommended by many business and leadership-focused writers; such as Brian Tracy, for example. In his book “Eat That Frog!”, he proposes such a technique. The point is that, when you have something you really do not want to do; in your diary, you should draw a small frog and every time after getting rid of such by crossing it, you can reward yourself with a special prize, like a delicious cake or a ticket to the cinema. Personally, I use this technique a lot. It really helps motivate myself to study. When you encourage yourself you want to move further. Simple as that. ;)

In my opinion, these are the most important and, actually, the basic principles of how to include some fun in your studies. The last tip: Don’t plan to study the whole day and have fun the whole night with your friends! We all need to sleep to regain energy for the next day. ;)

Good luck with finding new friends and studying!

- Lada Stukolkina, DPT'13 student -

This year, our group (DPT’13) was in charge of planning the event with the help of the Hotel and restaurant management students. The Gala was held in the restaurant Oppipoika and the after-party in the nightclub Halfmoon.

The theme of the gala varies each year and this time, we chose Masquerade – the Night of Mystery. All the guests received a mask and a drink as soon as they arrived at the venue. Before the actual program started they could have their pictures taken at the LapinAMK photo-booth.

The menu consisted of reindeer tartar with deep fried lichen, butternut squash soup, coal grill friend pike-perch, honey-marinated season vegetables, spinach-potato puree with butter sauce. For the dessert, our guests enjoyed black currant sorbet and chocolate fondant.

During the dinner, the guests had a little mystery to solve.

There was a murderer on the loose and our hosts gave hints from the mysterious black envelopes. In the end, the murderer was caught. It was one of the waiters – Ville-Veikko.

After catching the murderer, the band started playing and our guests had a chance to dance or just enjoy the music with the “raspberry sparkle” cocktail before leaving for the after-party.

DPT’13 wants to thank the participants of the Gala. We hope to see you at the next year’s Gala organized by DPT’14!

Written by: Emmi Manskinen and Lada Stukolkina. DPT'13 students.

Hello my name is Héléna Vindic, I’m an exchange student from France and I’m studying International Business in Lapland UAS. How did I end up in Lapland UAS is a funny story, actually I didn’t know much about Lapland UAS before I came here. I know someone who had studied here two years ago and her experiences was that positive that it made me also interested about Lapland UAS. And as Lapland UAS is a partner university of my home university in France, the process to go abroad was fairly easy.

So far I have liked the most the Product and Service Development course. In that course we have learned how to design new services, what make the customer experience the most satisfying and what kind of new innovations and tools we can use. We are doing lots of projects and presentations and that makes studying here really cool. I think Lapland UAS is modern University and it is technologically well equipped. The reason why I can recommend Lapland UAS to others is because I really like the teaching methods here, learning happens mostly through projects and group works. 

I’m sure in a future I will need the skills that I have learned here. We have learned working methods that are applied in the corporate world, and thanks to group work we have acquired essential skills such as communication skills, leadership, listening, etc. Studies here will contribute our personal and professional development process as well as the overall life experience while living and studying abroad.

I like the fact that teachers and students are close, we have a good atmosphere here. We can feel the involvement of students too in the study life through; Student Union Rotko, and through Inno Barents Lab. (IBL) in where we can create new innovations. It is also good that we do not have a lot of contact classes per week, that how we have time for independent work and personal hobbies. Also, in general Lapland UAS staff take care of the students.

If you want to become Lapland UAS student the next application period starts January 2016!

Best Wishes,
Héléna Vindic, Exchange Student from France