Are you an international student here at the University of Helsinki? Or are you planning to come here to study? If you are anything as I am, you might be full of questions or even feel lost at first of what to expect. The international student ambassadors of the university are the ones you can approach if you have any questions about student life at the university or concerns about your studies. I remember the first time I heard about the ambassadors was when I first moved to Finland. One of them picked me up from the airport and showed me the way to my apartment, something which I really appreciated as it was close to midnight and I would have been pretty lost otherwise.
Meet Sofie from Denmark. She is a student of Intercultural Encounters and has been living here as an international student in Helsinki (with two wonderful flatmates) since last August. She has become an international student ambassador in November last year and is, therefore, one of the faces of the university for international students. The ambassadors work closely together with the teams from marketing and from the admissions services to promote the university to students abroad.
You might have also seen her and her colleagues during the welcome fairs in January and August where they are the first people new students will meet. There they are answering any questions people might have about student life at the university. Of course, they are not only answering these questions during the welcome fairs. Feel free to contact and follow them on their Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/uhambassadors/. This is also the place where you can get to know the people behind the ambassadors a bit better and, for example, get to know why they have chosen to come to Helsinki.
Furthermore, they are organising various events for the international student body and for anyone who would like to join. Have you heard about the tour to Fazer’s chocolate factory (and the unlimited chocolate involved)? I can tell you, it was delicious and a great opportunity to meet other (international) students from different degree programmes and faculties. They are hoping to do such events every month, but keep in mind that they are busy students on top of their engagement as ambassadors as well. Where you can meet them in person, however, are at regular coffee afternoons and they are hoping to create an (English-speaking) introductory class to UniSport as the choice of English classes is quite restricted. This is a way they want to bridge the gap between the needs of international students and the (mostly) Finnish offers of activities.
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Something new that the ambassadors have been doing now, and which you might have noticed if you follow the university on Instagram, is their takeovers of the official account. Through this, many get the opportunity to take a small part in the student life of an international degree student and get a closer glimpse at our university. You can also find such glimpses on their blog page (https://blogs.helsinki.fi/welcometouh/) where they share their experiences on, for example, how to survive the Finnish winters, the City Center Campus, good places to eat, the next steps after admissions and basically anything a potential student coming to Helsinki, as well as those students already living here, would like to know.
During the first weeks at the university, every programme has their own tutor assisting them in the first steps in the city. While the tutors are not connected to the international student ambassador programme, the ambassadors give talks during the tutor trainings. This is very important, as most tutors are Finnish, and, therefore, do not know how international students might feel in a strange country which language they do not speak. Through this, the tutors will be prepared on what international students (may they be degree or exchange students) need.
What Sofie likes the most about being part of the international student ambassadors (besides the free chocolate at Fazer) is the community it forms between them and the international student body. The ambassadors themselves come from very different programmes and they would have never met if it was not for this. Through the ambassadors, students have the reassurance to talk to someone that is living here already and to give advice on what would be good to know in advance. While the people working at the university are always answering your questions as well, it is something different to talk to other students who went through the same things we are going through and might have had the same doubts we are having.
An advice Sofie would like to give to the international students planning to move here is to come with an open mind and not to be scared to reach out to the ambassadors, even if you do not have a specific question in mind. They are always there for you, even if you just need someone to talk to (may it be online or even in person). Finland can be very hard to navigate through, especially if you do not speak the language or come from a different culture. It is great if someone has your back.
Feel free to contact them in case you have any ideas for events in mind, as well.