Finland: Study, Work & Settle

The Council of EU Chambers of Commerce in India (EU Chambers) had organized “Interactive Meeting with Senior Representatives of Finnish Universities” which was held on 15th November, 2019 at EU Chambers Office, Y. B Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, Mumbai.

The meeting was chaired by Capt. Avinash Batra, Past President of EU Chambers and 9-Member delegation of Finnish Universities was led by Mr. Tuomas Kauppinen, Managing Director, Co-Founder, 9.9 Edunation, who was accompanied by Mr. Harri Suominen, Director, Co-Founder, 9.9 Edunation. The participating Universities were ARCADA, HAMK, HANKEN, KAMK, LUT, METROPOLIA, SAMK, SEAMK, TUAS.

Excerpts from the speech of Capt. Avinash Batra, Past President of EU Chambers

“A very Good Afternoon, it’s a very good idea to have such a meeting where we will discuss about education. As EU Chamber we not only promote trade and business but we also promote culture and now I am happy to see that we are even promoting Education. In India we have a very large population between the age group of 18 to 30, out of which most of them are students. These students aspire to go overseas and study. The focus of students is shifting and they want to go overseas and get a degree, work out there and eventually settle. According to me studying overseas is very important in one’s career as it expands the horizon. Today a lot of universities are providing English language courses such as USA, Australia and every other country and I am happy to see that even Finland has English Language courses. I think for my experience student who go overseas must also feel comfortable. Level of comfort is very necessary.

The students when they go overseas, they have a lot of expectation as well as worries. They expect to study in a very comfortable environment. So, I think the universities should provide the required comfort to the students. Comfort is not just the only thing; the universities should also keep culture in mind.

Not all students can afford to come back home during vacation and hence they have to do something to finance their expenses. So, it very important for any country to have ample internship and job opportunities. The middle class is very aggressive to study further and they aspire to study abroad. Today the shift is positive, students also are considering smaller countries to study abroad as their expenditure reduces to a great extent. The students are also in a dilemma of whether their degree would be accepted back in their home country. So, I think that the Universities should be guiding students accordingly and most importantly is to be providing internship opportunities to them.

I would now request all our dignitaries to kindly introduce themselves.

Excerpts from the speech of Prof. T.M. Sathyanarayan

“I am from Pune and the Director of Overseas Education Consultancy Services. I am an economist and I have studies international business. I have been counselling for 35 years and focus on building cross boarder relations between Finland and India. The top 10% people have best of best but others face numerous problems and only education can be a driver to solve these problems. The purpose is to focus on emerging countries and Finland is a great opportunity. Trust me students have a great opportunity in Finland.

We need to focus on strengthening Business, Cultural and educational ties between India and Finland.

Excerpts from the speech of Harri Suominen

This is my 5^th visit to India in one and a half year. Finland is the most innovative and educated country in the world.

Finland is the most innovative and educated country in the world. It is one of the happiest, safest, greenest, cleanest, and socially progressive in the world. Finland ranks first in the educational system in the world. Majorly all the Finnish Universities are the top 3% in the world. It ranks 2^nd in higher education systems. Both students and academics are encouraged to think outside the box –and solve global problems.

According to the European Working Conditions Survey, Finns have the best opportunities in Europe to develop their skills at work. Finland has most professionals working in R&D in proportion to population. Helsinki is the capital and the biggest city in Finland. One of the most desired cities in the world. Finland is well connected on the top of world.

Finland is the happiest country in the world and also one of the safest countries to travel. It is also acknowledged that Finland is the greenest country in the world and ranks best in term of air quality as well. Finnish universities feature in the top 100 ranked universities in the world in the areas such as Computer Science, Education, Business, Engineering/ Technology, Law, Life Sciences & Physical Sciences.

It is the closest EU country to India and the education is good in Finland, it’s just that we need to promote it. Around 2 years ago I meet Mr. Pramath Sinha, the first dean of the Indian School of Business and co-founder of Ashoka University and Peter Vesterbacka, the founder of Angry Birds and we decided to have more student from India. We as Edunation work very closely with the government and have around 800 international students for now and we need to add one more “Zero”. I believe let’s save the planet and even though we are a small nation we can be an example. However we need support and let’s aim to make every person be able to learn.

Excerpts from the speech of Mr. Tuomas Kauppinen

I am happy to be here. I would like to thank the Chamber for organizing such a good meeting. Edunation today has a tie up with almost 10 Finnish universities and our aim is to have all the Finnish Universities on board. Our country is one of the safest countries in the world. Even though our country is the happiest country our birth rate is very low and that is the reason why we look forward to collaborate with India. Since the birth rate is low, we have labor shortage and hence we need more foreign students. We have a very good population of Findians (Finnish + Indian) in our Universities and we expect the population to grow in future.

Finland ranks No. 1 in the world in the field of education. It is very easy to get a permanent resident visa as well. So, I think this is of the reasons why many students come to Finland for higher education and they eventually settle in Finland. To answer Capt. Batra’s concern on comfort of the students, we welcome the students at the station and there is also friend family program our country has many Indian restaurants. The tuition fees in some of the institutes in USA is close to around $75000 per year, while in Finland it is close to $20000 which is also a half year salary in Finland.

Studying in Finland is beneficial because a degree from the EU opens doors for you. They are the leader in STEM Fields. The tuition fees are affordable and various scholarships are also available for students. They are the most satisfied students and expats in the world. There are more several advantages of studying in Finland- the tuition fees of Bachelor degrees take 3, 5-4 years. Fees range from INR 8,7L/year to INR 9,5L/year (6,000 to 12,000 EUROS), Master degrees take 1-2 years and the fees ranges from INR 7,9L/year to INR 11,9L/year (10,000 to 15,000 EUROS). Part-time work is allowed 25 h/week and you can work full time during summer breaks with the income up to 13,000 EUR per year which is non-taxable.

Finland is a great place to study because it has excellent learning environments and facilities. The learning is based on discussion, student participation and working together. Several exchange programs are undertaken. It has balanced student life and there is a freedom to choose courses from a wide range of multidisciplinary programs.

According to student satisfaction surveys, Finland is one of the hot spot destinations to study and it is considered Europe’s number one place for international students. An average satisfaction rating is 9.2 out of 10 as per the global platform StudyPortals. It has also received top in the Student Satisfaction Awards 2014. Finland is the best place to spot northern lights and midnight suns and to meet the one and only Santa Claus in the world. It is a perfect way to travel to other European countries easily with Finnish residence permit by train, cruise ship or plane. It has a vibrant student community which has a wide range of free-time activities, festivals, cultural events, hobby clubs all year round. And the last but not the least, Finnish public sauna – a must for everyone.

Finland is the 3rd most advanced digital economy in Europe when it comes to digital start-ups per capita. In Finland there is a demand for 53 000 new employees within ICT sector by the year 2021. Gaming industry specialists have ranked Finland among the very best countries for game production among European countries. Finland ranks 2nd in Global cleantech Innovations (WWF). Finland one of the best countries in the world for start-ups. The annual SLUSH start-up event in Helsinki is the 2nd largest in the world. The safe, unique, clean and untouched nature makes Finland a great travel destination.

Excerpts from the speech of Dr. Renu Shome, Director, EU chambers

EU chamber is a 27year old chamber. We have nearly 16 members on our board. The Chamber is India’s key business forum with regard to European Union. We conduct various activities like, Europe Day, we host Inward and Outward delegations and organize seminars and workshops on various topics especially related to EU. We help our member companies for market entry in EU.